Need help setting up a PA for a 2-man duo

octoruss

octoruss

New member
Hola amigos--
Yer friendly octoruss here. Haven't been around for a while, but it sure is good to be back at HR.

Ok, here's my question. I've got a bar gig coming up--the first one in about seven years. I play with one other guy and we do 2 acoustic guitar stuff and close harmony.

I just bought a Yamaha EMX660 powered mixer and 2 Yamaha S12 speakers anticipating that this will not be the last. But where I need help is a starting point for initial EQ setup.

As I said, we will have one mic for each vocal, and both guitars have fishman pickups. Each channel on the mixer has a 3-band parametric EQ, and a 7-band graphic mixer for the master mix, plus individual settings for the built-in reverb FX.

Since I'm somewhat of a dummy when it comes to EQ, can you suggest initial EQ settings for the guitars, vox and most importantly the master? I think it would be good to have different EQ settings on each so that nothing gets drowned out, but again I don't know where to start.

Thanks for your help! And if you need a view of the mixer, it can be found here: http://www.yamaha.com/menuitems/panelviews/proaudio/EMX660/EMX660.htm
 
Can you find someone with some ears to take out to the club for a sound check?

It's going to be hard to set up correctly if you're doing all the settings from the stage.
 
unfortunately, no. The mixer will be located behind us, and we'll have to mix "on the fly". It shouldn't be too hard with just 2 vox and 2 acoustic guitars, but I'm looking for a general EQ setting that we can use as a basis.
 
Leave the EQ on the vocal channel flat, plug in a vocal mic and talk through it, adjust the main eq until the voice sounds natural and balanced, check for sibilance ( essss - about 8 khz ) and boxiness ( somewhere between 150 and 500 hz ). When you are satisfied thet the voice sounds natural the system should pretty much be flat (with that type of mic), crank up the fader to check for feedback and pull out the offending frequencies a little.

Good Luck.
 
In that situation, you're never going to be able to count on a sound check. Once the bar fills up with rowdies, your initial EQ will be useless. Tex is right- cut some lows, and be mindfull that two guitars produce a lot of low mids, so you might cut them a bit.
You've got to set your levels in rehearsal - then just adjust volume and EQ to suit the venue. Good luck!

Bob
 
The only conceivable universal starting point EQ for anything is flat.

Everything else depends on the instruments, the mics, the mic positions, the speakers, the speaker positions, the room acoustics, and the level and type of ambient noise in the room.

Sorry, but you are asking an unanswerable question. There are just too many variables. At some point, someone will actually have to listen to the sound and make a judgement.

This could be done by a friend who can relay information between tunes, or possibly having one of the performers go out and check the sound during a solo number by the other performer.

Trying to "guess" at an appropriate EQ without listening will probably do more harm than good. There are no shortcuts to replace listening.
 
Actually...If you post an UN-EQ'D mix of you and your pardner... as well as one of your voice alone, his alone, and each of your guitars alone... Then a mix of ALL the above.. only patched thru your PA speakers and re-recorded.... plus a scale drawing of the room and what the walls are made of....

I could probly recommend EQ settings for you.

xoxo

;)
 
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