The Best Mixer (sound board) for Your Choir. May 08, 2007

The RRHS Dragon Choir needed a new mixer. Simple requirements. 4 mic inputs, plus 1/8" and RCA inputs. The boosters researched the possible mixers and found several that would work. The problem was choosing the best mixer for our precious students! Which sound board should we purchase? We asked several music directors at schools, several church directors, several sound board guys from church and bands and several musicians that tour the country. The Mackie VLZ series was the common denominator. It was mentioned by almost everyone as one of their choices or their only choice. It's durable, "built like a tank", high quality and a good deal for the money. You can pay more, but its not worth it for your needs. You can pay less for other brands, but you get what you pay for. If you want the best mixer to mount in a rollable cart for high school students to use, buy a Mackie. Based on our needs we selected the Mackie 1402 VLZ3. The 3 is the latest model in the VLZ series.

We searched the Internet for the best deal, including ebay. Make sure the company is an authorized Mackie dealer so the warranty is valid. After checking way too many comparison shopper sites and google we stumbled into grandmas.com.

If you need a Mackie 1402 VLZ3 mixer, check out grandmas.com (800-444-5252) and talk to Dan, Matt or Scott. Ask them for their unadvertised school special.

The Best PA System for Your Cheer. May 08, 2007

Ok, so it wasn't for the choir, but the choir may use it and we were helping the cheer coaches purchase a new PA system. We compared a Stereo System, a receiver and speakers and a Fender PD-150 Passport.

The stereo system was a 500 watt system ($165). The Receiver was 400 watts with two 70 watt speakers ($220). The Fender was 150 watts with two PA full range speakers ($399). The Fender Passport was by far the clearest sound we tested. However, we had to turn it up to full volume, which meant in time we would blow out the amp (the system protects the speakers). This sends us back to the drawing board. Based on the Fender Passport performance, we would have purchased the Fender Passport 250, except it was over our budget. So, if you need a portable (with a mule) powerful PA system go with the Fender Passport 250.

We talked to several audio experts who sent us to powered speakers. The Peavey PR-12N ($349), PR-15N ($399) and the Tapco TH15A ($349 - $280 @ grandmas.com). The Peavey has 3 input options while the Tapco has only XLR. But, the Tapco was less expensive and preferred by several of the "consultants". Tapco is owned by the same company that owns Mackie.

We decided to go with the Tapco TH15A. We added in a Shure PG48 Mic and a Behringer Xenyx 802 Mixer, which is far more than we needed or wanted, but it allows for expansion. We again searched the internet for all of the items and grandmas.com came out the winner again. They were very helpful, not pushy, very patient and listend to what we were trying to accomplish.

Another company we talked to that was very helpful was Heart of Texas Music in Austin, Tx. 512-444-9750. They were very helpful and were the ones to point us to the powered speakers. Some of them were NOT fans of Mackies, but most of that was the price and the change in support. Mackie is going to a replacement policy vs repair.

We mounted the speaker on a wagon so it can swivel. We mounted the mixer on top of the speaker and built a PVC rack for the mic and cord. We mounted a 3-way power plug on the wagon and plugged all of the equipment into it. The wagon is a self-contained sound cart. Roll up to your venue, take the 100ftextension cord to the nearest power plug and your set to go.

Hope this helps.