General Music Chat

XLR is that big 3-pin connection, like on the back of microphones.

The line-in would be regular 1/4" phone plugs (like your guitar cord)

I think he's messin with us Mike!

Not Messin with ya.. I REALLY AM T H A T STUPID LOL!

Uh, no your not, lucky for me, I have Cisco! Ha ha!

Speaking of Carvin, Cisco took their name off his cabinet, then he traded up to a Line 6, if that's any indication what he thinks of them.

Chaeya

I guess it's a mater of perspective.
Most of my Carvin PA system is still going strong.
And those issues I have had were immediately addressed to my satisfaction by the factory.

Though I have to admit . . . my go to amp is a MARSHALL these days.

I was able to test the full system (Pay-back to my noisy neighbors) and all the mics worked fine, (including the wireless) I got a feel for how the board will go. Played with the FX too ...Its fun!

But I got three more questions: This really centers on the room I'll be doing which, as Jeff noted , will hold about 200 people (but the main floor is 100).

Q1 I have two 400 watt speakers... I already found out the hard way not to tweak the gains too high on any given channel. No probs...lesson learned. It seems that if I set the faders at 0 db, its pretty staunch level for mics and acoustic instrument. But I havent actually tested it in that room. I just know that 0 db is present, loud and clear. I'm guessing that each channel should be strong level, and then from there use the master for more edge over all. Is that correct thinking? And how do I know when its too much?

Q2 I noticed on my 58 that it picks up Ps Bs and other eloquted lip generated pops... Any tips on how to set the board up to quell that? (I don't have a compressor)

Q3 I have two boom mics... There will be players who will just show up with their wooden guitars and will want to mic both the guitar and the vocal. I can accommodate that. Lets say I'm standing when I play. SO MIC 1 is my vocal and that one is parked in front of my face. MIC 2 is the guitar and the mic is aimed at the hole in the guitar. When I play and sing, this just feels so awkward, WHats a good way to position the mics/stands so I dont feel like I'm kissing them and bumping them..? ANd will I need to adjsut the mic levels for it?

Grant, I sent you a link that will hopefully help answer these questions. I sent it to your bm account as well as your paperdog email.

Hopefully Jeff's info helps you, but just in case.

When adjusting the PA, first put the channel faders down all the way.
Adjust the gain for each mic, one at a time. Shouting or singing loud into each one and adjust the gain. If there is a red clipping light on the channel, adjust until that turns on, then turn the gain back down a little. If there is no clipping light, its a crappy mixing board!
Once you have adjusted the gain for each channel, turn the main volume up a bit, then adjust each channel fader to balance with the others - you will need to adjust these faders for each act. The most-prominent one should be at 0dB, but if you need to adjust one of the others louder for a particular act, slide it no higher than 0dB and adjust the others back down.
Adjust the room volume with the master volume fader(s) once you have the channel faders set.
For live work you can't do much for the pops, a little compression will help, but you don't want to set it too high as it will rob the singer's dynamics.

For the acoustic guitar mic-ing, you can usually set the mic about 6" away from the guitar and pick up a good sound.

But for about $200 more you could get an L1 on eBay that does ALL of that, sets up entirely in 10 minutes, fits in the passenger seat of your car, and SOUNDS BETTER for an acoustic gig. Do you use more than 4 channels for an acoustic gig? If so, patch in a mixer.

If you play venues large enough have a PA system, you can use it as a stage monitor and control the mix sent to the main board (should you think that is necessary)

Those L1's do work great for acoustic, not sure about rock acts, though. There was a band setting up with one at a restaurant I was at on Saturday, but we had to leave, couldn't wait around another 1/2 hour for them to start, I was curious how it would sound with what looked like an unmic-ed drum set, 2 guitars and bass. They had it set up near the back with the drummer, so obviously it was being used as stage monitor as well as main output.

They work fine for small club and I STRESS SMALL VENUE! 100 people MAX. but better for the under 70 size venue. They have a wide field of throw and with them you really don't need monitors. If you have ever seen those speakers I can only say IMO "they sound about like they look" not very impressive! Only for very SMALL venue.

I'm not going to tell you they are the best PA system you can get; I'd prefer a wall of JBL cabs with a truck to carry them and a crew to set it all up and run it live. That's more than I can afford, if I'm going to make a profit touring.

But these Bose L1s will work for a rock band and they will work in venues up to about 500-600 seats depending on how you set them up, but you need the extra bass package (4 woofers per stick instead of one) and multiple sticks spread out.


The drawbacks are: If there are balconies in the room, you'll need sticks on every floor. For a high stage you need (at least) one on the floor and one on the stage. If there are a lot of bodies standing/dancing in front of them, the bass won't get through, so you need to spread them out wide in that situation.

It's a different technology which requires a different approach than traditional sound systems, but when used correctly they work for any venue. They are perfect for acoustic acts in venues under 500 seats. They automatically EQ to the room, all I have to do is adjust the volume.

Again....I'd rather a semi-truck load of JBLs and a crew to run them but lacking that, this works better 99% of the time.

For a solo act nothing beats them for ease, clarity, space, and quality independence.

I carry 3 of them and love being able to hear myself clearly now. I'm no longer subject to the whims of a soundman.

Grant, I sent you a link that will hopefully help answer these questions. I sent it to your bm account as well as your paperdog email.

Thanks for that info, Jeff Tonight I review carefully!

Hopefully Jeff's info helps you, but just in case.

When adjusting the PA, first put the channel faders down all the way.
Adjust the gain for each mic, one at a time. Shouting or singing loud into each one and adjust the gain. If there is a red clipping light on the channel, adjust until that turns on, then turn the gain back down a little. If there is no clipping light, its a crappy mixing board!
Once you have adjusted the gain for each channel, turn the main volume up a bit, then adjust each channel fader to balance with the others - you will need to adjust these faders for each act. The most-prominent one should be at 0dB, but if you need to adjust one of the others louder for a particular act, slide it no higher than 0dB and adjust the others back down.
Adjust the room volume with the master volume fader(s) once you have the channel faders set.
For live work you can't do much for the pops, a little compression will help, but you don't want to set it too high as it will rob the singer's dynamics.

For the acoustic guitar mic-ing, you can usually set the mic about 6" away from the guitar and pick up a good sound.

Thanks Mike, Good info, which I will merge in with Jeffs... All You guys are awsome...thanks for all the inputs!

The sound went well over all... We couldnt really get the speakers high enough or wide enough (for optimum) but the set was carrried well.

NEW Problem though

My wireless mic... The voice worked half the time...We couldn't resolve the loud static. Couldn't tell if it was positioning, or levels or what. We wound up not using it which was very disappointing. (We had it plugged into Channel Three, Line input)

So, I was thinking of using my Mustang II amp for it. (I just need it to give the panel of judges a working mic when they provide feed back.

If I do this, it means its in its own electrical system, independent of the mixer sound board/PA system. . My question is: Will the RF still interfere with the PA system?

The sound went well over all... We couldnt really get the speakers high enough or wide enough (for optimum) but the set was carrried well.

NEW Problem though

My wireless mic... The voice worked half the time...We couldn't resolve the loud static. Couldn't tell if it was positioning, or levels or what. We wound up not using it which was very disappointing. (We had it plugged into Channel Three, Line input)

So, I was thinking of using my Mustang II amp for it. (I just need it to give the panel of judges a working mic when they provide feed back.

If I do this, it means its in its own electrical system, independent of the mixer sound board/PA system. . My question is: Will the RF still interfere with the PA system?

Did you check the channel select switch? Those things usually have multiple channels also I don't trust batteries for more than one performance. They also have to be alkaline batteries and NEVER EVER buy a battery from a convenience store. There prices are SKY high as a result they set on the shelve for a LONG time and 9 times out of ten they are for the most part dead before you even install them. Are you talking about using your mustang as a p.a. just for that mic.? If so I don't see a problem always set your rig up at home to test it. Also be prepared for the unexpected like the wireless mic problem. Oh and were you using a shielded cable to connect the unit to the p.a.?

The sound went well over all... We couldnt really get the speakers high enough or wide enough (for optimum) but the set was carrried well.

NEW Problem though

My wireless mic... The voice worked half the time...We couldn't resolve the loud static. Couldn't tell if it was positioning, or levels or what. We wound up not using it which was very disappointing. (We had it plugged into Channel Three, Line input)

So, I was thinking of using my Mustang II amp for it. (I just need it to give the panel of judges a working mic when they provide feed back.

If I do this, it means its in its own electrical system, independent of the mixer sound board/PA system. . My question is: Will the RF still interfere with the PA system?

Did you check the channel select switch? Those things usually have multiple channels also I don't trust batteries for more than one performance. They also have to be alkaline batteries and NEVER EVER buy a battery from a convenience store. There prices are SKY high as a result they set on the shelve for a LONG time and 9 times out of ten they are for the most part dead before you even install them. Are you talking about using your mustang as a p.a. just for that mic.? If so I don't see a problem always set your rig up at home to test it. Also be prepared for the unexpected like the wireless mic problem. Oh and were you using a shielded cable to connect the unit to the p.a.?

Jeff, I was using a standard 1/4 inch instrument cable to connect the RF unit to the board (or in future cases to the Mustang II amp.) I agree about the battery. Just gotta replace that with a new one. (I don't think there is a store in Texas that has a 'fresh' battery ...LOL) .

It is a single channel, vocal set
http://www.akg.com/site/products/powers ... ge,EN.html

On my board the channel I plug the unit into is #3 Line Input. (As opposed to Insert I/O, which is the jack right below Line input)

You are lucky it takes AA batteries - make sure you use good quality alkalines, and replace it every performance - despite the 30 hour claims, as the battery voltage drops off, you will lose signal strength.
If you were getting glitchy transmission, it could have been power, or interference (meaning you need to use a different broadcast channel. At $100, that's one of the things they did away with - multiple channel capability.