Sorry if this may be long but I don't how much information is needed and I need some advise on where to look for a static issue that destroyed our first set this past Saturday. Our setup is pretty basic mics and equipment to the peavey mixer, Mixer out to an EQ and then crown power amp and speakers. We run an Effects unit for compression and reverb through the effect send/receive on the board.
Prior to Saturdays gig we ran sound checks and everything appeared fine. That was until we started the first set. The vocals coming through had a such a horrible static that we had to stop. This static wasn't the normal hum but more like the vocals being badly overdriven. I checked all the connections and everything was correct. We reran mic checks and the static was still there. There was a new mic add to mix that night as the drummer brought a mic that required phantom power. Turning it off was the first thing I did but I didn't unhook it from the mixer. (I don't know what type of mic he had). I then rechecked the gain settings and I bypassed everything and patched the mixer straight to the amp but no change. In the end I was able to get one of the 4 vocal mics down enough for us to finish the set. After that we pulled the plug and went to a PA system/Mixer on the guys just so happen to have brought. Once plugged into it (using the same snake and speakers) everything worked fine and we had a great time playing for the next three hours. The only difference was we didn't plug in drummers mics nor an acoustic guitar.
All of our vocal mics are dynamic and I read that phantom power should not affect them, but after Saturday I wonder if somehow it did. Is that possible. Is it possible the maybe one of the drummers mic cords could cause it. Reason I ask is because I tested the unit over the past two days after getting it home (making sure not to hit a button or turn a knob until then) and the system worked great. I did not have all 4 vocal mics plugged in though nor the instruments but I did pump music into it and hooked up a mic and blasted vocals to the music. I did this for each channel and still no static. Unfortunately I did not have the drummer mic to test it. So is it possible that one mic requiring phantom power could have caused all this mess? Should I have shut the mixer off and restart it after turning off the phantom power?
If anyone has any suggestions that I can check I would appreciate it because I am out ideas and we have another show this Saturday. My band member is going to bring his PA again just in case but I would like to get this figured out.
Prior to Saturdays gig we ran sound checks and everything appeared fine. That was until we started the first set. The vocals coming through had a such a horrible static that we had to stop. This static wasn't the normal hum but more like the vocals being badly overdriven. I checked all the connections and everything was correct. We reran mic checks and the static was still there. There was a new mic add to mix that night as the drummer brought a mic that required phantom power. Turning it off was the first thing I did but I didn't unhook it from the mixer. (I don't know what type of mic he had). I then rechecked the gain settings and I bypassed everything and patched the mixer straight to the amp but no change. In the end I was able to get one of the 4 vocal mics down enough for us to finish the set. After that we pulled the plug and went to a PA system/Mixer on the guys just so happen to have brought. Once plugged into it (using the same snake and speakers) everything worked fine and we had a great time playing for the next three hours. The only difference was we didn't plug in drummers mics nor an acoustic guitar.
All of our vocal mics are dynamic and I read that phantom power should not affect them, but after Saturday I wonder if somehow it did. Is that possible. Is it possible the maybe one of the drummers mic cords could cause it. Reason I ask is because I tested the unit over the past two days after getting it home (making sure not to hit a button or turn a knob until then) and the system worked great. I did not have all 4 vocal mics plugged in though nor the instruments but I did pump music into it and hooked up a mic and blasted vocals to the music. I did this for each channel and still no static. Unfortunately I did not have the drummer mic to test it. So is it possible that one mic requiring phantom power could have caused all this mess? Should I have shut the mixer off and restart it after turning off the phantom power?
If anyone has any suggestions that I can check I would appreciate it because I am out ideas and we have another show this Saturday. My band member is going to bring his PA again just in case but I would like to get this figured out.
