Diamond in the rough...a big one

[forhim]

I play in a worship rock band and we switch off between acoustic stuff for bible studies to full on drums, cabs and such for "plugged in" worship sessions. 

I use a Fishman Loudbox performer 130w and it's pretty much blown away by the drum kit, the fender showman running through a Mesa 4x12 cab and an ampeg bass head running though an 8x10 cab...the Fishman sounds great but without cranking the gain, the master volume is always pegged.

Was doing a search on local Craigslist and found a Fishman Loudbox pro...600w!!  I really didn't attempt to find one of these in the beginning because of their cost and I also didn't know the the 130w would struggle.

So anyway, for $XXX I feel quite blessed to pick up this 600w that is in excellent condition.  I really dig these Fishman amps and, despite the 77lbs, am really looking forward to it.

www.purevolume.com/withallourmight

[michaelw]

i was wondering if y'all are running thru a PA ('the house') with mains,
subs & monitors or, if each instrument has a separate amp/cab/combo -

i used to help run sound at the church i intended & did so for a few others &
i found that i would have to bring the rest of mix up to keep the drums from
overrunning everything (even with a cage), as the room was very small

another time, we had a bass player that insisted on leaving his level at '11' -
i had to take him completely out of the mains & tried to 'mix around' him, but
unfortunately there was nothing that could be done about the stage level ...
in-ears & direct outs help, if possible ($, i know), but 'ya gotta make do'

on tube amps that had no out, we would use a shield, mic the cab & have it
pointed in the player's general direction (sometimes it was off the platform)

600 watts & 77lb

wow

i hope everything works out well for you
who says the acoustic guy has the easiest load-in/out (heh)

[jalbert]

Those 600's are pretty rare. They've been discontinued. I've only ever seen one in person, and never had the chance to play through one. I'm sure it's loud! Congratulations.

[InsideOut]

i was wondering if y'all are running thru a PA ('the house') with mains,
subs & monitors or, if each instrument has a separate amp/cab/combo -

i used to help run sound at the church i intended & did so for a few others &
i found that i would have to bring the rest of mix up to keep the drums from
overrunning everything (even with a cage), as the room was very small

another time, we had a bass player that insisted on leaving his level at '11' -
i had to take him completely out of the mains & tried to 'mix around' him, but
unfortunately there was nothing that could be done about the stage level ...
in-ears & direct outs help, if possible ($, i know), but 'ya gotta make do'

on tube amps that had no out, we would use a shield, mic the cab & have it
pointed in the player's general direction (sometimes it was off the platform)

600 watts & 77lb

wow

i hope everything works out well for you
who says the acoustic guy has the easiest load-in/out (heh)

This is why I am a fan of electronic drums and amp modeling.  I know the musician thinks they need to be loud to get the feel that inspires them, but it is so much easier to get a good mix with everything going direct to the board.  Sure the individual instruments may not sound as good, but when you put them all together, it is much more enjoyable for those listening and running the sound.

Drums are a pain to balance, but it sounds like you will have the volume to keep up.

[michaelw]

i hear ya, especially about the drums -
the last church i was at used 8 channels/mics (what)
with everything so cramped in & the bleed-over,
4 or 3 would have been more than enough (imho)

i'll admit there is a 'feel' to it when a electric guitarist/bassist has their all-tube,
full-stack rig on the platform & i don't believe there is an electronic kit that quite
emulates the feel of an acoustic set, but in-ears & mic'g a very small tube amp
(behind plexi or off-stage) goes a long way to keep the stage level 'controllable'

the difficult thing is to get the worship team to believe the sound person
when they say 'it sounds good in the house', as they aren't hearing post-EQ
in the monitor mix - avioms or hearbacks (again $) give them control of their mix,
because often times what they think sounds good or how they want it to sound
does not sound the same (i.e. 'good') to the people that are attending service

[DMBfan41]

I run my guitar through a Fender Acoustasonic amp.  The amp has a line out which I run to the stage snake so this allows me to use the amp as a monitor.

Our sound man, fortunately, is a bright individual that is totally in touch with what each of us needs and what the congregation hears and adjusts accordingly.

A lot of folks I know that play in church don't have the same options I have.  One thing for certain: When you get into a sound war with each other on stage it can be a mess and nobody really wins.

[forhim]

Thankfully, there is no sound war at church...amps, if used are mic'ed off stage in iso cabs and in ear monitor mixes feed each person on stage.  We have two stage fill speakers (15s with horns) and our drummer has a personal wedge.  Stage volume is only high enough to fill in the gaps because our flown speaker system is about 15 feet high and a good 15 feet in front of the stage. 

At church I run through a Venue DI straight into the board.  BTW, we are running two presonus digital boards and work great.

The amp is mostly for my personal worship band.  Even then though we take everything very seriously and there have never been any volume wars that we've had to deal with.

[Iplay2]

This is why I am a fan of electronic drums and amp modeling. 
Drums are a pain to balance, but it sounds like you will have the volume to keep up.

Coming from at 20+ year drummer: I HATE electronic drums...they are even worse than electric guitars.    They take all the feel, and most of the joy out of playing drums (I played drums in church for 10 years and do understand your point though).  I like to feel the different tensions and response from the drum heads, along with the ring of the cymbals when I play.  Electronic drums give you nothing but a rubber thump.