Members guitarharv52 Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 I'm far from an expert at these things but my band was having feedback problems with the monitors and we did two things.1) Had drummer switch to lighter sticks ( 7a's i think) 2) Had singers actually sing ( projecting their voice and everything ) INTO the microphone while holding the mic near their mouths ( instead of 2 feet away ). These two things allowed us to lower the gain on the mics and thus reduce the feedback. The second thing you did was by far the most important.The singers may want to research mic techniques. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TexasJim Posted February 12, 2007 Members Share Posted February 12, 2007 O.K., paulwannabe: After getting yelled at, advised and sort-of admonished by this extremely experienced group, what have you learned? Do you think the problem is something OTHER THAN your 808S? Is your monitor placement more optimum than it was? Are they junk? Have you learned a bit about room dynamics, shapes, and reflectivity vs. absorption? How about singer's mic techniques, and drummer's dynamics? How about channel strip EQ settings, Main & Monitor EQ settings, and overall Main & Monitor gain? I suspect you have come here for a simple answer to your problem, and have realized that there are myriad contributing factors to what goes into your sound and how it gets out to the audience. But, all these things that have been offered to you as potential problems are things that you have to consider each time you set up a sound system. Most of these guys are pros that have learned this stuff the hard way over many years, and are a wealth of knowledge for the newbie, at no charge. What a bargain! After using my 808S for many years, the main thing I can recommend: You now how most of the knobs on your 808S have a detent in the center position(50%)? It's there because that's the spot you should be able to not exceed, and still get a great mix. When you have to go past that, you are asking for problems. Keep on trying, and experiment with the monitors, and placement. Maybe disconnect the piezos, like some recommended. Good Luck! Texas Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted February 13, 2007 Members Share Posted February 13, 2007 Using monitors that cost 10X as much as what you're using Possibly 30X to 50X as much. I believe some models of Meyer or other similar high-end monitors can run somewhere around $5K per. I believe some models of Kustom wedges can commonly be had for less than $100 ea. http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-PAIR-KUSTOM-PA-STAGE-MONITORS-WEDGE-SPEAKER-CABS_W0QQitemZ280079757292 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flanc Posted February 13, 2007 Members Share Posted February 13, 2007 Possibly 30X to 50X as much. I believe some models of Meyer or other similar high-end monitors can run somewhere around $5K per. I believe some models of Kustom wedges can commonly be had for less than $100 ea. http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-PAIR-KUSTOM-PA-STAGE-MONITORS-WEDGE-SPEAKER-CABS_W0QQitemZ280079757292 Gosh...I had no idea those Kustoms were that cheap...or those Meyer's were that expensive:eek:. However, you should be able to get something serviceable for a club band for $200-$250 if you shop smart (used). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassred Posted February 13, 2007 Members Share Posted February 13, 2007 It was a 4 peice Blues/classic rock band playing the bar scene. I must have found the two Kustoms that didn't sound like complete ass... We ran acoustic and vocals through them, a little kick, some gigs we'd put just a little electric guitar in them. Never cranked to concert levels (we were rockin', just not going for ear-bleeding), but monitors shouldn't have to blow your head off, a combination of smaller rooms and musicians who listened when you told them to turn down were also on my side. I think too many people expect them to perform like pro boxes, as long as you don't have that expectation you should be able to use them in a way that won't be drastically aweful... They finally bit the big one when my keyboard player started using them for his stage rig with a Fender PA head (a tube monster with a couple of channels....) we had a sit-in keyboard player who was always too loud when he was a regular member of the band.... He cranked, they blew, I still have the boxes, might make a coffee table out of them...... For $50 a peice I got 5 years out of them, I'm not crying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boomerweps Posted February 13, 2007 Members Share Posted February 13, 2007 ... He cranked, they blew, I still have the boxes, might make a coffee table out of them...... For $50 a peice I got 5 years out of them, I'm not crying. I'd ballpark the interior volume and pick up a couple appropriate cheapee woofers & horns from www.partsexpress.com and put 'em back to work. Likely the "crossover" is the actual peizo horn driver itself with a resisitor across it to protect it. Pretty simple to fix or slightly upgrade. And then rip the Kustom logo off!!! Boomerweps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tremendo Posted February 13, 2007 Members Share Posted February 13, 2007 For $50 a peice I got 5 years out of them, I'm not crying. Yep. $50 with shipping, ($40 + shipping). It was worth a try for me as well, but I quickly moved to something else. Now it's mostly IEM's. I've got a couple sitting around, they are heavy and sturdy little boxes. I like 'em, as long as I don't plug 'em in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members paulwannabe Posted February 13, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 13, 2007 I've got a couple sitting around, they are heavy and sturdy little boxes. I like 'em, as long as I don't plug 'em in. Loved that quote. I love just looking at all the equipment stacked up in the basement. Even though a good bit of it is Kustom crap. Texas Jim, yes this has been a learning experience. It never occured to me before that the sound waves from the speaker would bounce off the wall and reflect to the microphones. I always thought that as long as I didn't point a mic directly at a speaker I should be okay. Maybe life will be easier for me now. I still need to do something about the scratchy pots on the Mackie, and I still say it's not as good as my Yamaha setup, but it's not junk. And yes, the Kustoms are still junk. Have you ever heard them? My first P.A. setup was a $480 Kustom package, with a 7 channel 200 watt powered mixer and two 12" cabs with piezo tweeters. I would hate to have been the audience listening to that setup. The tone was so nasal and harsh. I still have that system, but I only use it for practice and monitors now. Well, I'm off to rip the piezos out of those cabs. Band rehearsal is in a couple of days, and hopefully with my newly acquired knowledge, we'll have some vocals in our mix. I'll post to say how it turns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Goldenvoice Posted February 13, 2007 Members Share Posted February 13, 2007 Hmmm... I just started using my Mackie 1604 again, after a long spell in the closet (for good reason)... MY Mackie is a feedback bastard with {censored} on top... There, I feel better... Cut the hell out of 4k, um-kay? G:blah: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flanc Posted February 13, 2007 Members Share Posted February 13, 2007 Loved that quote. I love just looking at all the equipment stacked up in the basement. Even though a good bit of it is Kustom crap. Texas Jim, yes this has been a learning experience. It never occured to me before that the sound waves from the speaker would bounce off the wall and reflect to the microphones. I always thought that as long as I didn't point a mic directly at a speaker I should be okay. Maybe life will be easier for me now. I still need to do something about the scratchy pots on the Mackie, and I still say it's not as good as my Yamaha setup, but it's not junk. And yes, the Kustoms are still junk. Have you ever heard them? My first P.A. setup was a $480 Kustom package, with a 7 channel 200 watt powered mixer and two 12" cabs with piezo tweeters. I would hate to have been the audience listening to that setup. The tone was so nasal and harsh. I still have that system, but I only use it for practice and monitors now. Well, I'm off to rip the piezos out of those cabs. Band rehearsal is in a couple of days, and hopefully with my newly acquired knowledge, we'll have some vocals in our mix. I'll post to say how it turns out. A modest blast of Caig De-oxit has helped with scratchy pots for me in the past.http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-DeOxit-Cleaning-Solution-Spray/dp/B0002BBV4G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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