OK - back on topic with this one....my P4 setup is finally EXACTLY as I want it to be.
Yes, it's blimmin' heavy in it's flight-case (you'll understand when you look at the piccy below), BUT.....literally EVERYTHING needed for music and lights (apart from the actual PA and lights) is in there. Two XLR's and one 13a plug to be plugged in, and it's ready to party. It's even got a removable laptop arm on it in the right of the shot should I decide to go the VDJ route (as I still do for some weddings). Two mic receivers sit under the controller (my main handhelds and my kid's headset receivers), plus there's a work-light and wireless DMX transmitter built in.
Today, I took delivery of a very heavy duty stand (and NO Justin....it's NOT a console
). Because the flight-case has a 2u rack underneath the controller, I was finding it just a couple of inches too high on my booths to be comfortable for a 5-6 hour shift. The stand means that it's now a comfortable 2-3 inches lower and much easier to work on. It also fits behind ALL of my booths, so I can still go out with the starlit, the rustic, hell even the Retro - this setup now fits all, and I won't have the worry of the Equinox Mk2 collapsing under the weight of it. Because the top of the stand is slightly lower than most booth shelves, it's also a hell of a lot easier to get this lot from the floor and into position without breaking my back.
Why still a booth in front? It's a psychological thing and I still believe it repels boarders to an extent. Plus, I can now move the booth slightly forward of the controller to avoid those nasty beer spillages.
That said, plans are afoot to possibly "shroud" the stand in a minimalistic type of way so it could
look like one of these trendy podium consoles without actually
being one
. It would have to stay black though so none of this white malarky
Another addition - look to the bottom left of the flight case. It's a neat little wall mounted microphone holder which is held on with heavy duty velcro and does a very good job of holding a mic and the cans. It's very easy peel off and on-able and sits nicely in the case when it's all put away.
Total time now from getting the kit into the venue to being fully operational (on average)? 15 minutes! Tear down is the same!
After far too many years of chopping and changing stuff around, I can finally say I'm 100% happy with my setup.