Bass Amp as a PA?

[ack1961]

Hey all,
My son's band has a gig this Sat night at a small club. I found out last night that the club does not have a PA.
I don't know much about live sound, so I thought I'd ask some rudimentary questions on LBO just to get them through the night.

I don't own a PA per se, but I do have a spare Peavey Mark VIII (600 W) bass amp and two 15" Eminence loaded cabinets that I'm guessing that I can use as Mains (1/4" speaker cable inputs).

I have mics, cables and stands for vocals.
I was thinking that I can run the 3 vocal mics (XLR) into a small mixer (I have a 12-channel Samson passive mixer) and run the output (XLR to 1/4" converted) into the bass amp Input, and then out to the Mains (1/4" speaker).

I don't have stands for the Mains, but I was thinking about putting the Mains on amplifier kickback stands for that night.

I'd imagine that I can dork with EQ on the Mark VIII to get the vocals decent and the band will play through their backline - I'll leave the drums un-mic'd.

The club is decent size (probably 45,000 sq. ft.) and will hold about 200 people, (I'm expecting about 100 people to be there) although they will be spread out amongst pool tables and fixed eating booths.  The kids will be playing classisc rock (yeah!!) and some originals.  They have 2 guitarists playing through a Vox 120 Valvetronix and a Fender Mustang IV amp.  The bassist will probably use a TNT130 combo or a Peavey Pro500 w/ 115 & 210. The drummer (my youngest) is pretty loud, so I'm hoping to not have to mic him at all - unless suggested to do so.

Does anyone see an issue with what I'm planning here? I only have a few days to come up with a solution for the kids (other than buying a PA system), which still leaves me not really knowing what I'm doing.  When I step away from the situation, it seems pretty simple and my equipment will do the trick, but I'll take all the advice I can get from you guys.

Thanks,
Steve

[Pilgrim]

I don't know of any reason it won't work...sounds like something I'd come up with myself.  Of course, you need to be careful mic positioning to avoid feedback.  You might want to test the mixer output to make sure the impedance is compatible with the input on the amp head. 

In fact....I'd try a low volume test run at home just to make sure my assumptions about the system are proven.

I have a little saying..."I assume that it works when I have personally laid hands on it and made it work."

[lowend1]

Yeah, just watch the impedance matching. What about monitors? Are the 1x15s PA or bass cabs?
You could always rent a PA for the evening...

[uwe]

If that Peavey cab just has 15"ers (no horns or piezos), you'll have a hell of a time eq'ing the vocals - they need mids (to be audible) and treble/presence (to sound nice and silky).                                   

[Pilgrim]

If that Peavey cab just has 15"ers (no horns or piezos), you'll have a hell of a time eq'ing the vocals - they need mids (to be audible) and treble/presence (to sound nice and silky).                                   

Yes, it may be a bit on the "non-treble" side.....but as the OP said, messing with the EQ will be required.

[clankenstein]

if the amp has an fx return or power amp input you might get a less coloured sound plugging the mixer in there.

[godofthunder]

 I would hire a sound Co. They will do it right less stress and better sound all the way around.

[ack1961]

Thanks all for the replies - got busy at work and couldn't reply until now.
The Mains I'll be using each are 8 ohm Eminence speakers with a tweeter and a horn. They're not Peavey - only the head is a Peavey, but they match up well with the head. I have 1 powered monitor that I can use as a wedge to bring the vocals back to the lead singer/guitar player.

I'd love to hire someone to do this, but my kids will have none of that - they think I can do this (kids these days, huh?).

It should be interesting to say the least. Finally, I can say "don't shoot the sound guy"

[uwe]

If there is a piezo and a horn you'll do just fine. Back in the old days everyone used the EV Eliminator cabs with a 15" speaker, a (not very good and prone to fall out) horn and two piezos I believe. They were a bit thin on the mids - adding a 12" mid bin helped for audibility of sung lyrics I remember -, but you could sure work with them.

[rahock]

If you've got a tweeter and horn it should work. You'll need some time for EQing and a little echo would help to keep it crisp.
Rick

[ack1961]

Thanks for all the help on this one guys and gals.
The kids played their show last night, even though it snowed (a rare snowfall for Raleigh) all day long.
Luckily, it stopped just around the time we needed to load up the truck and head out.

The bass amp worked OK as the PA amp and I ran 3 vocal mics through the two mains and monitors fed back to the lead singer and the drummer.
I was told that it sounded pretty good, with the occasional squeal. 
We did a run-through of their setlist upstairs early in the afternoon and they created a setlist annotating who was singing lead & backup for each song - that helped tremendously.  It ried to focus on boosting the mids and higher freqs for the vocals and it seemed to bring some clarity to the overall sound. The room has high/open/bare ceilings and it was boomy all night.
The turnout was light and the band's appearance was unadvertised.

On a side note, I found out after the show that the kids did not get paid. It was their first gig at the venue under the premise that they would be the regular (every other Sat night) house band.  I had briefly spoken to the club owner when he offered the gig to the kids - I had gone over to check the place out, try the food and introduce myself to him directly (since one of my kids is way under age (14) for a club, I usually like to meet the owner).  He seemed nice enough and I, as always, slnk into in the shadows - basically, I become a roadie/tech.  It seemed like my eldest son, Chris, mentioned to people to "tip their waiters/waitresses" about 8 times that night and thanked the venue for having them on.

Getting stiffed is no way to start a relationship and a sure fire way to piss me off (which is really hard to do). I went over there this morning after hockey (without showering, I might add) to see what was up. He had just opened, and I got a chance to sit down with him one-on-one.  According to him, last night's gig was an audition for the band to see how the fit would be.  I told him that I found it surprising that the kids would have been given an offer to be the house band without ever being heard by them and I told him that I would have auditioned a band as well - but, I would have made that point clear...and I told him that if I had a band there that had been practicing for 3 straight weeks on their set and had hauled in that weather and was getting zippo dollars for the gig, the least he could have done was throw a cheeseburger or a glass of water at them for the effort.

I know my kids, especially my oldest boy - he has an uncanny way to hear what he wants to hear when other people speak. I find it totally probable that last night's gig was a trial.  Knowing that going in wouldn't have changed the preparation, but would have grounded any financial expectations the kids (all 4 of them, not just my 2) had about this gig.

Another good lesson or two for the guys - clearly articulate what your giving to the venue and what you're expecting in return.  Verbal agreements should be clearly stated and understood by everyone.

On another side note - a portion of the room was rented out for a party by a pack of a-holes that were playing "cornhole" (the non-prison version), which is basically a beanbag toss game.  They decided that they would setup right to the side of the bass player and they were obnoxious.  I told the owner that he should have had them move to another side of the room.  These a-holes also blocked the direct exit path to the parking lot when we were loading out.  They had been drinking and cornholing way too much and I really, really wanted to throw 3 of them through a window.  I told the owner that in the future (if there is one with this venue), that that won't happen, and I expect him to be more proactive in managing the people.  all in all, we had a nice chat, and I'm really glad that I stopped by to clear up why they didn't get paid.  He agreed that he should have fed them and offered to have the band over anytime for a meal.

Like I needed all this - this parenting thing is overrated!

[Rob]

"They had been drinking and cornholing way too much and I really, really wanted to throw 3 of them through a window. "
Glab you qualified the prison thing   

[clankenstein]

Good on you for sorting that out.i wish we had had someone who had a clue around when we first started gigging

[ack1961]

"They had been drinking and cornholing way too much and I really, really wanted to throw 3 of them through a window. "
Glab you qualified the prison thing   

Right...had they been playing the prison version, I wouldn't have even thought about touching them.