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[Martin Morris]

Quote from: Nathan Riddle on August 13, 2019, 04:53:03 pm
    Art Welter's custom monitors (smaller and sound better than K12's)Martin,

Sorry, no build link, and Nathan owns the only four built in 2012. The plywood horns were a lot of work!
They use Eminence Alpha 8" and PSD 2002 HF drivers, some "leftovers" dating back to before the turn of the century.
Cute little things, but for really small DIY monitors I'd suggest using higher power 8" or 10" co-axial drivers.

Art

Thanks Art, being a devout follower of your shenanigans I never saw this design.  In the context of this thread, they look perfect for a small/lightweight setup.

Cheers
Martin

[Scott Holtzman]

+1 on using RCF NX12SMA's for both mains and monitors! Great speakers and pretty compact. Choose your sub du jour. Obviously a 16 channel digital option for a mixer. Lastly is cables, and those can fit in a couple of pelican style cases.

I have a 2001 Chevy S10 extended cab ( third door with a fold-down seat in the cab ) and I can fit 2 x JBL SRX 812's, 2 x JBL SRX 818's, a 16 space rolling rack, a rolling case with doghouse for a 16 channel digital mixer, 8 x RCF NX12SMA's, 4 x 16" pelican cases, 2 x 18" pelican cases, 3 mic cases and all my stands and loose power cables!!!!! Not one square inch of space is left and I have to drop the gate, but it all fits.

Full disclosure, I rent a trailer whenever I can. Will all that fit in an SUV? I think you can get a basic rig to fit without too much issue. I used to fit 2 X dual 15" speakers, 2 x monitors, an amp rack, a 16 channel mixer and all my mics, cables and stands into a, wait for it....... Chevy Cavalier!

Luke I use to think trailers were the bee's knees I could use my personal vehicle when we were out of vans.

However,  parking and loading logistics are not worth it.   Bigger trailers are worse.  The other night a band with a 20 footer I think took 20 minutes to back it into the venue bay (old downtown hotel) then another 10 to get close to the dock.  Of course there shit wasn't cased up so instead of a moderate push up a long ramp they handed all their gear up to the dock.  Wr were next to it in out not dock height bkx truck with a ramp and I felt bad for them.

The wear and tear on a personal vehicle is not worth it.  My first van was a $800 Chevy venture.  3 years and 70k miles, brakes I did myself, tires, battery and a water pump were all I had to do.   So much easier in a flat floor van.

[Brian Jojade]

Luke I use to think trailers were the bee's knees I could use my personal vehicle when we were out of vans.

However,  parking and loading logistics are not worth it.   Bigger trailers are worse.  The other night a band with a 20 footer I think took 20 minutes to back it into the venue bay (old downtown hotel) then another 10 to get close to the dock.  Of course there shit wasn't cased up so instead of a moderate push up a long ramp they handed all their gear up to the dock.  Wr were next to it in out not dock height bkx truck with a ramp and I felt bad for them.

The wear and tear on a personal vehicle is not worth it.  My first van was a $800 Chevy venture.  3 years and 70k miles, brakes I did myself, tires, battery and a water pump were all I had to do.   So much easier in a flat floor van.

Agreed!  I used to trailer and after the expense of burned transmission and other wear and tear, that practice is no more.  Instead of finding compact gear that I can cram into some tiny vehicle - that undoubtedly will need to be lifted there, I now just use old vans that you can get super cheap.  My current one cost me less than $1000.  Everything in road cases that can ramp up into the van.  Load in and load out is SO much faster that way.  I can be in and out of a loading dock in 10 minutes.  Venues love that.

So, now instead of trying to find the smallest possible gear, finding the most modular sized gear is what's important to me.  If I could find subs that matched the pack width of my standard 19" racks, that would make me one happy camper!

[Tim McCulloch]

Agreed!  I used to trailer and after the expense of burned transmission and other wear and tear, that practice is no more.  Instead of finding compact gear that I can cram into some tiny vehicle - that undoubtedly will need to be lifted there, I now just use old vans that you can get super cheap.  My current one cost me less than $1000.  Everything in road cases that can ramp up into the van.  Load in and load out is SO much faster that way.  I can be in and out of a loading dock in 10 minutes.  Venues love that.

So, now instead of trying to find the smallest possible gear, finding the most modular sized gear is what's important to me.  If I could find subs that matched the pack width of my standard 19" racks, that would make me one happy camper!

My first PA vehicle was a Ford EconoLemon.  The citrus experience was mostly my fault as a young guy with more aspirations that $$ after I spent on PA... I was really good about overloading (hey, there's still some air space in there!).  As a result of putting 10 lbs of stuff in a 5 lbs bag, I got good at swapping rear axles/differentials while the van was held up by the wrecker...

These days I do zero of my own automotive repairs.  I think I had an amateur's lifetime of that 30 years ago.

[Scott Holtzman]

Agreed!  I used to trailer and after the expense of burned transmission and other wear and tear, that practice is no more.  Instead of finding compact gear that I can cram into some tiny vehicle - that undoubtedly will need to be lifted there, I now just use old vans that you can get super cheap.  My current one cost me less than $1000.  Everything in road cases that can ramp up into the van.  Load in and load out is SO much faster that way.  I can be in and out of a loading dock in 10 minutes.  Venues love that.

So, now instead of trying to find the smallest possible gear, finding the most modular sized gear is what's important to me.  If I could find subs that matched the pack width of my standard 19" racks, that would make me one happy camper!

Everyone focuses on light and small but you are right, the key is everything in cases, nothing lose.  Small speakers ride on cases.  Bigger speakers get wheelboards.

Long ramps are your friend too.  Then you can do it by yourself.  I am still a little too broken down to do it fast enough by myself but I swear next summer I am losing this weight and getting in shape. 

[Steve M Smith]

the key is everything in cases, nothing lose.

Absolutely.  Earlier this year, I converted an old amp rack case into a road case.  Turned it through 90 degrees and put the wheels on what was once the front or back.
Everything which isn't a speaker, mixer or mic stand goes in it.  For my little system for folk/acoustic events (subs, tops, two monitors) I have just eight things to load/unload.
And when this case is emptied, the lid goes back on and the mixer sits on top.


Steve.

[Luke Geis]

My S10 makes nothing but $$$$ for me!!!! I currently have 200,500 miles on it and it has been my fleet vehicle since 2004 when it had 12,700 miles when I got it. It can haul an impressive amount of gear. Trailering for me is usually scoped out first of course. Most hotel venues in my area can't handle an 8 piece band and the associated equipment desired by them. But seeing as how I can get 8 monitors, 2 mains, 2 subs, a full size rack, and a 16 channel mixer case and all the peripherals into this thing is nothing short of crazy, yet amazing. Not fun either really. Using a trailer when applicable, which for most of my gigs it can be accommodated, is nice. While having a Van or other larger vehicle would be preferable, the S10 for me pulls double duty as my transport vehicle for me to go to my Freelance gigs. It gets me from Santa Barbara to LA quite often. I do a couple of gigs monthly in San Diego too where I travel using the S10. So This keeps me from needing 2 vehicles.

Keep in mind it doesn't rain much in Cali, so the weather isn't usually a factor for me, and again a trailer isn't hard to get. I still feel a pickup truck at the small scale is the best utilitarian vehicle to have.

[Will Knight]

Honda “Haul-a-Matic” (Odyssey) here!  It’s been one heck of a workhorse, purchased new in 2010 and only changed tires, brakes, Oil (Trans & Engine) and Power Steerng Pump (Mfgr recall item). 

Before becoming a 1-man SoundCo, used it to haul 8-10 Taiko Drums for our Japanese Taiko Drum group - as well as out-of-town family members who needed that typical NYC siteseeing thingy.

Today, I can get 3 PRX718XLF’s, 2 PRX712’s, 4 PRX612’s (For Monitors f necessary),  Stands (Speaker/Light/Mic), Blizzard Lights, UI24 (or SI Desk), Cabling, Mic Case, Wireless Rack, Tool box and foldable ramp with room to spare.  Everything is on wheels so roll in / roll out is quick.......relatively speaking...

[Barry Reynolds]

Honda “Haul-a-Matic” (Odyssey) here!  It’s been one heck of a workhorse, purchased new in 2010 and only changed tires, brakes, Oil (Trans & Engine) and Power Steerng Pump (Mfgr recall item). 

My Odyssey is 2003 with 190K miles.  16 years of wedding/corporate use, hauling Srx700 system tops and subs, amp rack, mics, two keyboards, etc.  Breakdowns could be catastrophic for a wedding date!  So I have pumped $ into it’s smooth running, including new transmission, but I don’t repair external big dents, and it looks like a beat to death trash vehicle that can’t possibly have anything of value in it. 

Wheelchair ramp is the best piece of gear I’ve ever purchased.

The thing about Odyssey (and I bet other brands) is that the more recent models have added comfort and seating convenience at the cost of reduced cargo capacity.  Just something to be aware of.

To me, Minivans seem like a different class of vehicle from what most people regard as a SUV.  But for PA and keyboard rig in one vehicle (!), minivan looks like the minimum. YMMV.

Looking at a variety of SUVs, I notice that the rear or side entrances are often not tall enough to load a 12U rack on casters.  I keep on thinking I’ll move to smaller modular racks with Ethernet interconnects, but, I keep returning to the 12-space on wheels.

[Steve M Smith]

I have never understood SUV.  What sport can you play in a car?  Same with sports jackets!


Steve.

[ProSoundWeb Community]