Members SmattyG Posted July 14, 2003 Members Share Posted July 14, 2003 Hey, just had a show this past Saturday, and we had a whole PILE of problems with the PA system, and getting things to sound right!!! 1) Using an Audio Technica ATM41HE had no problems, but trying to plug in a Peavey Diamond Series mic next along with it proved impossible... the Peavy caused TONS of feedback! 2) Pluging my Takamine Electric/Acoustic into the PA, I had to have the Gain on FULL to get it loud enough to rise above the chatter in the bar. This made it tough to do any fine adjustments on the volume there. 3) Many people complained that the vocals sounded muddy, and that while they were not super quiet, were hard to make out from the rest of the music.... This is totally frustrating, and on top of it, I feel that I am the only person with good enough ears to even begin trying to adjust this stuff, but it's awefully hard when I also have to be on stage to do the sound check... We have a MP6 PA, and 2 yorkville 12" pa speakers. The pa is ussually kept on stage. Any suggestions as to how I can make this work better? It is hard to sound any better than your equipment is performing, and that is frustrating as anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted July 14, 2003 Members Share Posted July 14, 2003 Originally posted by SmattyG Hey, just had a show this past Saturday, and we had a whole PILE of problems with the PA system, and getting things to sound right!!!1) Using an Audio Technica ATM41HE had no problems, but trying to plug in a Peavey Diamond Series mic next along with it proved impossible... the Peavy caused TONS of feedback!2) Pluging my Takamine Electric/Acoustic into the PA, I had to have the Gain on FULL to get it loud enough to rise above the chatter in the bar. This made it tough to do any fine adjustments on the volume there.3) Many people complained that the vocals sounded muddy, and that while they were not super quiet, were hard to make out from the rest of the music....This is totally frustrating, and on top of it, I feel that I am the only person with good enough ears to even begin trying to adjust this stuff, but it's awefully hard when I also have to be on stage to do the sound check... We have a MP6 PA, and 2 yorkville 12" pa speakers. The pa is ussually kept on stage.Any suggestions as to how I can make this work better? It is hard to sound any better than your equipment is performing, and that is frustrating as anything! First of all,do you run some program material(CD or cassette)that you are familiar with through the system to make sure that the system itself is operating correctly and is adjusted well? Then go to the live items running through it. Have you used these other items with this system before with no probs? Not to sound condescending,but was the battery good in your acoustic? What are you running through the mains? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 14, 2003 Members Share Posted July 14, 2003 Originally posted by SmattyG Hey, just had a show this past Saturday, and we had a whole PILE of problems with the PA system, and getting things to sound right!!!1) Using an Audio Technica ATM41HE had no problems, but trying to plug in a Peavey Diamond Series mic next along with it proved impossible... the Peavy caused TONS of feedback!----------------------------------------------------------------++++ This may be due to response characteristics of the Peavey mic, an it's interaction with the PA, especially monitors if any. Neither in my opinion are great mics with respect to feedback control.----------------------------------------------------------------2) Pluging my Takamine Electric/Acoustic into the PA, I had to have the Gain on FULL to get it loud enough to rise above the chatter in the bar. This made it tough to do any fine adjustments on the volume there.-----------------------------------------------------------------++++ Were you using a direct box interface between your gtr and the PA? If you were using the 1/4" input on the mixer, some manufacturers use a line level input sensitivity. Also, be sure the input pad is not switched on, that will reduce the mixer's input sensitivity.------------------------------------------------------------------3) Many people complained that the vocals sounded muddy, and that while they were not super quiet, were hard to make out from the rest of the music....------------------------------------------------------------------++++ That's (can be) the difference between a professionally operated system, one that is also working properly, and one that is operated by someone unskilled in the profession of sound reinforcement. It's a reason why many lower level club gigs sound positively dreadful.------------------------------------------------------------------This is totally frustrating, and on top of it, I feel that I am the only person with good enough ears to even begin trying to adjust this stuff, but it's awefully hard when I also have to be on stage to do the sound check... We have a MP6 PA, and 2 yorkville 12" pa speakers. The pa is ussually kept on stage.------------------------------------------------------------------++++ No kidding, you've pretty much self-diagnosed your difficulties. How can you hear the front (house) mix from the stage? With experience and a bit more practice/education, it will become easier and more consistent.-------------------------------------------------------------------Any suggestions as to how I can make this work better? It is hard to sound any better than your equipment is performing, and that is frustrating as anything! -------------------------------------------------------------------++++ Again, I refer to the above, it may not be entirely the equipment's fault (within the limitations of the equipments capablities), but either there is not enough equpment to do the job properly, the equipment is not suited to the job required, or the equipment is not being operated to it's potential.-------------------------------------------------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SmattyG Posted July 14, 2003 Author Members Share Posted July 14, 2003 Thanks a lot for the input guys... Please, don't feel that your being condesceding, I don't have time to worry about my ego, and any advice is good at this point because I'm fairly inexperienced with live mixing. So, I DID check the battery, and it seemed ok (the light came on fairly bright), although I was not using a DI box... That's also an interesting question about the pad button. I wasn't looking for one, but I have plugged my Tak into many a PA without difficulty, so that could very well have been the problem. I will have to remember to look for that next time! As for the mics, I think your right about the Peavey being not so great for this situation, although the AT mic as acctually a hyper-cardioid, and I bought it on a very high recommendation from a guy at the local music store. I was willing to spend more $$$ too, but he was very insistant that he uses those mics solely, and that the only better mic would be a beta58. Are there any standard/approximate EQ settings that are used on vocals? Or are there certain frequencies in the guitars and vocals that are cancelling eachother out? I wish I knew a friend that could do this stuff from off stage, but for now I will have to gain on-stage mixing experience as you said. As for the equipment... I didn't check it this time, but last time we borrowed it (it doesn't belong to me), I did run a CD player through it, and it sounded good. It hasn't seen any gigs between then and last Saturday, so I would asume it still works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tommy Tune Posted July 15, 2003 Members Share Posted July 15, 2003 I'd come here and ask before I took the advice of a store salesman. Remember, he IS a salesman. Besides that, if you want some stuff like mics, cables, and DI boxes at a fair rate go here. http://audiopile.net/ He'll give you good advice on the forums but rarely pushes his product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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