I apologise for the wordiness but I'm pretty cranked up right now...

Arrived at the restaurant about 4:30pm to set up my Tyros 1 and the Satellite speaker system that I use for this gig. (I don't use my regular PA here.) I'm in a small lounge in a corner. The owner says he wants it a little bit louder tonight. I'm usually at about 60% volume, so I assume I can bump it some no problem. I do a sound check with vocals everything sounds terrific, he's happy...so am I...

I go home-have a cup of coffee and answer a few emails. I head back to the club at 5:45pm for my 6:00pm start. I walk in, sit down play Paper Moon...everything is cool...Then I get into Ipenema and I start to hear this static all of sudden...I reach around the front of the board, jiggle the wires-nothing changes...I stop the song. I check ALL the connections and try it again...the static returns with a vengence. I turn the Tyros off wait 30 seconds, then turn it back on. This time, the static starts before I even play a note. I'm not using MIDI files...I play over straight style registrations. I grab a pair of headphones and play the Tyros through them...perfectly clean, normal sound...

I try to see if I bring in just my powered mixer with the rca's out if I could hook into their house system...No such luck...

I offer to start setting up my regular PA and explain it will take me at least :30 to have it up & running. (No parking close by...difficult load in, etc...Not catching any breaks tonight.) Frankly, setting two 15's up on poles in a lounge this size is crazy...Two 10's would handle it...but I don't even have room for the poles with all these people in here. Bringing my PSR3k in wouldn't have solved anything, since the on board speakers aren't nearly loud enough...and that takes me right back to setting up a PA.

The night mgr. calls the owner who was aware of the problem I was having but decided to leave for the night. After explaining the options to him, he said just take the night off. I'm 95% sure he's cool...stuff happens...

In 10+ years of performing, I can not recall a single show that just blew up on me like this one did tonight. If my main PA dies, there's a backup plan...but for this particular evening...I was dead in the water.

At home, I set up my Tyros with my regular PA, scaled down setup...everything sounds just fine.

So, everyone agree with me that I've probably blown my satellite speakers?

Fortunately, I only use them a few times per month...I'll be looking for a small PA that I can use for these teeny-tiny venues that are too small for my regular PA...

Any suggestions?

The night was apparently not a total loss...

The host of a local cable access music program here in Troy was in the restaraunt tonight with his wife. His shows features area musicians and bands. Everything from rock to bluegrass to guitar based jazz, blues, etc...Anyway, he saw me packing up, figured there was a problem...struck up a conversation with me. He commented how much he enjoyed the little he heard before the speakers blew up...He then asked me if I'd consider letting him come to one of my area shows and recording it, to which an interview with yours truly would be spliced throughout. He said in several years of doing his monthly show he'd never had anyone like me on.

I said "sure...sounds like fun."

We exchanged cards, he said I'd be hearing from him soon.

He also suggested I call another venue in town where he thought I'd be a great fit. This venue had changed its music over the years trying to court a younger audience but that had failed to produce the desired results.

He also said he liked my appearance...Dressy/neat and professional looking. (Blue shirt, tie, black trousers...That's it)

What a weird night...

Comments on why my speaker system blew up?

Thanks...

Bill in Dayton
www.billcorfield.com

[This message has been edited by Bill in Dayton (edited 11-09-2006).]

The static noise with NO sound being played doesn't sound like a blown speaker (shouldn't crap out until you play).....

i believe is about a bad connection somewhere. probably the connector (either the cable plugs or the inside connector) is damaged and the "-" and "+" wire make contact.
that happened to me several times before. always was this problem.
good luck!

If it is the main cable...I wonder if I can order just that item from Yamaha?

Got my MSR100's - 100watt powered superb sound quality £500 - well worth it,
Maybe worth considering a pair as back up.
Mark

On second thought, I already tried a different main cable...It made no difference...

What I am able to determine is that if I wiggle the MIDI cable jack at the sub-woofer connection the static is reproduced...

Perhaps...just a replacement of the input on the sub might be the fix...

Starting to sound like a cold solder joint. Those jacks (MIDI, audio, etc.) are probably soldered directly onto a circuit board and repeated plugging in/out of the jacks may loosen or even break the connections between the jacks and the board. It is repairable but you better be good with soldering... and you might want to be easier with the thrust of your plug-in from now on, stud!

FWIW, low-volume gigs are what I bought my Motion Sound KP-100s for and I am always pleased by the amount of clean volume I get from it - plus it's a nice, small, one-piece no-problem amp.

[This message has been edited by Esh (edited 11-10-2006).]

Uh...There are any number of responses that I could post to that, Jim...but I wouldn't want to get in trouble...

The Owner of the club is cool, but what he wants is difficult based on the layout of the restaurant.

You enter from the outside into the lobby/lounge area...then behind a small partition adjacent to the hostess stand is a small dining room. They can hear me just fine...From that point the main dining room is down a 30 foot hallway. He wanted me to keep turning it up so that everyone in the dining areas could hear me. There is no good way to run any additional speakers to the rear dining room.

I already asked him this morning about plugging into his stereo system via rca's...but the stereo is a mile away from where I am...so, that won't work.

I have two options for next week.

A) Use two Yamaha Club series 10" cabinets up on poles in the lounge, crossing each other.

B) Use two EV Force One's (15") for the same thing which is the definition of overkill, IMO...

He wants me to do some singing throughout the night...I think he's hoping I attract some after dinner guests to come into the bar and have another drink. Its pretty damn small, but it might be intimate and I'm just not feeling it.

Stay tuned...

Bill

[This message has been edited by Bill in Dayton (edited 11-10-2006).]

One last thought...

There are a lot of little FM transmitters out there that may work for your situation (I've seen them at Radio Shack, Target, etc.). These are made for plugging your iPod into and transmitting the stereo sound into your car or home FM receiver. I have one around my house somewhere and I've used it for sending my audio out from a small mixing board into the client's FM receiver. In my case it was so my audio could be heard on the outside of the building through the restaurant's audio system while I played inside. Just an idea...