Hi folks,

I'm new on here & relatively new to running a PA since our old keyboard player departed, who did it all.

I'm looking for advice on the best way to hook up what I've got & what gear I should be getting next.
I'm the guitarist in an 60s soul band, (3 vox, 3horns, guitar, bass, organ, 2 drum mics-bass & snare)... I'm running the desk from onstage.

We've got a mixed bag of s/h gear, either inherited or bought cheaply...

Soundcraft Powerstation 600- 8mic inputs + 2stereo (I'm looking for a 16 mic input mixer) we're always a channel or two short on bigger gigs and the horns end up sharing a mic.
Behringer dual compressor(not used at the mo)
Yamaha P5000S amp
2x JBL TR125 8ohm
1x Yamaha SW115V subwoofer 8ohm.
2x Laney powered monitors.

Currently I run out of the desk, left post eq output, panning everything to left?(Or should I leave it centre?) The desk has an intermittent fault on right power amp, hence bypassing it completely.
Into the amp switched to parallel, using channel A output(lowcut 90hz) to the linked JBLs & chanB output(subwoofer 90Hz)to the sub.

It seems okay but I'm sure there must be a better way?

Is it safe to run with both amp channels on full or should I be knocking back a bit on the JBLs? The JBLs are getting 750watts at 4ohms and the single sub 525w at 8ohms.

I've learnt a lot from this forum but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Virgil

Hi, Virgil.

Spray a little switch cleaner into the (mix) insert points on the Power Station and see if this has an effect on the intermittent fault.

If that solves the problem then the Mono/Sub out can feed one side of the amp to drive the sub (I read there's a crossover on the sub so that'll take care of filtering duty).

If it doesn't solve it then there's another way to creatively rewire the system but it'll need time, coffee and pen and paper before I commit myself.

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Ohm's Law states, "Your PA isn't as powerful as you think it is".

Hi Shufflebeat,

Thanks for the tip.

Just tried it and as sod's law would have it both the internal amp outputs are working fine today, but I see what you mean about the mix insert cutting the signal, so hopefully that's cured it.

I think I'll still need to bypass the internal amp when using the bass bin, cos I'd want to filter the lows out of the top cabs.

Any thoughts on the P5000S amp volume setting?

The JBL TR125 cabs are quoted as 225watts rms at 8ohms, 900w peak, so when parallel linked do they handle 450w at 4ohms?
If that's correct, I'm presuming sending 750watts to them is OK by the x1.5-2 rule?

But is the Yamaha sub getting enough power?
525watts at 8ohms into a quoted,
NOISE: 250W, PGM: 500W, MAX 1000W
or should I add another amp?


Virgil

From the Yamaha website - http://www.yamahaproaudio.com/products/power_amps/p7000s/index.html

"If you want the perfect power amplifier for pair of Club S115s with a 500-watt program rating, for example, the P5000S with 500-watts per channel into 8 ohms is the obvious choice." Seems pretty conclusive.

There is a useful discussion here:

http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=805956& page=2&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1#805956

...which might inform your choices. It seems a pity not to use the built in power amps if they're working. Keep the tops stereo and sum the bass (I doubt if you'd notice the difference, I didn't).

--------------------
Ohm's Law states, "Your PA isn't as powerful as you think it is".

Thanks again, Shufflebeat.

I'll look out for a decent s/h crossover & give it a whirl.