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How to boost volume on PA?

#21
Lot of questions from ya'll but no answers. First, the SM 58 was good in it's time and some still use them but, today's technology has given us better mics. Mentioned previously, user error may be the case. EQ, gain, speaker, PA capabilities all play a part in output. Power and knowledge of how a system works is important. Not running a board right can be like shoving a bowling ball down a funnel. The overall sound is choked.

Lead vocalist got a powerful voice or is it weak, that could be another issue? Using the mic right? 4" away from a 58 isn't lead vocals. Passive or powered system? Improper setup for those alone if powered could be a problem if not setup right as well. If its a passive system, where is the power set? ( slave power) All comes back to proper setup . If all but one of the system in the chain isn't setup properly, you will lack output. If all the boxes have been checked and still no improvement, you may have equipment problems or a change is needed. Good luck.
 
#28
To the OP:

1. Fire up the mixer but not the speakers yet

2. Press PFL Solo button on the channel for the vocal mike(s) (the Rude Solo LED below the meters should turn on)

3. Have singer(s) sing into the mike. With the channel gain at "U" you should see a strong signal on the meter LEDs. If not you have a problem with the mixer.

4. Turn the PFL Solo off (the Rude Solo LED below the meters should turn off), set the L-R button to ON and the 1-2 button to OFF on the channel, Pan to center and set mixer Master all the way down/off

5. Connect mixer out to the EV speakers input #1 with XLR cables

6. Set level for input #1 to full CCW (-infinity) and turn on EV speaker.

7. Bring level #1 up to where it says Line, then start bringing up Master on the mixer until it's loud enough.

Let us know if this works.
 
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#30
shred said:
During band practices (including my sons’ band) we are having trouble hearing the vocalist. Both rock bands do not play too loud (subjectively). My question is, how can we increase volume out of our PA speakers in our basement practice area?

The vocalist(s) use a Sure SM58 microphone into a Mackie ProFX12 v2 mixer and then into two(2) powered speakers, EV ZLX-12P (both on stands which put the speaker at close to human head level).

We’ve moved the speakers around, tweaked and boosted the db level on the speakers to no avail. Is the current setup/equipment inherently not strong enough - I’d hate to have to replace it but if so what are practical recommendations? Is there a way to add another amp in the chain to push more volume? Any other potential solutions to increase volume?

(We do have the capability to use headphones which we do on occasion but prefer not to use them).

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I have two SM58 mics and also a Sennheiser e935. The SM58's are just not as hot as the Sennheiser's are. When my SM58's are set at the same level as the e935's, the e935's are louder. I can compensate for that by leaving the level sliders where they are and turning up the gain on my SM58's a bit. If you haven't already tried turning up the gain, give that a shot. Be judicious with it because if you turn it up too much you'll have feedback problems or distortion problems with the vocals. I actually switched to the Sennheiser e935 mic as my standard because it captures the nuances of my vocals better than the SM58's do. But try adjusting the gain and see if that helps.

Just had another thought. Most of those powered speakers have a few different baked in EQ settings that you can select. Try singing through each one to see if you find a better match than what you're getting. They often have a "vocals" EQ setting and I'd try that one first.
 
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#31
A lot of great info, but my assumption is the pa speakers are facing the band and in a small room they cannot turn up the system without getting feedback. The gear is solid enough but meant to be facing the audience not all the noise converging in the center of the room.
So I would look first at mic placement so you can turn up but not induce feedback,
Then do exactly what everyone says and make sure you have enough gain in the system vs using the volume sliders. Appropriate gain staging is key to volume.
If that doesn’t work and the gear and gain staging are good I would use the speakers as monitors on the floor and see if that helps the feedback issue.
 
#32
We had the same issue in a basement space until I asked the drummer to use hot rod sticks and the guitar and keyboard players not to use their amps, no vocal monitors either. Just everyone except drums DI into the board. Then mix the sound levels so everyone can hear the balanced mix through the PA mains.

It works for us however the guitar players say they can’t hear themselves as loud as they prefer. In ear monitoring (or headphones) and no PA mains can fix that so everyone gets the mix they prefer. We tried that annd agreed to adjust our individual desires and play through the mains. YMMV
 
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#34
As has been said, check the gain setting on the mics, try the pa speakers on the floor. Check the dsp settings on the speakers, try a mon setting or even off, foh (on our Yamahas at least) is too scooped for vox. My electric band has two vocalists, one with a strong voice and one much weaker. I have a hard time getting enough gain on the weaker one in our basement rehearsal space before feedback. When we play outside or in better rooms I can increase his gain substantially.
 
#35
shred said:
During band practices (including my sons’ band) we are having trouble hearing the vocalist. Both rock bands do not play too loud (subjectively). My question is, how can we increase volume out of our PA speakers in our basement practice area?

The vocalist(s) use a Sure SM58 microphone into a Mackie ProFX12 v2 mixer and then into two(2) powered speakers, EV ZLX-12P (both on stands which put the speaker at close to human head level).

We’ve moved the speakers around, tweaked and boosted the db level on the speakers to no avail. Is the current setup/equipment inherently not strong enough - I’d hate to have to replace it but if so what are practical recommendations? Is there a way to add another amp in the chain to push more volume? Any other potential solutions to increase volume?

(We do have the capability to use headphones which we do on occasion but prefer not to use them).

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Put the speakers over you guys. Bodies trap sound. You need to elevate them above the bodies.

Turn down your instruments, so that the vocals are louder than your band.

Scoop 800hz out of the guitar, 500hz out of you, and boost 1.8k on the vocals and drop 250hz on the vocals.

Get him a beta58


If those things don't help you, your singer is just quiet. Boost his gain.
 
#37
Gain staging. What is the initial vocal signal going into the mixer? Depending on the db scale, it should average -18dbfs (there may be spikes higher than that but should never get to zero) or just breaking into the yellow zone (0) on a logarithmic scale (not sure what this is called). If your scale ends in zero, it is dbfs. If the yellow begins at 0, you have the other scale.

You have powered speakers. Are they turned up all the way? I prefer to run my PA amp wide open and control volume with the mains fader.

How are the vocals eq'd? Start flat (12 o'clock). Boosts in the high mids and high areas can help vocals, but too much can lead to feedback and harsh sounding vocals.
 
#38
Is the Shure 58 using an XLR cable (on both ends) or is the cable an unbalanced 1/4 inch on one end and XLR on the mic end? I bought a nice 57 for $5 from a guy that couldn't be bothered to try/buy a balanced XLR. Big difference in volume in that case.
 
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#39
shred said:
The vocalist(s) use a Sure SM58 microphone into a Mackie ProFX12 v2 mixer and then into two(2) powered speakers, EV ZLX-12P (both on stands which put the speaker at close to human head level).
Click to expand...
there's no reason that mic and that setup won't work just fine

speaker level knobs way up, channel faders up to the "0" mark, then start with mixer output fader off and slowly bring it up

treble up a little and bass down a lot on the vocal mic channels. "100Hz" cut button in

that "comp" knob on the mixer channels? turn it off
 
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