# Pa System Equipment Help.



## KingCore (Apr 28, 2010)

Ok, to start off I'm in band that has trouble with the PA system. My question here would be what equipment would you need in order to be able to have a working PA system for band practice.

We have a PA Monitor (old Peavey 260 Vintage ), That you can't put the thing past 2, and can't be heard over the guitars. We play in a MetalCore band, so we need the vocalist to be loud, and heard over others. We have two big speakers, (2 speakers in each cab), and they seem like really good speakers. We have mics that are hooked up to a big mixing board. 

On top of what equipment you need to make a mic work through speakers, Im curious about a PA loop? is you can call it that or a series. Like what would the mic go through etc. 

We're looking to upgrade equipment, and are wondering what the basic setup would be for a PA system for vocals would be.

Thanks.


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## fudb (Dec 8, 2010)

Well... there's a lot to know.

Typically a basic rehearsal system will have at least 2 and often 4 monitors, and it's a great idea to rehearse in "band formation".

Your old Peavey 260 vintage monitor can't be turned past 2 because? Does it frap out, or does it feed back?

I'm assuming it feeds back. There's a few rules every young metal band needs to have tattooed on their foreheads:

1. Even though it looks cool, don't let the singer "cup" the mic. When he/she does this, they're essentially turning the mic into an omnidirectional mic, and that will lead to more feedback.

2. Turn down the guitar amps. There... pretty good eh? Now, TURN EM DOWN MORE. When you watch videos, it's easy to get the impression that bands play small clubs with Marshall and Boogie full stacks turned to 10. They don't. If they do, they don't sound good live. Your amps should be just at the volume where they blend naturally with the drums. You shouldn't try to fill the club with them, they sound a LOT LOUDER 10 feet away than they do at your knees. Try pointing the amp straight at your ear to get an idea of where you're actually mixed. 

3. Don't point the mic at a monitor. Sort of the same as rule 1, actually.. feedback happens when the mic feeds a speaker that feeds the mic that feeds the speaker that feeds the... well you get the idea. Most vocal microphones are "cardioid" pattern mics, which means that they don't pick up as much sound from the back (towards the cable) than they do from the front (the ball end).

Microphones are in essence the same as an ear. All a microphone can do is reproduce what it hears. If the amps are so loud that they drown out the singer's voice at the microphone, then all the mic will put into the PA is more guitar. This is called "headroom", and the more you have of it, the better you can bring the singer's voice to the volume it needs to be, to be heard clearly over the band. The more in control your stage volume is, the more usable headroom you will have to make your band sound better. Remember, only musicians listen carefully to instruments... most people really only hear (and want to hear) the vocals.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Everything fudb said is pretty much right on.


Get one of these. It will drive your two speakers nicely, provide lots of power and is a great rehearsal rig for up to 10 mics or lines.
Yorkville Sound: MicroMIX


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

All very good advice. 

Also, when you're setting up your mix, try to get everything at unity. You basically want to trim the mic gains to the point where every input is maxing out at 0db so that you have some headroom to spare and from there, you turn things DOWN, not up.


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