One man band

[outlawten5]

Hope this is in the right place. I live in SW Florida and it is very popular to have a guy/girl sing and play guitar at outdoor restaurants and I am thinking of getting into it. I have a restaurant maint. business so I have an "in" at a lot of restaurants in the area. Most play a 4 hour set with a break in the middle. I have found a few sites that have backing tracks for drums and bass for a reasonable price but not sure how to make it all come together. What equipment I would need, microphone suggestions, how to patch the backing tracks through, etc... Any help is appreciated. Downside is I would have to learn a bunch of Jimmy Buffett songs but oh well.

[markD]

well, a nice PA is essential. not too loud, but loud enough to sound full. a good, fast up-to-date laptop to play your backing tracks is pretty crucial. a high-end computer DI, like something from radial, to connect the computer to the PA and keep it hum-free is important. a nice vocal mic (MANY choices - though I personally use a sennheiser E835) and a boom stand would be useful. I think that should get you started. as far as PA recommendations, just go to a musical instrument dealers website, like www.sweetwater.com or www.americanmusical.com and look at their options. Do a lot of reading, get out and talk to a few guys that do this about their gear, etc...

[outlawten5]

DI. Not familiar with that. Figured I could just run a usb to the mixer. Good to know. These are the little details I was looking for. Would a 4 or 6 channel mixer be sufficient? Figuring 1 channel for backing tracks, 1 for vocals, and 1 for guitar. I have heard powered speakers are the preferred route to a powered mixer. Does anyone use or recommend a vocal effects box? Specifically a pitch correcter?

[markD]

this product gets the cleanest signal from the computer to the PA: http://www.radialeng.com/r2011/proav.php I would think 2 channels for backing tracks so you can have stereo, one for your guitar, one for your vocal, and maybe one for an extra mic in case a hot chick wants to sing a song. powered speakers are a nice way to go. I wouldn't go less than a 15" woofer though, unless you want to add a sub. here is a page with a bunch of vocal processors. I can't recommend one, because I don't use any. http://www.americanmusical.com/ItemS...essor--srcin-1

[outlawten5]

Are you playing in Tampa this weekend? Call me. We'll cheer ya on. Andrew. 239-200-9625

[Hellbat]

I saw a 1 man band in the late 80's/early 90's. He played a keytar, sang, had midi drum pads on his feet/knees/chest, and also played taurus bass pedals. He played an AMAZING version of Back in Black. Ran his vocals through a guitar effect chain and played the solo by singing it.

He played a short 4 or 5 song set but nailed the covers he was doing. The crowd at the club was going mental because the guy was so good, and crazy active playing essentially 3 instruments and singing at the same time. I only ever saw the dude play the one time and can't remember his name for the life of me, but if they had a show like America's Got Talent back then this guy would have been a household name.

[AdRock]

I've been doing sound for around 15 years now. What are your expectations for this PA? How many people would you need to cover? And the most important question, WHAT'S YOUR BUDGET? I could easily help you put something nice together if you have a number you'd like to stay under. I will say that that budget should be at least 1k to 1.5k if you want quality.

[outlawten5]

Adrock thats about what I was expecting price wise. The venues are small outdoor restaurants. Say 50 people tops