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Post subject: I need help choosing
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 7:58 pm
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Hey there, I do small, Free, senior center center shows, I play MP3's as backing and sing, using a PA. Also use my Guitar through it's own guitar amp. I had a Peavey Escort 3000, I had to add a Sub to it,because it had No Bass response at all!!Very hard to move around also!! Can anyone here recommend a Fender PA? I see the Passports, but am not sure that it would produce the bass sounds respectfully enough for me. And the audience size would be less than 100 people, And needs to be easily carried! Thanks so much for your advice! Mark

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Post subject: Re: I need help choosing
Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2013 7:27 pm
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All of the Fender Passports are easy to carry. The 300 and 500 Pro units each weigh 44 pounds, and the handles are very fat and round with no sharp edges, so they are easy on the hands. There's storage for speaker wires and power cord in the unit, which includes two speakers and the powered mixer. The sound you get will be much better than just a guitar amp.

If you are concerned about bass, the 500 has more power and bigger woofers (10" for the 500, 8" for the 300). The 500 should be fine for the bass sound of a guitar. It becomes less impressive for the sound of an electric bass guitar, or a bass synthesizer. That's when you start needing a subwoofer. You didn't mention whether your guitar was acoustic or electric, or if you had an octavizer or other effect that generates lower notes than the low E of the guitar.

A subwoofer is not really for low-sounding notes. A subwoofer is for the bass notes you feel more than you hear. It's for the thump. You can put your hand a couple feet away from a subwoofer and feel the air move. Subwoofers really need speakers 12"-18" in diameter to move that much air. The 10" woofer of the Passport 500 will almost do it, but not quite.

When I provide sound for a DJ playing house music, I use a Passport 500, linked into a Passport 300 and a 400 watt subwoofer. That's 1200 watts, and it's loud.

For acoustic music, I never use the subwoofer. It's big, heavy, and for acoustic music, it's not really doing much, unless there's an acoustic bass or a drummer who likes to feature the bass drum.

You probably have all the gear you need except for the Passport and a pair of speaker stands and a carrying bag. If you are particularly concerned about the bass and you already have a subwoofer that you like, then the Passport 300 + the subwoofer would probably do the trick. It doesn't sound like you'll need more than 4 mic inputs, plus two 1/4" channels, each of which can take either mono or stereo inputs. That's the 300. The 500 gives you two more mic inputs, plus a USB port so that you can record directly to a FLASH drive. There are also more reverb effects on the 500, though that's less of a selling point for me. For my uses, I never need reverb.

I hope this helps.


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Post subject: Re: I need help choosing
Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 8:42 pm
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I will not be playing guitar through it, Just MP3's and Vocals! I like the price of the 150, but it seems the 300 would be a nicer sound, The 500, Way too high in the cost range. My shows are all donated, I have a low paying PT job! Not giving you my troubles but, just the facts! Thanks, So If I got the 300 I would probably not need a sub? audience of between 50,, 100 MAX! Small rooms.

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Post subject: Re: I need help choosing
Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 9:53 am
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Could we ask what PA you are using? That also makes a lot of difference. I do the same thing you are doing in senior centers and perhaps a few other places. I am using a 500 but could do with a 300. I don't think a sub is needed at all for voice only, and for the mp3 backups it should sound fine at those levels.
I could be wrong but what you are playing doesn't have much thump to it. I know mine doesnt. As for bass, it should give enough. That is why I am wondering what your current PA is, that it does not.
Please know also that your guitar, if acoustic, may sound great through a 150 or 300. If electric you could always use a little inexpensive pod type unit to make it sound perfect through your PA. That would make everything far easier to handle by just carrying the PA.
I do think the 150 may well be enough. It is actually a very fine PA. At 75 watts per side or 150 watts overall it should be enough power. I have played our size events on much much less before. And any Passport sounds good.
I would find a music store that would let me buy or try a 150 and if that isn't enough then take it back for a 300. Again I think the 150 would handle 100 people in our size setting. I only bought the 500 because I wanted to set up for outside and larger places.
Tom


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