Help! I'm an idiot and I need to run a PA!

[JoeRules00]

My band has recently been booted from our regular practice spot, and so for the time being, we're in my den. Our guitarist has an older PA, consisting of a Mackie 1402 Mixer, a Mackie 1400i power amp, and a JBL speaker (well, 2, but we've only been running one for the time being, because only vocals are going through the PA.)

To make this somewhat short, none of us are experienced enough with running the PA to know exactly how to hook everything up. At our last practice, we got the setup working slightly - the highs weren't being picked up, and the lows were too boomy. We can live with the lows not being perfect, but we've gotta have the highs - our singer sings fairly high, and with things the way they are, we might as well not have a PA.

I'm trying to get some actual shots of the equipment (with the settings the way they are), but I won't have a digital camera until later tonight or tomorrow, and next practice is tomorrow night. I've attached stock photos from Mackie's website, for the time being. If anyone can help, it'd be great.

Just as an FYI, I recognize the possibility that the speaker may be busted and could not be putting out the highs, but our guitarist says the PA worked just as recently as 2 months ago (the last time it was used), so I don't necessarily believe the gear is busted as much as I believe we're too stupid to work it properly.

Thanks for any help!

[Diggler]

What type of JBL speakers do you have?

You should be able to cut the lows and accentuate the highs using the high/mid/low pots on the mixer. You may be getting stage rumble from the other instruments though.