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How to amplify vocals without PA?


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want something to amplify vocals with an amplified acoustic setup. how do you do this?


mic -> mixer -> 1 monitor or 1 powered amplifier???

 

 

Not 100% sure what you are asking. What gear do you have now? Are you concerned about FOH or monitors? If you have a mixer, just pick up a powered cab or two and be done with it.

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i dont have any vocal equipment, just guitar equipment. id just like to amplify vocals without a complex setup. i dont want to go thru any sort of house PA system, dont want to use a dual speaker setup(house and monitor) and dont want to go thru the guitar amp. should i just get one powered speaker and use it like monitor but point it out to the audience?

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i dont have any vocal equipment, just guitar equipment. id just like to amplify vocals without a complex setup. i dont want to go thru any sort of house PA system, dont want to use a dual speaker setup(house and monitor) and dont want to go thru the guitar amp. should i just get one powered speaker and use it like monitor but point it out to the audience?

 

 

You really want to do acoustic music, live, without proper sound system??? What is the goal, to sing with friends at home or to sing and get paid?

You can buy one powered speaker and plug a microphone into it and have at it! No eq, no effects, no monitoring, you think all of the are not important? Wait untill you get into a noisy bar and get back to me!

 

Now if you just want practice, then a powered speaker would work, I also recomend some sort of effect pedal, maybe one of these TC Helicom single effect pedals just so you have a little reverb. Keep in mind any thing I say is from a singer point of view and not a sound engineer like many here so take it with a grain of salt.

 

Rod

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Your thread title is a bit mis-leading:

should i just get one powered speaker and use it like monitor but point it out to the audience?

 

 

That's a PA.

A SMALL, low-powered, small-application basic/bare-bones PA, but a PA nonetheless.

 

So is the example in your OP.

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i dont have any vocal equipment, just guitar equipment. id just like to amplify vocals without a complex setup. i dont want to go thru any sort of house PA system, dont want to use a dual speaker setup(house and monitor) and dont want to go thru the guitar amp. should i just get one powered speaker and use it like monitor but point it out to the audience?

 

Or just plug a high-z mic into an input on your guitar amp and see how it works... hopefully you have a guitar amp that has 2 input channels (so you can have independent control over your mic volume).

 

BTW: It's my understanding the above is why combo guitar amps typically have open backs... it's a hold-over from when combo amps were first being developed, the amp sat on the front of the stage, in-front of the guitarist... and did double duty as the PA... and the open back was the "monitor".

 

Hear tell... The Shure Green Bullet was principally designed for this application... and will work great if you'd like your vocals to sound like the harmonica on The Stones song: "Jump on Top of Me Baby"... which BTW happens to be my idea of the most perfect harmonica ever laid down:

 

 

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and dont want to go thru the guitar amp

 

 

I practice singing at home by plugging a microphone into a guitar amp. To me it sounds very nearly as good as going through my PA system. I know a band that performs with a microphone plugged into a guitar amp. Now, their vocals don't sound great but that band does attract standing room only crowds sometimes.

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The Roland AC90 would be perfect for your application. It has 2 channels, one is designed for a mic. I have used the mic channel and it sounds very natural. Also it has XLR line outs to run to a powered speaker. You can use this by itself for small gigs or use it as a monitor hooked to powered speaker when you need more output.

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Did you find any gems?

 

Too many to list. I like the old Stones (Brian Jones era), and often play songs like BackStreet Girl, I'm Just Sittin' on a Fence, at my acoustic gigs. She's So Cold can be a fun tune to play, as well as Out of Time. Memo From Turner is a great tune too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's just scratchin' the surface. Good stuff.:thu:

 

Apologies to the OP for getting sidetracked.

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i dont have any vocal equipment, just guitar equipment. id just like to amplify vocals without a complex setup. i dont want to go thru any sort of house PA system, dont want to use a dual speaker setup(house and monitor) and dont want to go thru the guitar amp. should i just get one powered speaker and use it like monitor but point it out to the audience?

 

 

The Bose PAS systems or the Fishman SoloAmp would be perfect.

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I use a Peavey 3-channel acoustic amp for small gigs where I only need one mic. I forgot the model (traded some gig time in return for the amp) but it is really good. It has an XLR vocal channel with eq and effects, a guitar channel and another line input for keys, bass or whatever. Most versatile little rig I have ever owned. I even will run my Digitech RP500 into it and it sounds great.

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A little pricey???? $1100 is a lot pricey. But the weight is nice.

 

When you've lived with one for a while, it seems like an outright bargain. The vocals capability of this tiny amp, is simply amazing. The compact size makes it a delight to transport and set-up (less than 1 cu. ft.) The padded shoulder-bag is also very nice. Plenty of pockets for mics/cables, etc.

 

The amp is dead quiet. No trace of hiss/hum/scratchy pots, etc. Pure pristine silence. I sometimes forget to turn it off, and the only indication that it's still on, is the green power-indicator light.

 

It can get surprisingly loud for a 60w amp. It's made in Germany, and if something ever happened to mine, I'd buy another in a heart-beat.

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