If I want to improve my kit for FOH ...

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 10:33 am

Most of my FOH work is at or near charity level. Some jobs are no charge, others I charge very little. Once or twice a year I might make a few hundred on an FOH job. I have no mains or monitors - don't have the space to store them, haul them, and since I basically don't get paid for this stuff I can't justify the cost. If I need them, the client rents them.

Most of the gear in my kit was bought for recording work. I have one small rack of stuff just for FOH work.

A&H Mixwizard 16:2dx
100' 16x3 snake
Art graphic EQs
Presonus ACP88 compressor
SM58s
SM57s
(1) Senn e865
(1) Beyer M300
An assortment of SDCs
The LDCs usually stay home unless I'm recording the show.

Most of what I do is acoustic music - bluegrass, girl singers, folk singers, celtic, etc.

One of the concerts series I work which relies very heavily on my piece of the puzzle will occasionally drop a check in my hat with the understanding that I will use it to improve my system.

I think they're going to send a check my way soon, so my question is ... how to I use the money so it will best benefit my FOH kit? The last check they gave me went to help buy the Presonus compressor. I don't know of any additional hardware I should buy - the one thing that comes to mind would be an effects unit, but the A&H has some built-in basics that seem to get the job done.

The first thing that comes to mind for me is some better vocal mics. I do a lot of female vocalists, and if they come toting mics it's usually a Beta87. So I'm thinking maybe a Beta57 or two would compliment my collection. Recently heard a woman using a Beta58 and like the sound of that mic as well. The Senn works well on male vocals, but often doesn't fit female voices well.

So, for a basic FOH kit, do I spend my "bonus" on mics, or is there some bit of hardware I should consider that would make my job easier? Anything that would benefit my recording work in as well as my FOH jobs gets extra credit.

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 3:20 pm

if you dont have to worry about speakers, might as well upgrade some vocal mics!

audix om5 is nice for dynamic mics, if you want condensor check the beta58 or even beta87.

OR ... pocket this one for all the hard work you've done so far! treat yourself to a night on the town .. you've earned it!

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 4:11 pm

Hot spot powered monitors maybe? small and easy to carry around. Won't cut it for metal or loud stages but for other stuff would give you stage monitors or something to queue up a cd on etc. handy little things.

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 5:14 pm

Quote:

Hot spot powered monitors maybe?

eh?

[edit] ahh - like this.
http://www.zzounds.com/item--GXYPA5X140
Could be nice for a lot of what I do.
[/edit]

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 5:53 pm

rockstardave wrote:

OR ... pocket this one for all the hard work you've done so far! treat yourself to a night on the town .. you've earned it!

That is an option I've considered.

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 7:25 pm

My choice - Accessories- stands, cables, an oriental rug, gaffer tape, adapters, velcro cable ties,..., what am I missing? Wine glasses, a case of good Shiraz...

My opinion of the Beta87 is that it is a mic that a singer should buy for him or her self if it fits, but its not a great mic locker item. For the people who it works for - a 58 works well with a little eq tweak. In the studio, I've almost always found that a LDC beats the 87. (With that said, I have a beta 87 for my daughter and the guy lead singer in my praise band has one. They both frequently push their range to sing lead (natural alto and baritone respectively) maybe that 's the key factor.)

As far as effects units, I agree that the it's not worth upgrading the A&H effects unless you are talking about a "very" large (as in 2-3x the compressor) check.

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 7:53 pm

BobRogers wrote:

... unless you are talking about a "very" large (as in 2-3x the compressor) check.

uhh ... no. Maybe a couple hundred - it will HELP pay for an upgrade.

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 12:48 am

I do a fair amount of semi-pro FOH gigs but I also get tricked/guilted/begged to do low budget FOH gigs on a regular basis as well. I have a small setup I bring to every gig just for this kind of thing. A handfull of SM57's, a cheap DI, portable CD player. SPL meter, rack with a decent reverb, digital delay, RTA and measurement mic, 1202VLZ, 8-ch 100ft XLR stage box snake, sometimes a dual channel compressor and the usual odds and ends like a few mic stands, xbrace stand for FOH rack, spare mic cables and interface cables/adapters, mic clips, tape, tools, small flashlight, headphones, power strips, ect. This stuff also serves as part of my remote/location recording rig by adding a laptop, audio interface and other por gear that I may want or need to take.

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 8:27 am

Another thought - Do you have any other uses for a Countryman DI?

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 8:35 am

My current DI is a Behringer 4 channel Active, so a good DI or two would be welcome additions and would certainly be useful for recording as well. A couple Countryman (or other good quality) DIs would certainly fit the bill.

Good idea ... Thumbs Up

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