[billbk]

I have a PC2. Am just getting back into playing in a band after the longest time. The PC2 sounds great through the headphones, and through a very nice powered speaker (Yorkville NX55P) - when I position the speaker 10' away from me. Unfortunately, sometimes a tight stage setup doesn't allow that & I have to have the speaker right next to me on the floor. Must be a something about the throw of the sound & where it materializes in space, because it sounds very muddy when it's that close. Assuming that the keyboard is also going through the monitor, what have people found to be a good setup/equipment to get a good quality sound right at MY ears, without having to blast them away? (other members of band tend to play pretty load)

[clif marsiglio]

What sounds good on a PC2? The same that that sounds good on a Casio or a Triton. Moving this to a non-PCxx Series area where there might be more help

[MoodyBluesKeys]

My gigging setup usually has a single QSC K10 about a foot off the floor on my right side behind me. Used mostly now with a PC3, but I also have a PC2. A number of people on Keyboard Corner have stated that it seems like the QSC K series carries sound without a lot of loss (meaning that projection is such that I can cover the audience without blasting myself). The band does get loud. I do have a pair of them, but don't usually carry both.

My PC2 (and a PC361) are at church. Direct feeds to the 36 channel A&H board, 4 monitor feeds coming back to band/vocalists. I have a JBL EON 15G2 set as a floor wedge aimed at me from my right side a bit in front of me. No trouble hearing. The other four monitors are Sampson wedges that belong to the church. If the WL gets into her high range (where she is about 10 db louder), the horn can overpower my ears easily, but I do need to be able to hear the mix, not just myself. Currently, everything except drums is running through monitors, with either very small amps or no amps on stage (bass and elec. guitar for tonal reasons).

Studio is a PC3X into the DAW, out of the DAW into a pair of EV SXA-100+ in stereo, about 4' off ground level.. While they are not studio monitors, they do sound good.

I do seem to get better sound when the amp/speaker combo has enough power that it doesn't have to work real hard. The EONs didn't sound good fed directly from the Kurzweils, but with a mixer in between (even when we used to have all our amps on stage, and I was using a little Tapco mixer) they cleaned up. I've been in electronic work for 5 decades, still can't explain it - but it worked that way. I also get better results using TRS balanced outputs.

[billbk]

MoodyBluesKeys, on 20 January 2012 - 11:11 AM, said:

My gigging setup usually has a single QSC K10 about a foot off the floor on my right side behind me. Used mostly now with a PC3, but I also have a PC2. A number of people on Keyboard Corner have stated that it seems like the QSC K series carries sound without a lot of loss (meaning that projection is such that I can cover the audience without blasting myself). The band does get loud. I do have a pair of them, but don't usually carry both.

My PC2 (and a PC361) are at church. Direct feeds to the 36 channel A&H board, 4 monitor feeds coming back to band/vocalists. I have a JBL EON 15G2 set as a floor wedge aimed at me from my right side a bit in front of me. No trouble hearing. The other four monitors are Sampson wedges that belong to the church. If the WL gets into her high range (where she is about 10 db louder), the horn can overpower my ears easily, but I do need to be able to hear the mix, not just myself. Currently, everything except drums is running through monitors, with either very small amps or no amps on stage (bass and elec. guitar for tonal reasons).

Studio is a PC3X into the DAW, out of the DAW into a pair of EV SXA-100+ in stereo, about 4' off ground level.. While they are not studio monitors, they do sound good.

I do seem to get better sound when the amp/speaker combo has enough power that it doesn't have to work real hard. The EONs didn't sound good fed directly from the Kurzweils, but with a mixer in between (even when we used to have all our amps on stage, and I was using a little Tapco mixer) they cleaned up. I've been in electronic work for 5 decades, still can't explain it - but it worked that way. I also get better results using TRS balanced outputs.

Thanks Cliff.

"the QSC K series carries sound without a lot of loss (meaning that projection is such that I can cover the audience without blasting myself"???.....so the QSC sounds good to YOU when it's that close? The yorkville sounds great at a distance, but up close too muddy....don't know if it's because it was designed to throw the sound further out? It has plenty of power (550 watts). Am even thinking of some kind of small studio monitors mounted on my stand just below the pc2 pointing up. Anything self powered, coming directly from the PC2(for either some kind of durable studio monitors, or amp) that will give me the clarity?

[MoodyBluesKeys]

I have not found any system that has identical cleanness if cranked up for some distance, and I'm 2 feet away. However, it seems that some systems are closer than others. Even though I've been in electronics for half a century, I'm not totally sure why - it probably does have to do with the "throw" of the system, I would think that the higher frequencies may have more to do with it.

The QSC's do not sound identical at 2 feet and 40 feet, but they seem closer than some of the other systems I have used and tried. My first powered PA wree some economy cabinets made for DJ work - they seem OK for vocal monitors, but have a big peak right where the woofer is resonant, and it makes that key on the bass section of the keyboard quite pronounced. So I no longer have that system. I have tried to buy based on the idea of scalability - smallest thing is a single 30 watt Roland CM-30 monitor with a 6.5" speaker, then a pair of K10's, a pair of EON 10G2 (bought before the QSC's - they sound OK, but run out of steam and start volume reduction in gigging, so I use them now at home monitoring a keyboard), a pair of 12" EV, and a pair of EON 15G2. I was gigging with the EV's - I still think 12" seems to be the best sound on keys; but I bought the K10's for gigging because they are smaller and lighter. I carry whatever is needed for wherever I'm playing, but try not to carry more than needed.

You might experiment with something mic stand mounted near your ear, like the little CM-30 - biggest problem in a loud band is hearing it even if it is close to you, then use your Yorktown cabs for the house. Probably going to require some experimenting. I do know that the general consensus on the Keyboard Corner forum is that the QSC's (in whichever size) and the EV ZXA seem to be most liked currently - at least in speakers low enough price and small enough without roadies. (If I had a bunch of roadies, and enough room on stage, I'd use the old 1950's Altec Voice of the Theater cabs, assuming I could still find one or two in good shape).

BTW, I'm not Clif (the admin of the site here), I'm Jim

[billbk]

MoodyBluesKeys, on 20 January 2012 - 03:28 PM, said:

I have not found any system that has identical cleanness if cranked up for some distance, and I'm 2 feet away. However, it seems that some systems are closer than others. Even though I've been in electronics for half a century, I'm not totally sure why - it probably does have to do with the "throw" of the system, I would think that the higher frequencies may have more to do with it.

The QSC's do not sound identical at 2 feet and 40 feet, but they seem closer than some of the other systems I have used and tried. My first powered PA wree some economy cabinets made for DJ work - they seem OK for vocal monitors, but have a big peak right where the woofer is resonant, and it makes that key on the bass section of the keyboard quite pronounced. So I no longer have that system. I have tried to buy based on the idea of scalability - smallest thing is a single 30 watt Roland CM-30 monitor with a 6.5" speaker, then a pair of K10's, a pair of EON 10G2 (bought before the QSC's - they sound OK, but run out of steam and start volume reduction in gigging, so I use them now at home monitoring a keyboard), a pair of 12" EV, and a pair of EON 15G2. I was gigging with the EV's - I still think 12" seems to be the best sound on keys; but I bought the K10's for gigging because they are smaller and lighter. I carry whatever is needed for wherever I'm playing, but try not to carry more than needed.

You might experiment with something mic stand mounted near your ear, like the little CM-30 - biggest problem in a loud band is hearing it even if it is close to you, then use your Yorktown cabs for the house. Probably going to require some experimenting. I do know that the general consensus on the Keyboard Corner forum is that the QSC's (in whichever size) and the EV ZXA seem to be most liked currently - at least in speakers low enough price and small enough without roadies. (If I had a bunch of roadies, and enough room on stage, I'd use the old 1950's Altec Voice of the Theater cabs, assuming I could still find one or two in good shape).

BTW, I'm not Clif (the admin of the site here), I'm Jim

Thanks Jim (I was thanking Cliff for moving my original post to this new location)