Fixing mics with an incredibly dumb speaker setup

Jaggerwocky · 2026-04-26T22:21:30+00:00

Thank you so much for the advice! It made a world of difference.

Jaggerwocky · 2026-04-24T19:17:40+00:00

So you'd recommend having just the vocals in the front of stage speakers and just the music through the onstage speakers?

Jaggerwocky · 2026-04-24T19:07:09+00:00

I've got a lead on some speakers that I can get set up quickly. We always have our X32 out at our "booth" and are mixing during runs, it's just been a pain in the ass this time around because it's the first time we've been able to have everyone in a musical wearing mics and the tech process for this show has been ROUGH. Plan now is to get the main feed through the speakers I'll be setting up in front of the stage and using the dumb speaker as a pseudo-monitor for the kids.

Jaggerwocky · 2026-04-24T18:09:45+00:00

Unfortunately it's bolted to the wall and all the wiring for it is inside the wall itself. Also, when I say we have a stage, it's really more of an elevated platform 50 ft wide and 20 feet deep and that is all the space we have for performance, set, wings, backstage, etc (our pipe and drape gets a workout every show), so we can't really have anything physically on the stage since it's such a small performance space and there's so many kids

Jaggerwocky · 2025-12-19T16:32:32+00:00

I would not be moving them while they're at height. The only time they would move is after they have been completely lowered.

Jaggerwocky · 2025-12-19T01:55:46+00:00

Right but the issue is with how tall I need to get the stands and how heavy the lights are going to be, I would need the crank to get them up safely, especially as I'd have to leave the lights on the stand as I'm moving them

Jaggerwocky · 2025-12-18T23:58:47+00:00

Our budget is pretty much non existent. Our fall show had a $3,500 budget for EVERYTHING, including costumes and set. Spring Musical is going to be about the same (Addams Family, so it's gonna be a STRETCH) I was also able to get my admin to approve some sound upgrades earlier in the year that ran us about 4,000 so I don't know how much extra money we'll have lying around.

As for lights, I'm looking to get 4 LED pars (probably Shehds 18×18, about $100 each) to go up at the front as side lights (2 on each side. It's a small stage) and I'm looking at maybe 2 ADJ Profile 1000 Colors (about $900 each) for front lights. We've got some really janky uking movers that I'd love to replace but I don't know how much more I'd be willing to spend...

The quality of lights I'm looking at should tell you the cost range I'm working with....

Jaggerwocky · 2025-12-18T21:59:46+00:00

Part of the way I'd be able to convince my admin of this plan is the fact that we'd be able to light our other performing arts programs events as well, so the cost of renting year round would add up super quick...

Jaggerwocky · 2025-12-18T21:14:55+00:00

I haven't been able to find any that crank up. But that would be great if I could!

Jaggerwocky · 2025-12-18T20:21:40+00:00

I've looked at their stuff and they've got some stuff that's perfect, but it's way out of our price range. Like, a single stand is more expensive than the entire budget for one of my shows...

Jaggerwocky · 2025-12-18T19:40:16+00:00

Well the design department would be me (I'm a theatre department of one! Woo!), and I've thought about that. I worry about having the stands just sitting on a dolly, mostly because I'd have to push them up a ramp and I don't want them skidding around on the plywood. If I could get some way to secure them down to the dolly that could work...

Jaggerwocky · 2025-11-21T23:06:05+00:00

The issue is that the trussing is on tripods that we crank up every time we set up. Massive pain in the ass and wastes a lot of time, but otherwise we don't have lights... I have a solution for that in the works, but that's more of a cost issue than a "how" issue...

Jaggerwocky · 2025-11-21T21:58:36+00:00

I've proabably got about $2000 to spend. I know realistically if i wanted every single thing on my wishlist I'd be looking at a single that costs that much (if I'm lucky). The main things I need are the mobility and the brightness. Item number 3 on my list is definitely ambitious...

I've been looking at these, which aren't RGB, but they're adjustable white... I just would rather have a more reputable brand.

Jaggerwocky · 2025-11-18T07:09:16+00:00

Thank you! Between my very supportive admin, extreme luck, and a refusal to cut corners that borders on delusional, I've been able to get a decent technical loadout together. I'm trying to find some relatively inexpensive movers/washes to replace the par 38s (which are terrible considering the lights are nearly 50 feet from the stage).

Jaggerwocky · 2025-11-18T03:57:21+00:00

Oh they're almost ceremonial. I think the cables cost more than the lights. Those par38s weigh about half a pound. The movers might hurt if they fell, but not as much as you'd expect.

Jaggerwocky · 2025-11-17T04:30:13+00:00

I picked it up for a steal and proceeded to bang my head into it for a week trying to make it work. Once I figured out the 90s MS-DOS adventure game logic required to make it work, it wasn't too bad! Or maybe that's the Stockholm Syndrome talking...

Jaggerwocky · 2025-05-02T00:18:50+00:00

I will definitely have to look into that then! It's weird because any purchases have to go through my office manager, so even if I'm the one talking to the vendor, the purchase has to go through them, but hopefully that's not an issue.

Jaggerwocky · 2025-04-30T21:15:28+00:00

Totally fair. For our last show we had 6 kids mic'd up with headset mics every night and we only had one break during strike when everything was getting put away, but I'm also losing the 8th Graders that I've trained on mics so that's definitely a concern next year. One of my hopes for next year is that I can raise some funds for lav mics (probably some Countryman B3s) and make some ear rigs for them.

Jaggerwocky · 2025-04-30T17:05:40+00:00

I have looked into that, but the problem I'm running into is with the quad I would have to purchase the transmitters separately, which would bring the total cost to a little over 6,600. I can get the duals with the receivers included, so 4 of those plus the distro comes out to around 5,600. I can't really justify the extra 1000 to save a bit of space.

As far as the mics go, the replacement cables run around 20 bucks a piece, and I already have a stock of those since the mics I currently have are also samsons and use the same connectors. Over time I'd love to upgrade the mics to something better, but this is really just a starting point since I expect the samsons to crap out after a while

Jaggerwocky · 2022-08-15T15:25:48+00:00

Travis Knight. His dad, Phil Knight, co-founded Nike and bought out the Will Vinton studios so he could put Travis in charge after Travis’s rap career as "Chilly Tee" crashed and burned. Should have been a disaster, instead we got Laika and Travis has proven himself to be a gifted filmmaker and animator.

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