News

30 Nov 2021

Yamaha STAGEPAS 1K

by Kim Churchill

Kim Churchill is a singer-songwriter who has released six albums and is signed to Canadian label Indica Records. With a thriving international career, Kim has performed at Glastonbury, Splendour in the Grass, Falls Festival, Montreal Jazz, and Telluride Blues. He has supported Milky Chance, Billy Bragg, Michael Franti, and Nahko and Medicine for the People. Kim recently converted a van to include a fold out stage with full production and has been touring regional Australia through the pandemic.

When I’m home, I’m based in Newcastle. Converting the van has helped me navigate lockdowns, though it’s been highly stressful, and I’ve still lost 80% of my gigs. I haven’t been home since February this year. I’m currently in the NSW Northern Rivers region, staying in the border bubble so I can still play my Queensland shows.

Along with my foldout stage, I’ve fitted my van with two Yamaha STAGEPAS 1Ks. This set-up is incredibly flexible. I can play in just about any setting, and I can always take one STAGEPAS 1K out and do small backyard shows. Since COVID, I’ve played in a lot of regional areas and small towns. In all those old community halls, the STAGEPAS 1K is perfect. It’s got just the right amount of what I need to communicate my music in a small setting. It’s phenomenal clarity on a small scale, and the STAGEPAS 1K app allows me in-depth control of the mix, EQ, reverbs and delays from my phone, as well as the ability to stream music via Bluetooth.

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The STAGEPAS 1K’s portability is one of its biggest strengths. My two units simply slot into a small corner of the van and allow me to do high quality production for shows up to 150 people. When I think of the old PAs I used to use, you certainly couldn’t store them in a van and still live in there.

Live, I’m playing an acoustic guitar, with its pickups running to both a bass and guitar amp. There also a direct line from the guitar, a line for guitar body percussion, and of course my vocal mic. There’s a clarity to the sound, which on small gigs is highly beneficial. Performing as an acoustic singer-songwriter is all about drawing people in with your sound and storytelling, and the STAGEPAS 1K reproduces what I’m doing with warmth, and the full range of frequencies.

For the van shows, I’m running the STAGEPAS 1Ks paired in stereo. The benefit of pairing is that combining the two mixers together gives you twelve inputs, which is fantastic if I have supports or guests on stage with me. I feel Yamaha have really considered the advantages of using STAGEPAS 1Ks for larger productions. Some small halls still think they need $30K from a government grant to get a PA, and I’ve been telling them to just buy one or two STAGEPAS 1Ks; they’re perfect for what they need. 

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Another interesting thing about the STAGEPAS 1K is how little power it draws. There have been gigs where I’ve run off solar power. The amount of power the STAGEPAS 1K draws is so minimal it allows me to do gigs way out in the bush, running off a small generator. Not bad for something that can pack up into a small suitcase!

The Specs

Powered subwoofer with a line array speaker

Frequency range (-10dB): 37 Hz – 20 kHz

Nominal coverage (HxV): 170°x30°

Low: 12” driver

Mid-Highs: 10x 1.5” drivers

Amplifier

Power rating: Total 1000W (subwoofer: 810W, Line array: 190W)

Connectivity

Inputs: 3 mono mic/line + 1 stereo line/2 mono line

Outputs: 1 Link out, 1 Monitor out

Bluetooth: Bluetooth Ver.5.0, A2DP (SBC, AAC)

Control

Reverb foot switch, STAGEPAS Editor (iOS/Android app)

DSP        

SPX digital reverb (4 program, parameter control)

Mixing channels: 5 (3 mono + 1 ST)

Input channel functions: Hi-Z: CH2/3, 1-knob EQ: CH1-3/ST

Output channel functions: MODE (SPEECH – MUSIC – CLUB)

Physical

Dimensions (W x H x D)         
System: 334 x 2,000 x 418 mm (maximum), Line array: 67 x 582 x 86 mm, Powered subwoofer: 334 x 550 x 418 mm, Spacer: 67 x 555 x 86 mm (each)

Weight
System: 23.0kg, Line array: 1.8kg, Powered subwoofer: 20.0kg, Spacer: 0.6kg (each)

Pricing

STAGEPAS 1K: RRP $1999 inc GST

STAGEPAS 1K Dolly:
RRP $159.99 inc GST

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