Members MrJoshua Posted October 17, 2009 Members Share Posted October 17, 2009 I've been running sound for a local band, and after two gigs it's obvious what the sticking point is. There are two female singers, and one of them sings very quietly. VERY quietly. And I simply can't get her monitor loud enough for her to hear herself over the rest of the band. I'm running a pretty standard small bar rig, I guess - the monitors are Peavey SP-15M, each driven by one side of a QSC RMX-2450. A&H MixWiz, Peavey 31-band EQ on each monitor channel. Shure Beta 87a mics. The other two singers (one female, one male) say they can hear themselves fine. Each singer has their own monitor mix. I'm ringing out her monitor as best as I know how (turn it up until it feeds back; use the graphic EQ to eliminate the feedback; repeat) but it still won't go loud enough for her without feeding back. Anything else I can do here? She's a very good singer and that would come across much better at the shows if I could get her louder in the monitors, but she's just so quiet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gordon Sound Posted October 17, 2009 Members Share Posted October 17, 2009 Try a different mic, if you have access to a audix om7 or a sennheiser 945, not saying it will work but sometimes a different mic with differant charictaristics can help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dangordan Posted October 17, 2009 Members Share Posted October 17, 2009 Tell her nicely that if she's not going to project to learn better mic technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members whataracket Posted October 17, 2009 Members Share Posted October 17, 2009 Tell her nicely that if she's not going to project to learn better mic technique. Yeah, this is ultimately not a problem the soundman can solve if the stage sound level is even moderately high. Some mics might work a little better than others, but singers have to learn to project if they want to sing with a band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members madjack Posted October 17, 2009 Members Share Posted October 17, 2009 I've been running sound for a local band, and after two gigs it's obvious what the sticking point is. There are two female singers, and one of them sings very quietly. VERY quietly. And I simply can't get her monitor loud enough for her to hear herself over the rest of the band.I'm running a pretty standard small bar rig, I guess - the monitors are Peavey SP-15M, each driven by one side of a QSC RMX-2450. A&H MixWiz, Peavey 31-band EQ on each monitor channel. Shure Beta 87a mics.The other two singers (one female, one male) say they can hear themselves fine. Each singer has their own monitor mix.I'm ringing out her monitor as best as I know how (turn it up until it feeds back; use the graphic EQ to eliminate the feedback; repeat) but it still won't go loud enough for her without feeding back.Anything else I can do here? She's a very good singer and that would come across much better at the shows if I could get her louder in the monitors, but she's just so quiet... IMHO given that this is basically her problem, she should be responsible for the solution, so tell her she needs to invest in IEMs for herself. That should solve the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted October 17, 2009 Members Share Posted October 17, 2009 I just did a gig last week-end with two female vocalists, one of whom was extremely quiet. Both the singers wanted more of the weak one in the monitor. When I checked her mic it practically blew me away, it was so loud! At that point I simply said I can't fix what's not there. I have worked with a few vocalists, where there was nothing to do but send them home or get in ears. So.... my suggestion is - get her to purchase some in ear monitors. And get her some vocal and mic training. IMO you shouldn't beat yourself up over this, if in fact it's really her problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monkeyland Posted October 17, 2009 Members Share Posted October 17, 2009 the in ears are not going to help anyone on stage except for the person that sings like a wuss. of course better singing will help everyone. skip the ears and get the singer to sing louder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted October 17, 2009 Members Share Posted October 17, 2009 It's worth getting her help with mic technique. If you make her louder in the wedge, she may sing even quieter. This is a common problem amongst the vocal-shy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members allexcosta Posted October 17, 2009 Members Share Posted October 17, 2009 I usually turn them down to almost zero on their monitor and wait until they complain. Then I say: "if you want to hear your voice, you'll need to sing louder... yeah, louder... louder... a bit more... there you go, sing like that through the whole show, ok?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cappttenron Posted October 17, 2009 Members Share Posted October 17, 2009 You can always tell pro singers from many amateurs by their mic technique. You cant go direct on vocals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted October 17, 2009 Members Share Posted October 17, 2009 You can always tell pro singers from many amateurs by their mic technique. You cant go direct on vocals yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cappttenron Posted October 18, 2009 Members Share Posted October 18, 2009 yet I saw James Brown when he was older and there was a guy in the back filling in for him to hit certain notes. But even when he was old he still could do the splits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stevie j Posted October 18, 2009 Members Share Posted October 18, 2009 I'm quite blunt with singers like this. I'm forever telling women singers in rock bands that either they have to project or the band has to turn down. End of. You say you're using a B87. Try angling the monitor at 45o to the mic, it's a hypercardioid, so picks a lot 180o off axis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayak Posted October 18, 2009 Members Share Posted October 18, 2009 Does she "kiss" the mic when she's singing, or is she a foot away from the mic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted October 18, 2009 Members Share Posted October 18, 2009 Good luck with THAT. I work with a guy who simply will not project. His mic is always the hottest on the stage (and not surprisingly - always the first to have feedback problems). I've been working with him for several years .... we used to argue about it. Now before most shows - I bring him over to the board. I show him the gain settings on his channel compared to everybody else's - and the show him where the feedback starts. He's welcome to stop by anytime during the show to confirm I've given him "all there is". Nothing has been effective in convincing him HE needs to pump up the volume and learn to project. Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JDRock Posted October 18, 2009 Members Share Posted October 18, 2009 It's worth getting her help with mic technique. If you make her louder in the wedge, she may sing even quieter. This is a common problem amongst the vocal-shy. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted October 18, 2009 Members Share Posted October 18, 2009 There are limits no matter what you do. How many sliders do you end up moving on the GEQ. If more then 6 you are probably going backwards and actually cutting more of what you need than getting additional GBF. 1. Kiss the mic, sing with lips touching the windscreen. 2. Use a good feedback eliminator instead of GEQ. 3. insert a BBE on her channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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