PA system...

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Okay this is basically the problem, I'm sure tons of people have run into the same type of thing -- Our PA system isn't loud enough for us to practice with. We don't have a lot of money to spend on a new one, is there anything we could do that would be inexpensive and work better. I mean, any other ways we could set up the amps and the PA speakers to get a better sound, any other speakers we could use, etc etc. We do have a Mackie 16 track mixer...could that be used as a PA system, and if so then how would that be done. Thanks.
 
well. i might have some suggestions...
but we have got to know what kind of pa you have, what amps, what speakers, what are you running into it, what are you doing with stage amps, drums. etc.........

little more info here
 
he said it wasnt loud enoug the practice with
 
Even so, let's get a handle on the present setup. Tell us about the rig you presently use, the kind of music, who has what amps, mics and all that stuff. We also need to know as much about the practice space as you can reasonably give us. Is the problem that you're not getting enough gain or that you can't get any controllable gain w/o feedback problems?
 
We have a phonic powerpod 408 PA system. I believe the two speakers are 100 watts each. I can't tell you much about the guitarists' gear...this is all I know - our guitarist has a crate head and a marshall cab. Our bassist has some type of combo amp. We are adding a lead guitarist soon but haven't found one yet. The room is not too big, a rectangular shape. Three of the walls are concrete and one is plywood. We tried a set up the other night and it sounded a little better. The set up we tried was with the drum set in the middle of one of the shorter walls, the bass amp on one side and the guitar amp on the other. Both the amps are angle inwards, and then we put the two PA speakers angled inwards in the other two corners. We're using an sm57 as a vocal mic, and it is pointed at the space in between the two PA speakers...uhmmmm I can't really think of much more info...

by the way the room is about 11 ft. by 14 ft.
 
Wow..that sounds like a small ass room. What kind of sound dampening stuff do you have for those concrete walls?

How loud does the guitarist play?

Does he play with the amp cranked up all the way?

Are the speakers on stands or on the floor?

I bet you get feedback when you turn the Vox up for the mic. That should be the only thing your Micing( the vocals), with that size room.

How loud do you want it?

Think about somehow raising the speakers if they arent already.
 
1) You don't need two PA speakers in a tiny room. Just hook up one of them.

2) Put the bass & drums on a short wall, with drums in one corner.

3) Put the bass amp in the other corner.

4) Put the guitar amp in the corner down the long wall from the bass amp.

5) Put the PA speaker in the middle of the long wall across from the amps.

6) Have the singer stand across from the PA speaker, facing it, making sure to point the BACK of the mic at the PA speaker. The singer should be 3 feet from the wall behind him.

7) Try to get the PA speaker and guitar amp off the floor, even a foot or two, or angle them up like stage monitors.

8) Find some blankets to hang on the walls, especially on the wall behind the singer.

9) If the drummer can't hear the vocal, then add the second PA speaker back, right next to him, aimed and him & away from the mic.

That's if you want to rehearse in a circle facing each other. If you want to set up like on stage, do what you described, except use one speaker, and have the singer face the speaker rather than face the drums.
 
Yeah it is a pretty small room but it works. Would it be better and easier to get a good sound if the room was bigger? If we move to the other side of my basement it's about, twice that size. The guitarist plays loud but not all the way cranked up. The speakers are raised a little less than head level. And yeah, we are only mic'ing vocals and it does give off feedback when we get past a certain level of volume. We just need it as loud as everything else so we can actually hear vocals, so pretty much as loud as possible.

You mentioned sound dampening, there really is none. Maybe I should start with that? If so, what should I use....just blankets?
 
name_goes_here said:
We just need it as loud as everything else so we can actually hear vocals, so pretty much as loud as possible.
That's the typical mindset of someone who doesn't understand PA. The hard thing you really need to learn is how to play lower... :) AND actually hear vocals.

Don't crank to amps... drummer use those promark sticks(please don't whack the skins like crazy).... try to get a nice balance between the music and your vocals...

This applies to whatever type of music you play....
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Bingo. You're overpowering the room. It's like yelling into a mailbox; plenty loud but doesn't accomplish much. You're going to have to turn the amps down. I'd follow mshilarious's suggestions to the letter.

Four sound dampening - are thare any winter clothes / coats, parkas, snow pants and so forth stored down there? Bring 'em out, run clothesline along the concrete wall and hang them all up on the line. That will help absorb and diffuse some things. You need bass traps in the corners - for now, stack them full of off season clothes if you can. Cost = zero and you might hear a diffrence.
 
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