Basement PA

I mentioned in my last teaser post that I had plans for the basement. Well, the UPS guy made a few deliveries, and I now have a complete little basement PA set up.

Here's how the idea germinated. I blogged before about getting a pickup installed in my mandolin. I also got this soundhole pickup for acoustic guitar (which easily pops in and lets you plug in any acoustic guitar.) So I thought about getting an acoustic amp - basically this.

Then it occurred to me that for a marginal upgrade from the price of that acoustic amp, I could get a little PA system. Instead of an amp that you could plug in one instrument and one microphone, I could get a *much* more flexible setup that would accept multiple instruments or mics, could send output to speakers or headphones or a laptop.

The more I researched, the more it seemed like a no-brainer. I could host Rosewood rehearsals, I could host acoustic jams, I could use it for recording projects of my own, Lori and her friends could use it to sing. And not that we're a big party-hosting group - but if we ever did, we'd have a PA that you could plug your iPod into and blast tunes for the whole neighborhood to hear.

My criteria were: flexibility, decent quality (not junk, not audiophile quality), good sound, but (relatively) low wattage. I'm not looking to take it out of the basement, and not looking to shake the floorboards. My friend Chip gave me a crash course (and I've been trying to soak up all I can about sound, just out of curiosity and general interest, while watching him do Rosewood sound over the past two years), and he assured me that what I wanted was very possible within the budget I was looking at.

We visited a Sam Ash, and we agreed on what I was looking for. 10" powered speakers (i.e., small) and a medium-sized unpowered mixer. He recommended looking at Guitar Center's used gear website. I was excited when I got home, and got right on the GC site. I found what I thought we had talked about, e-mailed him the links, and got back the response that yes, that's exactly the kind of gear he'd recommend. So I clicked the mouse a few times, then waited for the UPS guy.

Here's a pic of my basement setup now. The two speakers are on stands. The mixer is on the table at left. I already had a decent-quality mic, at center. Also in the pic (on the floor) are stereo speakers (not hooked up, and no plans to hook them up here - they just happen to be there), my guitar amp, a bass amp, and my acoustic #2 (with the soundhole pickup in.)

I couldn't be more thrilled. It sounds fantastic, it's everything I hoped it would be - and it's just plain cool as hell. I don't know everything about the subtleties of my mixer, but I do understand the basics.

To Darling Wife's question of "is this necessary?", the answer is "absolutely not." This is a shiny toy, not a necessity. But it *will* get used. It's already being used. DW and I have been invited to an open mic/jam on Saturday, and we rehearsed three songs on the PA last night - I put my Martin through the PA, and she sang. It sounded fantastic.

Will we actually perform as a duo in front of real live people (granted, a small group of friends)? Stay tuned to find out.