The Makepeace Brothers have been steadily building a grass roots following for their distinctive blend of roots-based power pop, drawing in listeners with their lively, inviting blend of acoustic instruments, feel-good vibes and sing-along-friendly hooks. Brothers Aidan, Liam, Finian and Ciaran Makepeace have been playing music together for most of their lives and recently released their new album, “Slow Down Feel Love.” Like many bands on the way up, the Makepeace Brothers came to realize that achieving good live sound could be a challenge.
“When we first started touring, we didn’t even have a sound system,” said Finian Makepeace. “We had to rely on whatever the venue or promoter was supplying—and often it didn’t sound very good.”
Makepeace noted that inadequate sound didn’t just mean the audience couldn’t hear the band at their best: “Not knowing if we would have a good PA on any given night was a constant source of stress for us.”
The band realized they’d have to acquire a dependable sound system to achieve greater success. They chose JBL PRX600 Series portable PA loudspeakers, with a system comprising two PRX635 3-way powered loudspeakers for the main system and two PRX615M powered speakers for monitors, complemented by a Soundcraft 16-channel FX16ii digital mixing console.
“After mixing on JBL LSR studio monitors and loving what we heard, we gravitated toward JBL PA loudspeakers. Now, we don’t just have a consistent sound from night to night, we have a consistent sound from the studio to the stage.”
“We went with the JBL PRX600 Series for a number of reasons,” Finian Makepeace pointed out. “Even though they’re relatively compact, the speakers deliver a lot of volume, even in venues up to 500 people.”
Finian Makepeace is especially impressed with the PRX600 Series’ sound quality.
“Our band is based around acoustic instruments like acoustic guitar, banjo, flute and ukulele, and the JBL speakers deliver all the nuances of our playing with clarity and an open, natural quality,” he said.
The Makepeace Brothers play over 50 private concerts and parties a year and it was imperative that the system be flexible.
“We are often in the situation of dealing with friendly but inexperienced event producers. Knowing that we’re setting up and running the system ourselves, we needed to reduce setup time,” Finian Makepeace explained. “The PRX600’s powered design and ease of operation cut the setup time in half. We also knew that the system had to be rugged yet easy to move around—without compromising the sound quality—and the PRX’s exceeded our expectations.”
“Now we’re ready for a show in fewer than 30 minutes. We can basically put on a great sounding, mini-festival anywhere there is power. This is truly musical freedom and it’s rad!”
“Great sound is inspirational,” Finian Makepeace added. “Last year we set up our gear at a speakeasy in Venice, California and soon Ben Harper and Jackson Browne were playing sets while Jason Mraz and Brett Dennen were joining our shows. Quality attracts quality and that’s what JBL offers.”
“The best part is, we don’t have to worry anymore about how we sound – we know it sounds good and we can focus on what we do best—playing the music. Having a sound system you really trust allows the magic to happen.”
