Live Vocal Rig Suggestions?

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 11:45 pm

it looks as if i will be heading up vocals in a band that i am joining, so i would like to have my sound tailored to me, regardless of where we play. i would like to put together a small, quality rig (rack mount perhaps?) so that i can just give an XLR cable to the sound guy at a gig and tell him to run it my signal dry, and just EQ as needed.

my question is, what do you guys suggest for a good outcome (what style? ROCK!)? eq, compressor, reverb, delay, tube mic pre, all around effects processor such as lexicon mx200 or tc m350, bbe 362, or what?

i dont know much about perfecting live vocals, so any insight would be greatly appreciated =)

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 12:04 am

wait, you mean that YOU want to set compression, eq, delays, reverbs, etc ?

but.. but you are on stage and dont know what it sounds like in the audience. .???

that would be a terrible idea.

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 12:10 am

well i would prefer to set everything "decently" and if needed, have the sound guy dial everything in. i just want my own units, as alot of the venues dont have proper effect setups and/or below par sound guys...

more than anything, i just want my own rig. make sense?

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 8:09 am

rockstardave wrote:

wait, you mean that YOU want to set compression, eq, delays, reverbs, etc ?

but.. but you are on stage and dont know what it sounds like in the audience. .???

that would be a terrible idea.

+1

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 10:46 am

rockstardave, did you just +1 your own post?

I have awesome hair.

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 10:47 am

Codemonkey wrote:

I have awesome hair.

+1 to that!

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 10:47 am

rockstardave wrote:

wait, you mean that YOU want to set compression, eq, delays, reverbs, etc ?

but.. but you are on stage and dont know what it sounds like in the audience. .???

that would be a terrible idea.

+1

+1

If you plan on using specific effects for your show it would be best to have your own sound guy that will do it consistantly every time. Otherwise it'll be a crapshoot. You can't expect your sound to be the same in every venue. You need someone behind the console that knows what you are trying to achieve.

Certainly there are vocalists out there with their own rack but they usually have a sound guy to run it for them.

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 5:18 pm

+1 Bad idea - due to this statement:

Quote:

i dont know much about perfecting live vocals, so any insight would be greatly appreciated =)

+1 on Codemonkey's hair.

+1 because Hueseph's here, and so am I.

+1 On Rockstardave's personally attributed to his own post's +1...

There's no problem purchasing gear you want and building a rack for the FOH guy(s) to use, but running the dynamics and FX from the stage - ehhh, that's tricky.

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 6:53 pm

Ok, i understand what you are saying about running the setup from the stage, thats fine.

so now the question is, what effects or rack gear do you suggest?

eq, compressor, reverb, delay, tube mic pre, all around effects processor such as lexicon mx200 or tc m350, bbe 362, or what?

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 7:05 pm

What's the budget?

For an EQ, here's the few items I'd use:

Klark Teknik DN360
Ashly GQX models
Meyer CP-10
White 4000 series

Price them, what do you think?

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 8:47 pm

bent, my internet is not working well right now, and im only able to look up the Klark Teknik, but im assuming they are priced similarly....which is way way out of my budget.

i am no pro, but i do want to put together a budget friendly rig in which i can get a decent sound. im talking realistically around $700...so a $1700 EQ is a bit over the top!

from the items ive listed, if i could just get suggestions as to what i could use and what i dont need, i will base my decisions on that and go from there to find a unit in my price range. what im getting at is, im not going to get a BBE 362 if its not going to help me. If I should get a processor like the Lexicon MX200, great, should i get anything else? I'm just not familiar with what people include in their budget vocal rig, so pardon my ignorance Smile

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 9:09 pm

OK, I'd have replied sooner, but I'm sitting here between my two dogs, drinkin' a beer and eating hot boiled peanuts.

You want a comp, EQ, and an FX box w/ the necessary cables to patch everything.

Hang on...

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 9:17 pm

A nice cold beer sounds good! *walks to kitchen*

Ok, so I'm thinking of just a basic 31 band EQ, FX unit such as the Lexicon MX200 (or similar - suggstions?), and a single CH. Compresor.

Anything else? Ive heard good things about the BBE 362, but havent heard if its needed just for vocal use (probably not). Also not sure if a pre amp of somesort should/could be used in conjunction with all of this.

As always, you are the man, Ben!

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 9:17 pm

I would put my trust in the FOH engineer for now. Until you know exactly what you want the effects for, there's no point in getting them. They're not going to make you sound any more professional than the existing PA system. Listen first, play later. This is a difficult thing to do because a lot of the time we think we're listening but really we're just enjoying the music.

I'm sure you've heard it before but I'll say it again, a great band can sound great through the crappiest gear. A lousy band will sound lousy through the best gear.

In other words, you've just joined the band. Don't worry about gear just yet. Get the songs and performance down first. Once that's taken care of you will have a good idea what gear you will need and likely, the gear you will want as well.

There's lots of gear I want but in all honesty, unless I gigging again soon or selling some jingles, it's just a waste of money.

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 9:21 pm

Hueseph....I agree and understand what you are saying. However, I have no plans to go out tomorrow and get this stuff. As you said, I will get the performance side of things down first....I just like to plan ahead and use it as motivation. (if that makes any sense!)

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