Band's vocalist needs an amp

[Shadows Rise]

The vocalist in my band no longer has an amplifier because his friend was renting it out from a place he works. What is the cheapest/alright sounding amp he can get for practices?

[isojoe420]

An amp for what? I assume vocals, but I need more details. It's all about the details.

Does he sing through a guitar or bass amp?

[Shadows Rise]

We don't really know a lot about this stuff. He was singing through a PA at first but now the PA is gone and he needs another Amplifier type device for practice. What will make his voice be able to be heard? I'm not quite sure about the whole bass amp guitar amp decision.

[Toaster]

It depends on the kind of singing. If he just straight up sings, a bass amp will probably be what you're looking for; it picks up most of the frequencies you sing in. A guitar amp will be better for screaming, it captures the highs better, and some distortion in the vocals won't hurt his sound either.

You also may need to get a new mic.. if your singer's mic is a three-prong mic, you won't be able to plug it into an amp at all, and you'll need a PA.

[Shadows Rise]

Thank you.

[himynameistweek]

if you use an amp you'll end up destroying it after a while.

[Hadji]

Why don't you get a PA? Sorry for asking a dumb sounding question, but it just seems that it needs asking.

[isojoe420]

You also may need to get a new mic.. if your singer's mic is a three-prong mic, you won't be able to plug it into an amp at all, and you'll need a PA.
Incorrect. Just get a 1/4" cable or adapter.

You should just get one of those cheaper PA packages off of MF, or maybe even get a step up system.

[CantBuyAThrill]

For a specific amp, I'd suggest the Fender FM212, it's cheap enough so that it won't feel like a huge waste when it dies on you a year and a half from now, but good and loud enough so that it will get the job done at practices well enough to make you happy.

[Toaster]

Incorrect. Just get a 1/4" cable or adapter.

You should just get one of those cheaper PA packages off of MF, or maybe even get a step up system.

Some mics come with their cables attached, and a three prong/1/4" adapter is quite rare (I've never seen one). Also adapters can cause a slight dip in sound quality or gain.

[isojoe420]

Some mics come with their cables attached
Not any good ones.

a three prong/1/4" adapter is quite rare (I've never seen one).
Not rare at all, I use them all the time.

Also adapters can cause a slight dip in sound quality or gain.
True, but if you are using an unbalanced 1/4" cable to an amp, your sound quality isn't the greatest anyway.

[himynameistweek]

a three prong/1/4" adapter is quite rare (I've never seen one).
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=live/search/detail/base_pid/335209/
this can be found at any music store, radio shack, or best buy.
Also adapters can cause a slight dip in sound quality or gain.
so can using a guitar amp.

edit: isojoe beat me to it.

[Toaster]

this can be found at any music store, radio shack, or best buy.


Well you're obviously wrong because I can't find it at any of my music stores near me. And how does using a guitar amp lower the gain?? I wouldn't post if I didn't know what I was talking about.

[isojoe420]

It's ok to admit you are wrong.

[himynameistweek]

Well you're obviously wrong because I can't find it at any of my music stores near me. And how does using a guitar amp lower the gain?? I wouldn't post if I didn't know what I was talking about.
the only music store i can think of around here that doesn't have them is a store that only sells pianos.
and as far as lowering gain? 1- lowering gain is generally a good thing for vocals. 2- it wouldn't lower the gain, it would lower the sound quality. guitar amps are obviously not made for vocals. that's why they're called guitar amps.

[Toaster]

It's ok to admit you are wrong.

Ok, I admit I'm wrong. :)

[diesel]

Okay, just a few little things to clear up about guitar amps here.

A guitar amp, has a high impedance (or hi-Z) pre-amp, is designed for a instrument level signal, and is contured to the sound of a guitar.

A mixer however, is a low-Z pre-amp, designed for a mic-level input, and is designed to be as transparent sounding as possible.

Now, because mic-level is below instrument level, the guitar amp usually will not put out enough gain in the pre-amp stage to get your vocals up to a good level for its power amp, simply because it thinks you're going to give it a stronger signal.

A properly wired cable that will take 3-pin XLR down to 1/4" TS (unbalanced) will not change your gain at all (if when wiring the cable, pin 1 and 3 are not shorted, you lose half your signal). However, what most cables will not change is the impedence. For this you need an in-line adapter, avalible at most electronics and pro-audio stores.

A rather unpleasent side effect of using a guitar amp, some of the exagerated frequencies for guitars are in the 1k-4k range, which with a vocal mic is a great place to pick up a little feedback... or a lot if you crank your gain high enough.

My overall recomendation, get a powered mixer and a couple of monitor wedges. During live gigs, the wedges can form your monitor system, then you can beg/borrow/steal/rent another power amp with speakers for your FOH system, or even better, get active speakers. The plus side of this is, if your monitor set-up doesn't change from rehearsal to gig, you'll know what to expect of them, and more confortable with how they sound.

[killfile]

I also feel I have to warn you that you will eventually ruin any guitar or bass amp you run your vocals through. After a few months it'll sound terrible.

[SadStairway]

I recommend getting a keyboard amp. They are able to handle the range and wont distort. My band used a Peavey KB/A 30 for vocals and it sounded great. The KB/A even has a 3 prong XLR input so you dont even need an adapter. Keyboard amps usually have a few channels so you could also put other stuff like a keyboard through at the same time. You should look into something similar.

[airborne50caliber]

Keyboard amps will also go a very long way before becoming notably damaged by vocal use. (Read: moderate sensible use :lol:)