Mixers, Speakers, Mics: Choosing a PA System & Setting It Up The Right Way | Reverb
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- čas přidán 5. 08. 2024
- Vocalists get a lot of glory, but straining to be heard during practice is a less-than-glamorous job. Here are a few tips to make sure you know what gear to acquire, how to make the most of your PA system, and get heard.
Read more on Reverb: goo.gl/mQWQ9B
Tips on Recording Synth: goo.gl/sGFqAp
Tips on Recording Acoustic Guitar: goo.gl/1r81xK
Tips on Recording Electric Guitar: goo.gl/kBgZ1x
Tips on Recording Podcasts: goo.gl/Rbb23u - Zábava
The entire video was great, but the feedback pun at the end was the best part
I know it was so funny!
I felt so bad for McCartney, those ears of his are a musical treasure.
here's a hack for guitarists: split your signal in at least two (using e.g. a chorus pedal ) and use 2 tracks on a mixer mix clean and effected signal. and only route the clean to your monitor. your precision will increase and would sound great.
Thanks! I use this for keyboard and I like the result.
@@donaldfewell8908 Wow, that's called thinking out of the box. I like that. good luck.
My dude, you helped me more in 3 mins than most have in their whole video
Informative, funny. And I liked the "feedback" action at the end. Great job and thank you for the info.
Finally someone who can speak in layman’s terms. Good job explaining passive and powered options up front. Most videos of this nature never focus on this.
6:10 - Holy smokes this is a game changer. Never thought about clearing the particular frequency and boosting the rest. Thanks!!
As a person who's been passionate about songwriting for many years but has never performed live, this video was super helpful. Thank you so much! I agree with another commenter: more videos like this would be great!
You don’t need to know any of this nor do u need to own any of this to start playing live, venues have sound systems and mics.
Easy to remember very helpful and will be useful immediately. Every audience of ours owes you a thanks.
This is the best best best video on Tube to explain how to set up a simple PA. No mucking around and straight to the point. Love your QSC K speakers. I use QSC. Love your work. (Colin - Melbourne Australia)
As someone who hopes to gig in the future and who hasn't got a clue right now😬this is really helpful man, cheers🤟
Thank you Chris D’Elia
Gold
This
I always though Chris D’Elia was just Bill Hader with a beard smh
Now this sounds like a terrible insult haha.
Finally! Literally the only video I've found on CZcams going over speaker placement of one single speaker with reverb for a solo gigging artist. THANK YOU! A more in depth video going over EQ (when you hear the feedback do you turn down the high/low EQ for both vocal and guitar?) and gain (where there heck do I put my gain for vocal and guitar) and height & position of speaker (my speaker sits on the ground standing up right...is that wrong?). I play a ton of outside gigs, bars, and restaurant - this was so helpful! Now I can tuuuurn up with no feedback!
Super helpful, particularly the section about feedback. I didn’t know that reverb can contribute! Thanks folks.
This is the most useful band setup video I’ve seen to date. Tell us how to get “near” a good sound. We can figure it out from there. Straight forward, informative. 👍
Solid advice. I'd add that it's a good idea to power up the PA in the direction of mics --> speakers and reverse that for powering down. Sometimes one forgets to turn down all the volume and gain controls...
This video was thorough but simple to understand. Thanks for such a helpful video!!
I chose QSC a while back, glad to see that’s what’s visible in the beginning of the video👍
Thanks man! I was so lost and still got some figuring out to do for my specifics, but this helped a lot.
Thanks for these vids man I’ve been needing these!!!
Thank you so much. Simplest yet most informative video related to this topic. This is exactly what I’m looking for 😍😍
This video series is great! Thanks Reverb 👍
good information. my most challenging PA setup to date was a large bluegrass band. the reason it's challenging is that you have several acoustic instruments you are trying to make louder (without feedback), particularly the guitar, mando, or dobro (banjo's never really have a problem being too soft now, do they?), balancing that with a fiddle and bass that are using pickups and preamps to get louder. Add several vocal mics to that, and you have a pretty intense mix that has all sort of potential pitfalls. I am using a digital mixer (A&H Qu-16) which allows me to mix from the audience via tablet. A god-send.
Thank you for this awesome and simple set up run through !
Really in to this now..good stuff to know as a beginner ..thank you
Thanks for tips bro best video I’ve seen covering this topic
Loved the pun at the end! Great video, thanks!
Bro, I loved it! Keep up the good work.
The end with the “feedback” was pretty funny
I run live sound for large events occasionally, so I'm used to using a ton of equipment. I also occasionally play keys in smaller venues with setups like what you are talking about here. One thing that may be more or less important depending on the size of your venue with a smaller setup is the need to tie the band together in the same speakers. The old school method of having each musician that uses an amp bring the amp they use and mic the amp is a good one. They have developed a certain sound with that amp and need to be able to use it to hear themselves play. The new school way of using direct boxes to pull the preamp signal and turn it into an xlr connection into the main mix is fine. Most musicians are used to this now. The issue is that you still have sound sources pointed at the audience other than what is coming through the main mix. Vocalists and other instruments (drums are a special case) that don't have their own amps will be exclusively in the main mix. This can cause level issues the farther you get from the stage.
I'll give you an example: I was vacationing over the 4th in a small tourist town that pulled in a live band in a small park downtown. They were cranked up to be heard throughout the town, but not so much so that people couldn't sit around the gazebo they were in and enjoy them. As we approached the center of town (walking), I heard the vocalist. That's it. Only a vocalist. As we got closer, I could hear a little bit of guitar, then bass, then a hint of drums. As I got close to the band, I realized that they also had a keyboardist. By this time the levels of the band were starting to even out. They were fine musicians, but you couldn't really appreciate them until you got right up to the gazebo. The reason the mix was so bad farther out was because only the bass drum of the set was mic'ed and there were no woofers in the mains to give it the oomph to carry. Lower frequencies don't carry as far as higher ones and you need woofers with enough power for the system if you want to do that. Bass drums are white noise and the harmonic structure doesn't exist to carry the boom over the harmonics effectively. The keyboard had a nice smaller amp that put out some sound, but was small and on the ground. Everyone at the gazebo was absorbing the sound from it and not enough was in the main mix to carry it further out. The bass guitar and guitar were in a similar situation, except that their amp speakers were larger. They each had tall amps. They were directed into the mix, but couldn't be raised too much because of the sound they had coming out of the amps. The speakers for the main mix were raised on stands over the heads of the audience. That's why only the vocalist was carrying throughout town. What they had was good for a small area. However, they would have been better served to have a good woofer or two, turn the amps down to use only as monitors, mic the set, and run things mostly through the main mix.
This makes so much sense, thanks
Thank you for the micro sound engineering lesson 🙌🏼🔥
this is good...straight, thorough and to the point....
Woaah! Had a great lesson on this, cheers!
Informative and fun to watch! Great video, thx!
Super helpful video. Thank you!!
Thank you, great, insightful information.
Sooo simple and straight forward, thank you
Is it just me, or that super fast mic feedback sound like a very clean lightsaber? 🤔
the first one sounded kinda like a trombone to me lol
Heck yes this was so informative. Thanks for this!
Simple and precise!
Very insightful . Thank you sir
Thank you for posting
Very good information! 👍
Enlightening and helpful!!! Thanks!!
Chilled out manner /voice a pleasure to listen to. having played live gigs I support what you say, once it goes tits up on something we soon learn lol, nice one enjoyed the vid : )
well done as always joe
Good review. Thanks!
I’d love to see a video detailing some of those PA hacks you talked about.
Thank you, cheers
Really chill dude and very sleek
Great video..thanks
Thanks for sharing.
great video thanks
That’s was a very good video I learned so much about giging thank you
Thank you. I'm learning the audio end of things. My background is RF and I'm new to AF, My wife is the musician. I can't carry a tune so I carry the equipment.
I do 95% of the setups. She plays small gigs . Some we just set up her keyboard amp and some a powered mixer and a pare of speakers. Most vids and I say most, I watch on youtube I get something out of.
Mike
I used a small 100w peavey PA system just for vocals for band practice and we were a loud punk band. What made the kinda small PA system loud was using a mixer and to boost the signal and without that the vocals were not anywhere near loud enough plus I could add in some effects
Excellent Video. Thanks man. funny too.
Good vid.
Maybe one on stage monitors would be helpful as well, I find most of my feedback comes from bloody monitors and singers wanting them stupidly loud and bang under their noses!!
Great thoughts here. Except trying to tune out mid range feedback by attenuating lows and highs. I would bet that mic sounded line crap after rolling off that much boom and sizzle.
ty nice presentation
Watch Paul McCartney at 2:58
It happens to the best of us. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I don't know if you've seen original Star Trek, but they'd do this in every third episode with the camera tilted and everyone covering their ears and falling over. It is absolutely visceral when high wattage sound is fed back, s'why it's been militarized, you can bring whole crowds of people to their knees without firing a shot.
I mean it's Paul McCartney, what else would you be watching lmao
Aswesome video, thx
Great vid! Although I was hoping you'd demonstrate how to use the EQ to dampen the feedback
thanks!
I hope folks watch this. Perfect, basic advice.
I need help: what is the minimum wattage for a vocal PA for rock music? In a rehearsal/small gig context?
Very useful thanks,
For a room 10x5 m is 2 x 8” speaker enough for a band of keyboard and vocal mic? Or you recommend 12 inch for better sound quality?
I have no idea what to actually buy, though. Particularly for practices in my sheogaze band.
Rest of the tips are great!
I'm sorry if this is a dumb Question, I am new to having a "Professional" Microphone... (I mostly play guitar) but I do sing as well and needed a Professional Microphone.
I bought a Discontinued "Crown CM-310" Microphone... I know I need an XLR Cable, but after that I have no idea what I need... The description of the Crown CM-310 Mic I bought said I needed Phantom Power, but I know someone who has the same Microphone and they said they don't need Phantom Power.
I just want to have my Crown CM-310 Mic, with a XLR Cable, and hooked up to a straight Floor Monitor (like I don't want to go through the whole having a Mixer stage), any suggestions on what I need to use to plug my Mic Into XLR (was thinking of the Magomi Gold Male to Female '25 Inch XLR Cable), and I don't know about what style of PA system to buy.
I was going to get this Sound Tech S 20 (4-Channel) with 2 10" PA Speakers but someone bought it...
So I was either looking at a Yamaha BR12M 12 2-way 300 Watt Passive Floor Monitor.
Or this Mackie 1000 Watt PA/Amplifier SRM 450.
But with either of those PA Monitors could I just have my Mic, the XLR Cable one end hooked into the Microphone and the other end of the XLR Cable straight into the PA Monitor? Is that possible?
Like I said I'm new to Professional Microphones and I have no idea what to get to be able to play guitar loud with my effect boxes and have a mic to be able to hear myself sing... Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, Thanks Rych.
Reverb is my go to for new and used gear. If you guys are trying to buy from guitar centers used gear online... Best of luck and Reverb will see you very soon lol.
Help, someone! lol I want to use my Yamaha CP88 Stage Piano at home as well as gigging as I just love the it. What speaker system do you guys recommend (stand alone not running through a pc or DAW? Searched you tube for advice and failed. Thanks
Hello, I’m thinking of buying a powered speaker that have 2 mics option with reverb/echo that is good quality enough in around less than $250 oh also that is iPad friendly. Can you recommend one, I saw the mini one but I’m leaning towards this 1000w size, what is the brand name of this speaker?
Well said re feedback!
When joe explains, I can pay attention
Help! Anyone, I have a looper with a drum machine built in that my multi fx guitar pedal is going into and the looper is stereo out to a reverb and stereo out to 2 speakers but obv the reverb is adding reverb to not only my guitar sounds but my drum sounds as well,,, how would I havethe drum sounds going out of the looper to one pair of speakers un-reverberated, and my guitar sounds going out to reverb and into another set of speakers?? I'm starting to realize this might involve a mixer and wondering if that is the case? I know if the looper haddual stereo out where one stereo out isolated the drum sounds and the other stereo out isolated your guitar sounds but it just has one dual stereo out and one out call damp out, and I'm trying to figure out how to get the drum sounds to one set of speakers with no effectsand the guitar sounds to another set of speakers with any effects that I wantall so as to not muddy one pair of speakers with drums and guitar sounds and scents sounds etc all coming out of two speakers is this possible?
lmao "in the comments leave some *feedback" took me a second but gave me a nice laugh
you sort of mentioned it with your first option but you did not really mention an acoustic guitar amp with a mic input... more for solo acts or very small venues but even at larger venues you can use it as a monitor and plug into their pa...
What's the best speaker system to run on top of two 21" thousand watt subwoofers? I've looked through so many sources, and nothing ever seems to line up ideally.
Great video. I am new to all of this and would like to hook a mixer up to my fishman sa220. Is this possible and how does it connect? Thank you
just take the main outputs from the mixer and plug them into channels one and two on the fish, should be good to go. im not familiar with those speakers, but if they have pan knobs use them to match left and right outputs of the mixer
hi, what system its best suited for adding a dj controller?
Thanks m8
Nice
I wish you guys would do a video on studio monitors at various price points. All that money spent on buying gear, and it sounds crap without a good pair of monitors. There so much biased opinion out there, that it would be nice to get an opinion from people with less skin in the game.
Having a video to supplement it is a great idea, but we do have an article that includes some recommendations for monitors at any budget. Hope this proves helpful! reverb.com/news/how-to-choose-the-best-studio-monitors-for-any-home-setup
Unless your using computer speakers, the best advice anyone will give you on studio monitors is to treat your listening area. Unless your spending over a $2K on a pair (and even then) all monitors will have their areas of weakness. As you use a particular set of monitors for mixing, and listening to reference tracks, you will learn where you need to compensate for those particular monitors. Spend your time and then your money on treating the space.
You can spend all that money on gear and not need studio monitors. It is only a subset of people who are recording and mixing their own music. Many people simply play music, or write music or rehearse music to later be performed or recorded. The point of buying instruments and amps is so you can actually play music, not record it. All the rest of the world is producing/recording music without the need of all the gear.
And don't believe everything Saam is saying. It's not so stark, some hit music has been mixed on hi fi speakers, despite what he may try to sell you. If you're a knuckle head any $300-500 pair of monitors is going to be better than your ears for several years. After that, if you put in years developing your ear, you can listen to monitors for yourself and make your own decisions. Saam is right, you do need room treatment, and real room treatment, not like "Studio Foam" or egg crate. You'll need legit Roxul rockwool, or some Owens Corning 703 panels. Endless vids about acoustic control on YT, millions of free articles. Just spend some time and then do it. Personally, I'd recommend splitting your monitoring budget on speakers and treatment. $600 budget, $300 monitor pair, $300 room treatment.
@@alphanumeric1529 "some hit music ... Despite what he is trying to sell you" Did you read my comment or just immediately start trolling? I'm saying exactly what you're saying.
@@saam6768 Exactly, why you tripping?
If I have a powered mixer, can I upgrade to a better non-powered one and use my old mixer as a power amp??
Ive been doing gigs for quite some time now. Im still uneducated to set up my PA. So my questions are
1) how much wattage of speaker do i need for about 70people in a gig?
2) i have a Roland Cube 50w as my electric guitar amp, is it better to have the beringer PA\Monitor 150w speakers than roland?
3) how do i set up a sound thats not too loud in front but can have a full clear sound around the bar?
4) do i really need a speaker monitor in a small gigs?
1.) dont concern yourself with watts, concentrate on coverage, 70 people jam packed into a tiny dive bar can probably make do with even just one speaker, a mid sized bar or coffee house two (of any power rating) will do fine for small or solo ensembles. if that 70 person crowd is in a basketball gym, youll need multiple speakers facing multiple directions to keep everyone in the loop.
2.)i never recommend behringer products, yeah the price is great but the equipment is horrid. if youre asking if you should just have your guitar amp and pa for the audience, you could throw a mic in front of the guitar amp and get the coverage needed. i guess im not 100%sure what youre asking here?
3.)easiest way to fill the room with sound once the audience shows up is to have the speakers above the audience, either on speaker stand/poles or suspended from the cieling if available, bodies absorb sound so when the speakers are body level, nost of the sound is absorbed before it reaches the back of the room.
4.)thats all on you, if your audience is small and listens quietly, and youre able to hear yourself from the main speakers even without them being pointed at you, then no, but it is handy to own at lease one just in case.
hope this helps, good luck!
Great ! Are mic with on/off switch on it better than no switch ones with YAMAHA PASS 6OOi , Somme gigs with 2 singers and 4 musicians in bars and small gigs ? We just want to know your point of view ...kind regards from France
if youre by yourself (no sound engineer) mics with mutes give you a quick easy way to mute the mic then go have a break and not risk feedback, just dont forget to turn it back on! as per quality, most engineers dont like mics with switches, but honestly the general audience doesnt know better
What device/s (pre-amp/mixer) would be recommended to use between Drum Module (e-drums) and Drum-Amp?
Because the way it is now, the sound (Oomph!) just isn't there using e-drum to Drum Amp alone. It's like the sound is muttered in the background and needs to be pushed "forward" more.
check your eq settings, i always reccomend "flat" settings on these types of electronic instruments and amps just due to the fact they are sound samples and have been pre engineered from the manufacurer. beyond that, it may be an issue where the amp is either just cheap, or could be in need of repairs. also, make sure you are using stereo patch cables, not mono guitar cables, some of those machines send low frequencies down one pole and high down another so a mono cable would be missing half of the signal effectively
Lol, leave some “feedback”
Great video!
Easy to understand, thank you!
American Jon Snow just taught me some solid stuff,
Top lad.
Hey i got a kinda confusing dought its about a keyboard im planing to buy and ahout the output the thing is im planing to buy a casio ctx3000 and it has a sterio output no left or right mono so if im playing on a large hall i would have to conect to a pa system so the out put would b sterio would this effect the quality of the sound as it would b a sterio output and not left right mono ?
stereo is left and right. to more simply answer your question, no, the sound will not be negatively affected
Has anyone got a clue of the song playing in the background? (Very noticeable at 2:19? Alternatively an artist/band that plays in that style would be appreciated !!!
Can somebody please explain why it is not a good idea to put your hand over the mic capsule if feedback is occuring.Thanks
I'm very new to this. So if a drummer has to use multiple microphones (up to, let's say 8), would it be better for the drummer to have his own mixer, which could then be connected to the main mixer with everyone else's instruments?
microphone snakes are common practice in this instance, you can use one big one for the whole stage, or one big one to the stage and one or more smaller ones for groups of instruments (ie drums). i never reccommend multiple mixers in small pa setups, to many moving parts for a small machine.
Also, I’d love to know more about the conversation between sound guy and the band.
I want reverb in my vocal monitor. What's my best option? My mixer has efx settings...but only through my mains. Thanks
use an external reverb processor, several iptiins under $100, feed it from an aux send off the mixer if one is available, ideally in post fader mode, bring the signal back into the mixer on an empty channel, usually a stereo channel, and use the aux send on that channel to feed your monitor. this lets your engineer (if available) "dial" in appropriate levels per song and even mute between songs so it doesnt wear people out. if you have money (1k-2.5k) digital mixers have loads of features that analogue ones don't, and nearly all of them have highly functional effects processors built in that have lots of fine tuning options, options that a small analogue mixer with built in preset effects just dont have.
HOW ABOUT SOME PORTABLE PA/ ARRAY SYSTEM COMPARISON TESTS FROM YOU?
I'm an old dog and been using a powered PA and passive 15's for 27 years. I love the bass I get even as an acoustic solo. but I need to update my look. I see the younger solos using one powered speaker behind them as a monitor. sometimes it's even a 12". looks wimpy to me. I can't see how they can get and substantial volume without feedback. I feel comfortable behind and in between my big fuzzy cloth covered speakers and my ancient repainted 14 times wedge monitor...and I'm Captain Kirk in my cockpit....let the show begin!!!
What do I need to do . sing go through a mixer , a PA system , and I want to have backing music , then film myself for CZcams , could you help please ,,,, Greg
How to you place speakers in a semi circle setting where the band is in the centre and is surrounded by the audience 180 degrees?
I don't really know what you mean? Just make sure of a few things. 1) your main speakers or "front" is at audience ear level. 2) your mic line is ALWAYS behind the "front" set of speakers, and 3) the monitors are on the ground facing directly towards the back of the mic for cardioid mics (such as an SM58), and in a 45 degree angle for hypercardioid mics (such as an SM58 Beta) and you should be fine.
Is it OK to connect the edrum signal to the front of house mix without a subwoofer?
OK? Yes. Will you have a better result with a subwoofer? Absolutely 10000%.
Is there a less expensive speaker?