Vocal help

premier1

My new problem, why are the vocals not cutting though enough? I should not be having a problem, I have a qsc gx5 for the two mains it is plenty of power and I dont think the band is outrageously loud as to bury our singer? am I missing something in the crossover department? or some other adjustment? at unity gain that vocal mic should be blasting it out its am sm58. Just doesnt seem loud enough. I feel I have enough power Im just not sure if I am utilizing it right, our guitar player has turned it down a notch, I need to get the gain up on her vocals.Any tips would be helpfull, the kick sounds awesome everything else if fine, maybe its her mic techniqe? I dont know but I do know I am not spending any more money on power..2000 wats seems like enough for me lol..thx

Gadget

2000 wats seems like enough for me lol..thx

For my 2 subs and 2 tops I have almost 10,000 watts and sometimes it just isn't enough...Granted they aren't your run of the mill speakers...

But, if your getting "awesome kick" then I suspect there is something else going on here...

Did you do a gain structure?

What procedure are you using on her vocal? What is the gain set on her channel?
what happens if you turn the gain up on her channel (not talking about the fader.. the INPUT gain

Are you using any eq (channel strip) on her voice? ...but then again that lo-mid-hi eq with no sweep is kinda useless...

Did you auto eq?
G

premier1

Turning the gain up helps a bit but makes the signal very hot to the point of feedback, I have it set now just a bit under 3/4...I did not auto eq because we are always in a different place, as for the chanel eq's I have the mid and the high set about the same at a 1/4 and the bass set just a tad below that. The only effects she uses are the onboard ones in the mixer itself, just a mid room reverb setting. And my bad, I did not do a full gain structure yet I will admit that. I was not trying to be mean about the power issue, however I just figured that since my speakers are rated at 300 watts continuous that pumping 500 into each one was a perfect amount, I use the same seprate amp for the subs. I suspect this is an eq problem and I am just to ignorant to use it right yet, she likes alot of highs but with that comes feedback and squelling and it drives me nuts, going to far the other way produces a nasty low rumble, I will do the gain structure today propery as per your instructional post and then see what happens, A band where people have trouble hearing the singer has a problem and I just want to get it right, thanks

Dra

Having all the channel EQ's at 1/4 or less, means you have other things going on. Did you engage the AFS using the voal mic?
Feedback in mains?

DRA

Gadget

That is why ...if you had read the "READ ME FIRST BEFORE POSTING" section, you would have seen that the gain structure and the Auto Eq would go a long way to solving your problems. One thing is that cheap speakers with 15" drivers and 1" horns have beamy frequency response from about 500 hz up...so everything from 500-2000+hz is suspect.. and likely causing you problems.

G

premier1

Thank you for the reply however I dont feel my speakers are "cheap"..the Tapco 6915 is made by mackie and they did retail for a fairly high price, all the components are mackie and eaw, Having said that, I did notice the compressor was on and the gain was low, I turned it off and it made a difference, not huge but it helped. I then dug into if the mixer preamps etc may be a problem, I exchanged my Mackie pro-fx12 for Yamaha MG 166CX, It was a big difference this time much clearer sound, maybe yamaha has better preamps and faders than mackie, I dont know but it seems better. Can I do the gain structure using the pink noise from the drpa? or do I need it on cd, Sorry for not reading all the help sections. I really cant afford an all out speaker change now so what I have will have to do for awhile, I have heard that 12s on top are acually better for vocals? Hopefully my speakers are not realy junk, they did get some good reviews overall

Gadget

Thank you for the reply however I dont feel my speakers are "cheap"..the Tapco 6915 is made by mackie and they did retail for a fairly high price

Look I wasn't "Bashing" your speakers, but the fact is, The Tapco line is Mackie's "budget" speakers, and, for instance, the driver in my 2 way tops costs more than twice what the whole tapco 6915 did (they have been discontinued)...I was making a point...15 inch speakers make poor midrange speakers for vocal reproduction, and the fact that they are matched to a 1" horn that crosses north of 2000 hz allows the 15" speakers to beam frequencies between 400 and 2000+ hz. This can cause many problems with clarity and directionality.

Can I do the gain structure using the pink noise from the drpa?

No, you need to begin @ the preamp of the mixer...We have provided a downloadable CD in the FAQ section

I have heard that 12s on top are acually better for vocals?

They make a big difference...that is what I have(12" 2way with 2" horns)...I love the way they sound. For about $1500 for a pair, you can get a really professional speaker that will blow you socks off... otherwise your just polishing a turd...(with cheap speakers... sorry)

Your best bet is to auto eq and see if you can't tame those things...

Gadget

premier1

okay understood, I baught the tapcos at a decent price because they were discontinued and not knowing better I thought larger would be better having the 15s, anyway what are the 12s you would recomend for the $1500 a pair? pasive that is? Maybe I will trade in and see what else I can do to get a pair. Thanks, I also downloaded the cd and plan on doing the gain tommorow, thanks again