20
votes
Loudness of A Contrabass
This is partly a myth and partly due to the physical size of the bass.
Some people (even professional musicians) believe that low frequency sound waves "need room to develop". That's completely false....
- 56.3k
20
votes
Accepted
Mic use for masked performers
I'm going to offer a non-technological suggestion. As several answers have already observed, you're fighting some impossibilities (not the least of which is "I have been assigned to improve the ...
- 15.9k
17
votes
Mic use for masked performers
There are three things I'd recommend in terms of PA-settings that do usually make a significant improvement on intelligibility in excessively reverberant rooms:
Cut the bass. Like, properly. Many ...
- 35.3k
16
votes
Accepted
What type of microphone is this?
It's not a microphone; it's directional antenna for wireless microphone systems. See http://www.shure.com/americas/products/accessories/wireless-systems/wireless-systems-antennas for details.
- 2,659
9
votes
Loudness of A Contrabass
If the sound 'developing' includes adding some reverb, I can see what they're talking about. But this isn't unique to bass instruments.
There's a rule-of-thumb in 'classical' recording that you ...
- 90.6k
8
votes
What's the difference between bass and guitar heads?
The demands on an amplifier/speaker combo designed to reproduce the sounds desired for bass guitar are different than for a regular guitar.
To accurately and faithfully reproduce the low ...
- 27.2k
8
votes
Cheap way to make sound from a MIDI keyboard, without PC
If you're willing to do it DIY, single board computers like a Raspberry Pi have enough processing oomph to act as (simple) synthesizers. They come with a USB and sound ports, it's just a matter of ...
- 17.8k
8
votes
Cheap way to make sound from a MIDI keyboard, without PC
Firstly, does your USB keyboard have MIDI out (DIN) sockets as well...
...or is it USB only?
If it is USB only, then it is possible to get a hardware converter (from USB to traditional 'DIN' MIDI) ...
- 45.9k
8
votes
Accepted
How to reduce noise in a mixing console
Mixing consoles don't have space to house top-notch (and expensive) discrete preamps. The Soundcraft preamps may be, well decent – that is, sufficient for any typical source: condenser mics and active ...
- 35.3k
8
votes
Accepted
How do musicians synchronize with the playback keyboards/ambience when live?
The drummer usually has a click (and the track) in his (in-ear) monitor. The rest of the band can choose if they want the additional track in their monitors or not. As long as they can hear the ...
- 20.1k
8
votes
How to close the gap between the engineered drum sound and the live drum kit?
I'm not sure you'll achieve this completely in a 200-seater, because the sound of the kit itself in the room will still be fully audible even from the cheap seats at the back, unless you are a loud ...
- 27.7k
7
votes
Acoustic Guitar in the Live Mix
In a lot of mixes, it's normal and even intentional for the acoustic guitar(s) to get hidden behind the electric guitars and other instruments during the loud parts. If you listen to the Led Zeppelin ...
- 56.3k
7
votes
Accepted
Cheap way to make sound from a MIDI keyboard, without PC
If you want to go really cheap, I found this little sound module on Amazon that costs only £50. Haven't tried it, but it should get the job done. Accepts both USB and MIDI as an input and in the ...
- 186
7
votes
I need a stage vocal monitor. Can I use a spare amp?
You may absolutely use a spare guitar amplifier as your personal vocal monitor.
Set the amp up clean (no Gain higher than 2, and the Bass, Middle, and Treble at 12 o'clock at first) and run the mono ...
- 1,842
7
votes
I need a stage vocal monitor. Can I use a spare amp?
Yes but...
My covers band did exactly this for a year or so, until I could afford a couple of reasonable monitors. It certainly works, but there are issues.
The most obvious problem is that a guitar ...
- 4,752
6
votes
Accepted
Is there a big benefit to running stereo?
This is a familiar question for keyboard players; our instruments are stereo by default[note], so we have to decide whether to run in stereo or mono all the time.
The biggest issue with stereo is ...
- 9,589
6
votes
In-ear monitoring - will adding ambient mic help my monitor sound be less isolated
Yes, if you're using IEMs (particularly if you're using them in BOTH ears) mixing in an audience mic is standard technique.
IEMs solve many problems. But they put you even MORE at the mercy of the ...
- 90.6k
6
votes
Accepted
How do they get guitars to sound so great on tv?
The first hint is that they both sound like an 'electro-acoustic' [especially the second one] with an internal piezo-type pickup & the second is you can see the cable out to what is probably a ...
- 27.7k
6
votes
Would PA Speakers or Studio Monitors be better for practicing live vocals?
You won't learn anything useful singing through studio monitors. Don't even bother.
You will learn some useful things by singing through a powered PA top that is on its side in wedge configuration ...
- 56.3k
5
votes
What's the difference between bass and guitar heads?
Back in the day, there was more overlap between guitar and bass heads than there is now. Guitar amplification imparts a lot of the final tone that we love of electric guitars and most guitar amp ...
- 56.3k
5
votes
What are my options to incorporate a sub-woofer into a PA system for live music performance?
I agree that looking at the future configuration you want is a good idea becuase that way you're not spending money on something now and then spending more to replace it later. From that point of view,...
- 56.3k
5
votes
Accepted
Acoustic Guitar in the Live Mix
I also play a Taylor Acoustic (614CE) in a band with electric guitar and electric bass and drums. I also play in an acoustic duo and play at open mics with other musicians with all sorts of ...
- 27.2k
5
votes
Can a physics simulator be used to generate sounds for music?
This has been done for many years, probably more than 20. It's called physical modeling. Ableton Live Suite comes with at least two synth instruments based on physical modeling. Many digital pianos ...
- 56.3k
5
votes
Accepted
Using both outputs (internal speakers and headphones) on digital pianos
I can see two solutions.
1) not using the inbuilt speakers. Add monitor speakers instead (speakers aimed at the musicians, with a mix helping with the performance). It is not unusual to want to ...
- 2,062
5
votes
Accepted
Best way to replicate acoustic guitar sound live
As piiperi commented, there's unfortunately still no 100% satisfying solution to this. While it is now possible to replicate the response of a guitar/room/mic system with convolution processors, that ...
- 35.3k
5
votes
I need a stage vocal monitor. Can I use a spare amp?
If at all possible, using in-ear monitoring has many benefits over using a speaker of any kind. (You can hear it better and you avoid feedback.) Custom in-ears can be expensive, but there are very ...
- 15.9k
5
votes
Mic use for masked performers
Two solutions for you which are either no-cost or ultra-low-cost. They just need a little of your time and effort.
Clean or renew the foam mic windshield
Foam windshield are often left in place over a ...
- 4,752
4
votes
Using two microphones for vocals
It was for noise canceling not recording. The Mics are out of phase so no feed back. this is the time when they used there own PA called " wall of sound" only used for one year. all the speakers were ...
4
votes
Live Midi Controller Setup
MainStage is the standard, especially in musical theater pits. Another option, if you don't have a MacBook, is Ableton Live, though it's expensive and I think it's hard to use.
I personally prefer ...
- 22.3k
4
votes
Connecting two mixers
The connection between sub-mixer and main mixer doesn't have to be RCA., it could be jack to jack, or XLR. With 50', you may need balanced leads, so it will depend where physically your snake is, or ...
- 190k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible