How to make your own "PA"

[Franknfilms]

I need to rig up something for vocals in my apartment. Right now it is just myself and a drummer and I don't want to buy a PA. I'm just wondering what are the absolutely cheapest solutions for amplifying vocals for practice? I don't have any speakers or extra amps to work with so I will definitely have to buy something. I know absolutely nothing about PAs and my standards are as low as they get, just want a microphone running through a speaker. Let me know your ideas, thanks!

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

I've run a mic through a spare guitar amp in a pinch. You just need an XLR to 1/4 inch adapter. You can also use a home stereo system or even computer speakers (you might need a 1/4 to 1/8th inch adapter). Won't sound the best, but should be loud enough for practice.

 

[Franknfilms]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

I've got one of these bad boys in the same room we practice in:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018YXP5Y/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=
Do you think I could run a mic through it and not damage the speakers?

 

[mwalluk]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

I wouldn't recommend going through a guitar amp unless you do not need the amp anymore. It will ruin the amp.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

IN terms of the surround sound, you might blow the speakers. You may have to suck it up and buy a cheap/used pa. All you need is a mixer and one speaker.

 

[uOpt]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

I need to rig up something for vocals in my apartment. Right now it is just myself and a drummer and I don't want to buy a PA. I'm just wondering what are the absolutely cheapest solutions for amplifying vocals for practice? I don't have any speakers or extra amps to work with so I will definitely have to buy something. I know absolutely nothing about PAs and my standards are as low as they get, just want a microphone running through a speaker. Let me know your ideas, thanks!

I would buy a decent mic and a stand. A SM58 to be specific. You'll never regret having a spare SM58 in the car if you do any kind of singing or are playing in a band with a singer.

The easiest method for one-voice amplification is a keyboard amp that happens to have a XRL mic level input. If you need to get a separate XLR mic level preamp I'd get something like a Tascam US-122 which also serves as a soundcard, DI box and other useful tricks. Then you can go into a guitar amp but obviously the lack of a tweeter and the highly colorizing speaker will make it sound sub-optimal.

 

[SamusChief]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

I wouldn't recommend going through a guitar amp unless you do not need the amp anymore. It will ruin the amp.

Not true. I ran my vocals through my guitar amp for a year straight (and sang every time I played) and the amp is no worse for wear. It still runs like new. Both of the ones I used.

 

[uOpt]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

Guitar amp will be fine, you can't kill it unless you keep banging the mic on the floor (low frequency impulse). You won't be able to damage it with feedback.

Home hi-fi is generally not fine because you can easily kill the tweeters when feedback ensues and/or when overdriving the amp into clipping. Unless the tweeters are piezos.

 

[Franknfilms]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

Thanks for the suggestions, here is some other stuff I have laying around, I should have mentioned in the first place:
SM57, mic stand, Tascam condenser mic, Tascam Fireone audio interface

 

[Diego]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

My ghetto practice "PA" for my ex band consisted of a tiny cheap mixer I got around,
which I fed into a old Crate guitar amp the owner didn't give a damn about.

Bass, vocals and some tracks were amplified through there. Yes, Bass.

It wasn't that bad actually but we played at a very low volume and I still managed the bass with care so it wouldn't damage the speaker.
Close to 6 months of abuse and it still works nicely.

 

[The JEM Ghost]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

A powered monitor can be a solution in need as well, there wont be much EQ posibilities, but the mixer Diego mentioned can be your solution to control your EQ.
MIC into mixer into powered monitor=emergency solution towards a vocals PA
But works well, and no chance on any damage (except your hearing as usual )

 

[eschoendorff]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Singing-M...raoke-System-with-Disco-Light-Effect/12311605

All yours for just $59.88 :jester:

 

[Kam]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

Not true. I ran my vocals through my guitar amp for a year straight (and sang every time I played) and the amp is no worse for wear. It still runs like new. Both of the ones I used.

+1

I've ran vocal mics into several amps for looooooong periods of time without any nasty side-effects whatsoever.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

I wouldn't recommend going through a guitar amp unless you do not need the amp anymore. It will ruin the amp.

This is incorrect. It's the extended reproduction of very low frequencies that tend to blow speakers. Even baritone and bass singers don't get much below 80 - 100 Hz when they're singing . . . which, interestingly enough, is about as low as a standard tuned guitar can go. (http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/music/musical-note-frequencies.htm)

IN terms of the surround sound, you might blow the speakers.

I doubt that this is true either . . . you might be able to blow the speakers by pushing them far too loudly (you can blow pretty much any speakers regardless of the application this way), but other than that there shouldn't be any problem with the frequencies produced by a singer. Assuming that you practice at around the volume that you would watch a loud movie the home theater system should work just fine.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

This is incorrect. It's the extended reproduction of very low frequencies that tend to blow speakers. Even baritone and bass singers don't get much below 80 - 100 Hz when they're singing . . . which, interestingly enough, is about as low as a standard tuned guitar can go. (http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/music/musical-note-frequencies.htm)




I doubt that this is true either . . . you might be able to blow the speakers by pushing them far too loudly (you can blow pretty much any speakers regardless of the application this way), but other than that there shouldn't be any problem with the frequencies produced by a singer. Assuming that you practice at around the volume that you would watch a loud movie the home theater system should work just fine.

Wasn't specifically speaking about frequencies, I'm talking about volume. You would need to crank the surround sound for vocals alone to be heard over the drums. Now I'm not sure what style he plays but my band plays more modern to hard rock with a double bass, a couple high gain amps, etc and the vocals never stuck out with the pa we were using. Thing is we never really had our amps up much past 3. Same wattage.

Now if he plans on mic'ing everyown. forget about it.

In terms of guitar amps, whatever you guys do is your business, but I will never run anything but a guitar in mine.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

Wasn't specifically speaking about frequencies, I'm talking about volume. You would need to crank the surround sound for vocals alone to be heard over the drums. Now I'm not sure what style he plays but my band plays more modern to hard rock with a double bass, a couple high gain amps, etc and the vocals never stuck out with the pa we were using. Thing is we never really had our amps up much past 3. Same wattage.

Now if he plans on mic'ing everyown. forget about it.

Fair enough. He did say that it's just him and a drummer practicing though, so the volume would likely be lower than the situation you just described. He also said that he only plans on micing his vocals . . .

In terms of guitar amps, whatever you guys do is your business, but I will never run anything but a guitar in mine.

That's also cool . . . but if you don't have knowledge of something and haven't done it then why are you advising people that it will "ruin the amp"?

 

[woemoejack]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

keyboard amp with xlr input is your easiest, cheapest, and best sounding option for amplifying vocals.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

Fair enough. He did say that it's just him and a drummer practicing though, so the volume would likely be lower than the situation you just described. He also said that he only plans on micing his vocals . . .



That's also cool . . . but if you don't have knowledge of something and haven't done it then why are you advising people that it will "ruin the amp"?

I never said I never ran vocals through a guitar amp. In fact i did when I was younger. My Marshall solid state was never the same after. I'm friends with other musicians who did the same and their amps never recovered.

 

[Franknfilms]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

Thanks for all the feedback, this is a good conversation. While the the drummer and I are cranked and playing rock/metal, I don't think that we are particularly loud compared to most bands. I'm leaning towards buying a cheap phonic keyboard amp.

 

[uOpt]

Re: How to make your own "PA"

Damaging a guitar rig with sound input is difficult. They are immune to feedback and clipping that you normally use to kill part in multi-way full-range cabinets.

The only way to hurt them is low frequencies at high power, because that may make the coil in the speakers hit the back of the speaker, or rip the paper. Combos and cabinets with open back are particularly vulnerable to this. This is why I said that as long as you don't constantly drop the mic you should be fine. In practice most guitar speakers have very stiff mounts and I'd say they are difficult to kill even if you try with low frequencies. They just don't output anything much.

If you are dumb enough you can damage the amp after killing the speaker. If you melt away the speaker coil so that it doesn't have any electric conduction anymore then there is no load anymore on the output transformer, so that's the same as not connecting a cabinet. This can overload and hence melt the output transformer if you continue to give it input after audible output ceased long ago.