The band I am in will be doing an outdoor benefit concert for our school soon. We have a pretty good mixer and an amplifier that puts out 600 watts each side, so now we are trying to figure out what size speakers would be best to use to get the best volume. Right now we are looking at a couple 15" pole mounted speakers that take 600 watts. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Can you give an estimate of the size of the audience and the area they will occupy, and what sort of outdoor venue is involved - a large open space, or is it surrounded by trees or buildings?
I'm not going to advise technically, but answers to those questions will indicate the acoustics involved and the power needed.
If it is possible to get an awning erected over part of the audience area it can help to contain the sound better (and keep off the rain). Positioning of speakers and stage in relation to building walls etc are also crucial. I know nothing about the specifics of speakers themselves but I'm sure there will be someone here with more words of wisdom
Given the amplifier can output 600w, I would suggest you should strive for some overhead in terms of the power handling capacity of the speakers you connect. I think that an amp/speaker combination without adequate overhead is much more likely to either produce excessive distortion or inaccurate sound quality. Perhaps a speaker that is capable of around 1000w input is more suitable.
A lot depends on local conditions - wind and geography.
The wind can throw the sound around, and cause miking problems, and negate your best efforts, and nearby buildings can amplify, reflect or distort as well.
I agree that you should hjave some headroom - what do you normally put the amp through ? Also, I hope that you're under some sort of cover from the worst possible situation.
& temperature... I hope you aren't seriously planning to just use two 15" speakers. They will do fine for your low end, but your audience deserves more, and so does the music... At a minimum 2-way, 3 being better, and 4 is great if you've got the set up and know how... Running music through one speaker, which is essentially what it sound like above, is a sin and does not do justice to either end, giving or recieving... Two 12" with horns for your highs is better than two 15" speakers...
"LIVE" Sound ~ even better, as you really only need one bass cabinet, subwoofer, would be a bass cab and two 2-way satellites to handle mid and high... Here are some sites for pictures and ideas ~
Check out, just as an example Yamaha's Stage Pass 300...
I like Mackie's gear but have also enjoyed using JBL & EV & others, and have even made cabinets using TAD speakers, Pioneer's high end kit...
You don't raise the subwoofer, it remains floor based, the nature of low frequencies is that they easily get everywhere. It is the highs that must be high for spread, as they decay more quickly, being short waves, and they get absorbed by bodies, so over the heads ideally. Think of it as a firehose and you want the spray to reach the back of the crowd. In this case, for basic consideration, don't think of it arcing over their heads but fanning straight out from the speakers in an ever growing cone of spray / sound... For reasonable clarity, and that means the 'articulation' of the music that helps to define the beat, you need ideally at least 3-way, lows (subwoofer/woofer), mids and highs (tweeters)...
Best of luck, but don't just go for something because it is 15". Some damned good microphones are small or odd rather than impressively phallic...
Sound for outdoor concert
Sound for outdoor concert
Hello folks,
The band I am in will be doing an outdoor benefit concert for our school soon. We have a pretty good mixer and an amplifier that puts out 600 watts each side, so now we are trying to figure out what size speakers would be best to use to get the best volume. Right now we are looking at a couple 15" pole mounted speakers that take 600 watts. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
# Posted on May 17th 2007 by jimipiper
Re: Sound for outdoor concert
Can you give an estimate of the size of the audience and the area they will occupy, and what sort of outdoor venue is involved - a large open space, or is it surrounded by trees or buildings?
I'm not going to advise technically, but answers to those questions will indicate the acoustics involved and the power needed.
# Posted on May 17th 2007 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Sound for outdoor concert
Manufacturers often recommend speaker and mixer pairs - might want to start with the website of the company in question - then ignore it if you must
# Posted on May 17th 2007 by reenactor
Re: Sound for outdoor concert
If it is possible to get an awning erected over part of the audience area it can help to contain the sound better (and keep off the rain). Positioning of speakers and stage in relation to building walls etc are also crucial. I know nothing about the specifics of speakers themselves but I'm sure there will be someone here with more words of wisdom
# Posted on May 17th 2007 by Donough
Re: Sound for outdoor concert
We are hoping to get about 200 or 250 people.
# Posted on May 17th 2007 by jimipiper
Re: Sound for outdoor concert
Given the amplifier can output 600w, I would suggest you should strive for some overhead in terms of the power handling capacity of the speakers you connect. I think that an amp/speaker combination without adequate overhead is much more likely to either produce excessive distortion or inaccurate sound quality. Perhaps a speaker that is capable of around 1000w input is more suitable.
# Posted on May 18th 2007 by snapper
Re: Sound for outdoor concert
A lot depends on local conditions - wind and geography.
The wind can throw the sound around, and cause miking problems, and negate your best efforts, and nearby buildings can amplify, reflect or distort as well.
I agree that you should hjave some headroom - what do you normally put the amp through ? Also, I hope that you're under some sort of cover from the worst possible situation.
# Posted on May 18th 2007 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Sound for outdoor concert
& temperature... I hope you aren't seriously planning to just use two 15" speakers. They will do fine for your low end, but your audience deserves more, and so does the music... At a minimum 2-way, 3 being better, and 4 is great if you've got the set up and know how... Running music through one speaker, which is essentially what it sound like above, is a sin and does not do justice to either end, giving or recieving... Two 12" with horns for your highs is better than two 15" speakers...
# Posted on May 18th 2007 by ceolachan
Unless you are fond of muddy sound, which can cover up a load of musical sins, if not in a nice way...
# Posted on May 18th 2007 by ceolachan
"LIVE" Sound ~ even better, as you really only need one bass cabinet, subwoofer, would be a bass cab and two 2-way satellites to handle mid and high... Here are some sites for pictures and ideas ~
http://www.mackie.com/
http://www.jblpro.com/
http://www.electrovoice.com/index.php
http://www.wharfedalepro.com/
http://www.peavey.com/flashHome.cfm
Check out, just as an example Yamaha's Stage Pass 300...
I like Mackie's gear but have also enjoyed using JBL & EV & others, and have even made cabinets using TAD speakers, Pioneer's high end kit...
You don't raise the subwoofer, it remains floor based, the nature of low frequencies is that they easily get everywhere. It is the highs that must be high for spread, as they decay more quickly, being short waves, and they get absorbed by bodies, so over the heads ideally. Think of it as a firehose and you want the spray to reach the back of the crowd. In this case, for basic consideration, don't think of it arcing over their heads but fanning straight out from the speakers in an ever growing cone of spray / sound... For reasonable clarity, and that means the 'articulation' of the music that helps to define the beat, you need ideally at least 3-way, lows (subwoofer/woofer), mids and highs (tweeters)...
Best of luck, but don't just go for something because it is 15". Some damned good microphones are small or odd rather than impressively phallic...
# Posted on May 18th 2007 by ceolachan