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Old 11-01-2009, 08:36 PM
Roxy Roller Roxy Roller is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2009
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I know this may seem obvious, and I don't mean to be a wiseguy, but if you can't hear the vocals and you are playing smaller venues, the solution is not getting more power to your vocal mic for more volume, it's turning everything else down so that the vocals can be clearly heard. The best way,as you know, to lose this type of gig is to be too loud. If you're good, people will usually shut up and listen (not always though). Playing louder will only result in a volume war with the talkers. I'm thinking about your wine-tasting gigs here specifically. After years of playing with countless drummers and in fact being one myself, I know it's hard to control your volume sometimes. A solution that I use for this is to lay a thin towel or cloth across the top of the snare. This will take away some of that top end "crack' that is usually the culprit when a vocal is struggling to be heard.
I would also be careful not to have the monitors blasting too loud. Just because they are facing you doesn't mean that the audience isn't hearing them as well. In small venues the monitors play a big part in the over-all sound of the room. Make sure your monitors are mixed and e.q.ed nicely as well, complimenting the front of house speakers.
Also, regarding getting more bottom out of your acoustic, be careful. It's important to keep in mind that a guitar doesn't naturally possess real bass frequencies (300hrz and lower). That is a bass guitar's job. If you try to boost these frequencies, you will only muddy up your sound and rob yourself of headroom causing the instrument to be more prone to bass feedback.
The only real bass you have is the bass drum.
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