[Shannon Curtis]

If you've read the house concert book, you've already read about the basic PA that we've been using for all my house concerts. For those who haven't read it yet, here's the link to the page on my website that describes it all in detail - all the specific gear we use as well as an extremely detailed description of how to use this little setup, courtesy of Jamie. Seriously, even if you're not at all technically inclined, this guide will help you set up a great-sounding pint-sized PA that really gets the job done. 

http://shannoncurtis.net/houseconcerts/t...ss-system/

[jadams828]

That system must be an absolute joy to use. My four-man acoustic army is still trying to figure out an amplification setup that makes sense in a small room. We have at least eight inputs, and our instruments combined might overload a PA of that size...

Does anyone with a larger setup have any tips on what to use? Or should a four-man circus like us just suck it up and break our backs going bigger? 

[jamie]

That system must be an absolute joy to use. My four-man acoustic army is still trying to figure out an amplification setup that makes sense in a small room. We have at least eight inputs, and our instruments combined might overload a PA of that size...

Does anyone with a larger setup have any tips on what to use? Or should a four-man circus like us just suck it up and break our backs going bigger? 

I would imagine that a logical step up for a group of your size would be a mixer with built-in effects, and a couple of powered speakers with enough juice to handle a medium-sized room without straining.

For the mixer I'd probably be looking at something like this: Mackie ProFX16 Compact 4-Bus Mixer with USB & Effects

And for the powered speakers I'd probably be looking at something like this: (2) Mackie SRM450V3 12" Active/Powered DJ/PA Speakers + Pair Rockville RVSS2-XLR Heavy Duty PA Speaker Stands + (2) 20' XLR Cables + Carrying Case

[LaraJai]

I noticed in some of your photos, Shannon, it looks like your PA is behind you on a stand. Is that right? If so, how are you not getting feedback? Is it just high enough to go over you?

I've got a genz benz Shanendoah 150LT that sounds gorgeous with my harp. I would love to put it behind me (rather than to the side and ahead, like I usually do) but have been concerned about feedback. Any suggestions? (I use a countryman wireless headset mic)

(Awesome tech article, BTW, Jamie. It was a huge help to my husband-roadie.

[jamie]

I noticed in some of your photos, Shannon, it looks like your PA is behind you on a stand. Is that right? If so, how are you not getting feedback? Is it just high enough to go over you?

I've got a genz benz Shanendoah 150LT that sounds gorgeous with my harp. I would love to put it behind me (rather than to the side and ahead, like I usually do) but have been concerned about feedback. Any suggestions? (I use a countryman wireless headset mic)

(Awesome tech article, BTW, Jamie. It was a huge help to my husband-roadie.

LaraJai, hi, and thank you! Super glad you got some value out of that.

A speaker being situated behind the thing it's amplifying doesn't have to automatically be a recipe for feedback. You just have to make sure you gain-stage things properly. This is technical jargon for "make sure you're using volume in a sensible way."

To put it a different way: don't over-preamplify your channel input and then turn it back down at the master output stage. As a dramatic over-generalization, it's good practice to be running your channel input somewhere between 40% and 60%, and then using the master volume to put the instrument at the right level for the room. That's a very reductive thing to say, and it's not infallible, but it's a reasonable starting point.

What you want not to to is to have your channel input at like 90% and your master output at like 20%. That's a for-sure recipe for feedback. Similarly, having your channel input at 20% and your master out at 90% will probably cause problems. Amplification stages get "grabby" at a certain point, and that's when you'll run into trouble. Having both the channel volume and the master volume doing some of the work is ideal.

Shannon's PA sits on her keyboard's hard case, which puts it about a foot off the ground. You can see it better in some pictures here: http://shannoncurtis.net/houseconcerts/pics/  The little Mackie speaker that we use sits naturally at a bit of an upward angle, which helps project the sound up and out. We angle it inward so that it's aiming at Shannon's back, which helps her hear what she's doing. I would recommend you experiment with doing the same thing with your amp. Put it a few feet behind you and put it on a milk crate or box or something so that it's off the ground a bit (which will make it sound better in general; when an amp is on the floor it couples with that surface and transmits low frequencies in a structural way, which can make things get muddy).

You'll probably be surprised at how loud you can turn up your amp before it feeds back. Your pickup will absolutely play a part in this equation; if possible, put the amp in the null of the pickup. (Every microphone has a "pickup pattern," which defines from where it pulls sound - read here for more info https://www.google.com/webhp?q=mic%20pic...p+patterns)  What this basically means is that, as much as possible, you should be putting your amp in a place where the pickup won't be picking up the sound it's putting out. Perhaps angling your pickup differently will help. If you look up your pickup online, you should be able to find a polar plot of its pickup pattern, which should be instructional in helping you figure out how to position it on your instrument in a way that works harmoniously with your amp placement.

Shannon uses a Shure SM58 microphone, and as you can see in her live pics she angles it upward somewhat, so that the side of it is aiming at the little Mackie. Because an SM58 has a cardioid pickup pattern, which rejects most information from the side of the mic, this minimizes the amount of sound that the mic picks up from the speaker. You should endeavor to get a similar type of relationship going between your harp pickup and your amp.

A lot of live sound is about minute changes in how things are positioned. If you experiment, you'll figure out a good way to position your speaker so that both you and your audience hear what you need to hear, in a non-feedback-y way. Let me know if you have follow-up questions. Good luck!

[johnsparks]

We are using a Bose L1 (original spec) sitting immediately behind us. It has very wide (180 degrees) dispersion and no feedback. We have used it as our stage monitor with two QSC full range units out the front at gigs of all sizes, so we are used to it being there. It also has a really great, natural sound.

We normally use a hefty Allen and Heath mixer but I have purchased a tiny 8 Channel mixer from Maplin with built in Alesis effects. £99.

With regards to effects, we use them as an "instrument" - individual to each song. Some are pretty dry, some reverbed, some have delay dipping in at certain places. We do have the luxury of me being the sound guy as well as occasional muso. Hey, if you are the artist, get your partner to train up as a sound guy/girl.

If I was a solo artist I would get a unit I could work with a foot pedal and preset each song.

[LaraJai]

Jamie,

Thanks for that in-depth explanation! My pickup in the harp is fixed and runs the length of the sound board to pick up all strings, so I can't shift it, but I can, and do usually, have it at an angle. It sounds like just having it off-angle to the amp is the important thing. My mic is an omni- but it's a headset that I wear on the left side with the harp angled to the right, so...my body should be shielding it?? (This gets a wee bit tricky because the harp and I move a LOT when I perform, too...) 

 I'll mess around with it a bunch at home and figure out what works.
Thanks again!! 
Lara

[dcdmollie]

We finally did it!  We purchased our tiny PA!

We first heard Shannon on CD Baby's DIY Musician Podcast back in June, 2014.  Then, last January, after hauling our mammoth PA to back-to-back shows, we decided it was time to significantly improve our gigging experience.

Today, we used the links on her website, which took us directly to the best prices on Amazon; and since everything is Amazon Prime, we're expecting our new baby in just two days!

Thank you, Shannon and Jamie, for being so generous with your knowledge and experience!

Mollie and Emily
www.douglascountydaughters.com

[Shannon Curtis]

Thank you, Shannon and Jamie, for being so generous with your knowledge and experience!

Yeah!!! Right on, ladies! 

[jamie]

We finally did it!  We purchased our tiny PA!

That's great, you two! Let me know if you have any more specific questions as you get it set up, I'd be happy to help.