Looking For A Pa To Use In A Live Setting.

Well, the title says what I want out of it. The biggest problem is, I'll be running my guitar and vocals through it, so I can't have the two signals fighting each other. I was thinking something along the lines of 300w, but if it needs to be more, so be it.

I know what you're thinking "Distorted guitars sound like shit through a general speaker." Well, I own an ENGL E530 preamp and it has a frequency-compensated output for doing just that.

Anyways, my budget is about 500USD give or take a couple hundred that I could save up in a couple of weeks. I was looking at a Behringer EUROPORT EPA300 system, but I'm nervous about it's clarity.

Any suggestions, guys? I should mention that the mic being used is a Sure SM58, so I'm set there. I just need a PA system to keep up with an acoustic drumset.

Djent+dubstep=djentstep

This is probably nothing new to you guys, but I was wondering what everyone's thoughts were on the idea of combining Dubstep and Metal.

In my opinion, Dubstep is sort of the heavy metal of electronic music, so it blends nicely. However, playing it live is a different story. Especially if you decide you want to do a solo project with it. It would be a huge pain to go from shredding the guitar to turning knobs on a USB controller. I personally like both genres and love it when people combine them, but only if it's done well.

What are your thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH-8_-0iygE

That's probably the best example I've ever seen on YouTube, but I haven't done much digging.

Ben Higgins...

I've been paying for this site off-and-on for about 6 months now. Unfortunately, the only instructor I was able to chat with live was Ben. I'm sure the other instructors could've given me a lot of insight, but Ben was the only guy I have done any live chatting with.

I just wanted to show my gratitude. Ben, you've shown me many different practice techniques and without even seeing me play the guitar, you've given me advice that has WORKED! Thanks so much!

I Want A Tighter, Djentier Sound...

I have an 8-string guitar. Naturally, after I bought this beast, I wanted to learn songs that incorporate it well. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do so because said songs are rather complicated, but I have been able to write some cool riffs here and there based in the Drop E tuning.

The problem I'm having is getting a low gain sound, while still retaining the tight feel of higher gain. Don't get me wrong, the silky-smooth, milky distortion is AMAZING, but I want to have the "djent" tone in my arsenal, and I haven't quite gotten it yet.

I have a decent amount of gear. It's listed as follows:

My signal chain:
Schecter Omen-8 (DiMarzio DiActivator Pickups) -> ENGL E530 Tube Preamp -> Peavey Classic 50/50 Power Amp -> Carvin 1x12 Micro Cab

Other Gear:
Line 6 POD Pro (The original one)
Ibanez Tube Screamer
Boss Compressor
MXR 10-band EQ

I was thinking about using the tube screamer in front of my preamp to make it sound tighter, and the MXR in the FX loop to get an extra mid-boost. I can't really try this at the moment, because my pedals are at a different house, but would this work the way I hope? I KNOW that the Line 6 can get a very djenty tone on it's own, but I don't like the idea of using solid-state in my rig mostly because the only tone I CAN get out of that thing is djent. Don't get me wrong, it's a badass preamp, but you get what you pay for, and I only paid $200 for it. Floorboard included. It's also got a lot of that solid state sound in it and it's just all-in-all not a great modeler compared to an HD. Anyone looking to buy it? $180 board included.

In all honesty, I'm stumped, though. I've heard BK Pickups would get me an amazing djent tone, but I'm not all too convinced that new pickups would give me THAT much of a difference. Sure, the sound might be slightly more compressed, but I'm stuck on the DiActivators because of their milky tone. Like I said, the tone I do get is amazing, I just wanna play some math metal. XD

When I Finish Practicing, I Can Kick Ass...then, I Come Back Later...

Title say's part of it. When I finish up practicing, I can throw out runs at 120+ BPM using 16th notes. When I stop and come back later, be it an hour later or a week later, I have to start at 70-80 BPM and work my way back up again. Obviously, it's because my muscles have to warm up, but this can take hours to achieve. How can I cut the time it takes to get from A to B so I can have more time to jam and practice?