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Getting Better Live Sound On BYOPA Gigs - Advice Please

#21
thanks everyone for the tips. played two gigs (a small bar and a private club) with our PA since i started this thread, and the sound was much better. better balance overall, better sound on the vocals, and nothing overpowers the room.

maybe i did too well? i am now in charge of running the soundboard.

one question to help me take this even further:
1. the 1x12 just doesn't have the same punch as the 4x10. anything i can do to get some of that 4x10 feel back?
 
#22
Dminor7 said:
thanks everyone for the tips. played two gigs (a small bar and a private club) with our PA since i started this thread, and the sound was much better. better balance overall, better sound on the vocals, and nothing overpowers the room.

maybe i did too well? i am now in charge of running the soundboard.

one question to help me take this even further:
1. the 1x12 just doesn't have the same punch as the 4x10. anything i can do to get some of that 4x10 feel back?
Click to expand...
Are you referring to "punch" from the stage or FOH? What others have to say about your new mix.

Adding an HPF to your rig/set up will tighten up the low end and may solve that "punch" problem.
 
#23
stumbo - thanks for the tip.

punch on stage was OK (but i was right next to the cab). punch in the FOH was lacking a bit. But the crowd was really complementary on the mix, the vocals were crystal, and afterwards the lead singer asked for more bass next time. i'll see what i can do with a HPF to up the bass content.
 
#26
Dminor7 said:
band was a duo, but is no longer in the "duo" category. but the 4 piece inherited the PA system of the acoustic duo. and that's the causin' of it all
Click to expand...

Ah. Gotcha.

Yeah get a sub....at least. Cross them over where the tops aren't even attempting to produce a ton of bass. Keep taking your 4-10 to the bigger show but it and a sub should get it done. The HPF/LPF you mentioned should tighten things up both in your rig and the PA. I would put it first thing after your bass and tuner.
 
#28
4Mal said:
I would add a sub, use the 1x12 on stage. I like low stage volume and face melting PA - assuming face melting is called for... if not, we can back off a tad...
Click to expand...

funny you should mention that. our PA isn't going to make it to face melting levels, and i'm feeling confident that this isn't a face melting kind of band.

however, one time i played a very different gig that put a "this show will cause face melting" warning on the posters.

maybe i should take that up again. is face melting working well these days?
 
#30
Dminor7 said:
stumbo - thanks for the tip.

punch on stage was OK (but i was right next to the cab). punch in the FOH was lacking a bit. But the crowd was really complementary on the mix, the vocals were crystal, and afterwards the lead singer asked for more bass next time. i'll see what i can do with a HPF to up the bass content.
Click to expand...
Another thing you can do is tilt the cab back with an angle stand or put it on an upright stand so you can hear it better on stage - it may also help the lead singer.

Both of these things will also decouple the cab from the stage which, depending on the venue, may help clean up your tone a bit.

Also, get a long cord or go wireless so you can hear the mix FOH for yourself.

Wireless allows you to move around and hear how everyone else hears the stage mix and at the start of a set, you can be FOH for a part of the first song to double check the mix.
 
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#34
@blazebarlow
generally...if your PA is on a stick...you just dont have enough PA...especially for outdoor
I recommend...it would be a 3 way system....a bass cab...and another cab that would have the mid and the high both in the cab
for the bass bins...JBL PRX 418 S...its an 18 inch passive sub 1600 watts...cost..$750 plus tax (per cabinet)..
for the mid and high...JBL STX 812 M..it has a 12 inch cone for the mids..and a 3 inch compression driver for the highs..1200 watts...cost $1200 plus tax (per cabinet)...
with this...you have quality...and power.
you will need to use 3 amps for the highest and best use...a low..mid..and high amp.......
you will also be needing a 3 way stereo crossover to run a stereo signal to the 3 way speaker system plus an EQ, compressor, and a snake

is that a decent summary?
 
#35
blazebarlow said:
"ringing" is testing the room for frequencies by moving the faders on an equilizer to find frequencies that feedback or are problem frequencies...depending on your experience..it can be done with a music CD playing...or just a mic in hand...or an RTA (real time analyzer) which tests with pink and white noise...cover your hand over a mic and it shouldnt feedback...if it feeds back...pull that frequency down at the EQ...its mostly geared toward vocal material...the problem is usually in the 1.2 - 2 khrtz range for the lower frequency part of the vocals... the upper octaves region of the vocal spectrum will feed back in the 8 to 10 K range..
Click to expand...

Well stated.

Set all of your vocal mics up and turn them up until your system feeds back. Notch that freq on your global EQ. Do it again for the next freq, but not as much. Mains and monitors are tuned apart from each other. Then apply any LPF and HPF.

What you’ll end up with is a natural sounding PA system that’s tuned for the individual frequency hot spots of the room you’re playing in. YouTube has a ton of video how-to.

 

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