Vocals without a PA?

[MoonBoots432]

Hey, I'm in a 4-man band, and we're all poor as hell. So the rhythm guitarist has an acoustic amp, which we have been using for vocals. It's not loud enough at all. I was wondering what we could do that would be cheaper than a PA, to get the vocals louder. I really hope there's something.

[Aus_rock_god]

Not really man. One option is to get a hi-fi system that runs 12" speakers and use that, but don't expect anything spectacular.

My band has no PA, so we hire a rehursal studio.

[pitchfork]

Turn the volume down and teach the drummer dynamics to compensate.

or rent rehearsal space as has been previously mentioned
Once everyone chips in its not that expensive really, hunt round though, loads places insist you don't drink (unless its non alchoholic) or smoke and get a room that suits you.

[Merkaba]

Yep not much you can do. Time to get a job. A decent practice system is not expensive.

[Jon]

You'd probably save some in the long run with a cheap PA off eBay or whatever.

Around here the rooms are like £30 + drums + amps for 3 hours, its horrible.

[pitchfork]

Thats not too bad, £10 an hour, everyone chips in thats a really good rate.

We pay £20 for the first hour and £7.50 for every hour after that, we get the pa chucked in which is a good jbl system and we can use their drum's if need be. Add to that we can drink and smoke there its good.

We did have a warehouse we could use for free but our gear just wasn't up to it everything sounded piss weak and echoed like mad.

[Jon]

Screw it, its better than paying.

I'm trying to think...what sort of places in England could you actually rent out, leave your gear at etc, seeing as my bandmates (and any future bandmates) have 1 bedroom flats..

£40 is actually quite a bit. Especially like, if theres three of you, no bassist, auditioning singers... Then someone doesn't have any money so you have to cover for them.

[Ethan.]

Paying to practice with your bandmates? F*ck that...

[Jon]

Yeah thats what I mean; how do people rehearse assuming that the drummer lives in a small flat/other not-soundproofed location

[pitchfork]

Well most of the costs for us are covered by gigging, we only have to pay fully when we aren't gigging much.
And the amount we spilt costs is good seeing as one of my bands has 5 member and the other 7.

[KKinsane]

Moneys always difficult, improvise! You could make your own pa out of some loud sterio system speakers and some wood, link the speaker to a jack lead, power it somehow aswell (car battery?)

Or, find some BIG speakers and look on ebay for a unit PA mixer type thing (my bands vocal set-up, 2 big *** speakers and a mains powered box to power speakers and has line ins, mic cannon inputs and EQ, cost us something like £100 between 4 of us for the lot, check ebay often)

or, you could sell your tv... :)

[10571z]

Get a ****ing job. It will take like a week to save up for PA you bum. Thats what i did...

[pitchfork]

Moneys always difficult, improvise! You could make your own pa out of some loud sterio system speakers and some wood, link the speaker to a jack lead, power it somehow aswell (car battery?)

Or, find some BIG speakers and look on ebay for a unit PA mixer type thing (my bands vocal set-up, 2 big *** speakers and a mains powered box to power speakers and has line ins, mic cannon inputs and EQ, cost us something like £100 between 4 of us for the lot, check ebay often)

or, you could sell your tv... :)

The first idea wouldn't work, you would need an amp to power the speakers.

[Ethan.]

Get a ****ing job. It will take like a week to save up for PA you bum. Thats what i did...
That doesn't always work out for some people. There are certain things, one example being age, that make finding a job hard/impossible. Then you gotta get transportation...

Thats what position I'm in right now. I get my license this summer, and I turn 16 in March. Every place around here won't hire until you are 16. But damn it would be nice to get some good music equipment...

[pitchfork]

As in driving licence? At 16? Wierd.

I got a job in tescos when I was 15 and a few months, I needed to get a work licence but I was eventually allowed to stack shelves for £5.25 an hour and I could only work certian amounts of hours, when I turned 16 I got moved to checkouts and got £5.50 an hour working between 20 and 30 hours a week.
I've been there quite a while (17 now) and i've been offered a job at asda, which is great for me as it pays £6.10 an hour, moving up in the world :p

Anyways enough about me, even if you can't get a work licence and get a job over there you can get a paper round, mow lawns, wash cars, work in cornershops, deal drugs etc.

[Jon]

Yeah, another part of american culture thats ****ed up.

Asda pays £6.10 an hour? Serious?

I work in a call centre, £5.50/hour + bonuses, its alright, gets the money.

There's such a thing as public transportation?

[10571z]

Your band will be **** give up now. :)

[pitchfork]

Yeah I was surprised they pay £6.10 I thought it was less than tescos, but my mate said and I went and got an interview, its true.

And yeah you can take a small pa on a bus, get one of those little peavey ones that fit into one case thingy.

[Jon]

Fender Passports.

And Kustom make them as well.

Why not just leave it at the rehearsal venue?

All the studios here have lockups, but if he was at a studio he wouldn't have that problem.

[Neoteric]

My band needs somewhere else to practice (we practice in the drummer's room and it's quite small). So we kinda need a permanent rehearsal space =\

[Aus_rock_god]

Paying to practice with your bandmates? F*ck that...

It's not such a bad idea if you don't have a PA :thumb:

[pitchfork]

My band needs somewhere else to practice (we practice in the drummer's room and it's quite small). So we kinda need a permanent rehearsal space =\

Ask at music stores and ask local bands where they rehearse.
But don't go for second best, get one that fits your needs.

[Ethan.]

It's not such a bad idea if you don't have a PA :thumb:
I'd rather save my money for a PA and not practice for 2-4 weeks then to rent a practice space.

If the rent is dirt cheap its a different story.

[Jon]

Its not 'rent' as such, because you just book the room for 3 hours whenever you feel like it.

This is the room I go to most.
http://www.zed-one-studios.co.uk/Rehearsals.htm

[Ethan.]

Maybe rate was a more appropriate term.

I know what it is though.

[Jon]

Yeah, rent implies that you're actually renting a small warehouse or something so its yours exclusively (or split between two bands or something) 24/7

[10571z]

Rehersal studios are a waste IMO..

My band trialed it but relised if we practice for a year there we could have easily afforded a decent Pa. Then we practiced in our drummers room which was awsome...

HEEPS of food
Foxtel (pay tv)
Computer
air con

was the life :)

[Ethan.]

Not to mention you can practice whenever he's home.

[Jon]

Neighbours, space, parents/flatmates etc?

[pitchfork]

Rehersal studios are a waste IMO..

My band trialed it but relised if we practice for a year there we could have easily afforded a decent Pa. Then we practiced in our drummers room which was awsome...

HEEPS of food
Foxtel (pay tv)
Computer
air con

was the life :)

Yeah but most people don't have facilities like that, my drummers still live at home, I doubt we could fit the gear and the band in the room at the same time.

We have tv (freeview), fridge (keeps the beer cool), sofa, air con etc. in our rehearsal room which we can fit seven in and still be able to run around.
It's sweet and we can play as loud as we want.

[10571z]

Neighbours, space, parents/flatmates etc?

We played on a 2nd story sound practically passed over the top... We got only 1 complaint which is when we played in his garage. The space was tight even if we were a 3 man band. And his parents loved our band. His dad was at the blink 182 concert where we all met up and i introduced the guitarists and him.

So it was all pretty sweet. The point of this thread is get a job!

[Jon]

I have a job :p

Its just a huge waste of booze money to spend £10 every time you want to rehearse.

[pitchfork]

I can usually blag a few free pints anyway.
the ladies can't resist my musk :p

The only time I pay for booze is in the pub/ at a gig or if I buy my own, I drink my parents if i'm at home.
Sometimes at gigs we get some free drinks anyway.

[Ethan.]

Its so easy for you Brits to get booze...

Here in America, I'll get arrested and grounded for 1-2 years. Which is about the time I move out.

[Jon]

:lol:

I started 'drinking' at home at about 6 or 7 (first shandys, moving up to bacardi breezers and then beer by the time I was 12); then most people start binge drinking at parties at 14 or 15, and are at clubs and bars by 16 latest.

Given that the drinking age is 18.

Anyway

[pitchfork]

I been drinking beer since I was 10 :lol:

Started drinking properly at weekends when I was 13 because i could get served for alchohol and like at partys and stuff.
Nowadays I go to the pub most evenings for 2 or 3 pints and sometimes bars and clubs etc.

Not a huge fan of alchopops, never was, they taste like cheap squash undiluted.

Americans gotta wait til they're 21 to drink but they can drive at 16?

The way I reckon it should be is you can drink beer when you are 16 and spirits when you are 21. Beer you can better pace yourself but spirits, 5 minutes and its all gone.

[Jon]

16 and 18, like in germany.

[10571z]

In australia every kid drinks most parents buy it for the kids. It not illegal for minors to carry aclhol or drink at partys which is sweet. I have a fake id anyways which works everywhere so its pretty sweet.

[pitchfork]

16 and 18, like in germany.

Yeah that'd be better I guess.

If you drink softer booze for a while before going on the hard stuff you are probably gonna be more sensible.

[Jon]

you'd think, wouldn't you.

so did my parents :p


Ah, another quality thread turned into a discussion about underage binge drinking by jon and pitchfork :)

[Ethan.]

Haha. America blows.

But we're "free" and ...stuff.
:rolleyes:

Nah but seriously I don't mind America except for stupid laws.
But then again I've never been to another country besides Canada.

[Aus_rock_god]

I'd rather save my money for a PA and not practice for 2-4 weeks then to rent a practice space.

If the rent is dirt cheap its a different story.

Why man? You'll go 2-4 weeks without practice.

And, realistically, do you really think it'll only take a month to save for a PA??

Just a very basic system for rehersal (two powered bins, an SM58 and a stand) costs about $1500 australian.

If you have rent to pay, food to buy and other sh!t, spending $30 a week to practice and saving another $30 for your PA and still practicing every week is a lot better than starving for a month so you can buy a PA, especcially if you call off practices.

[pitchfork]

Ah, another quality thread turned into a discussion about underage binge drinking by jon and pitchfork

Wahey :chug:

We are kings of beer!

[isojoe420]

I love beer!

[Amor]

Hey, I'm in a 4-man band, and we're all poor as hell. So the rhythm guitarist has an acoustic amp, which we have been using for vocals. It's not loud enough at all. I was wondering what we could do that would be cheaper than a PA, to get the vocals louder. I really hope there's something.

Oh god! I hated band practices when you couldn't hear yourself, it's the most depressing thing and wastes time huh! :smash:

Ebay is the best I guess ...

How bigs your guitarists amp that he uses? Not sure if this is any help but I didn't have a PA for the band I was in. Instead I used a mixer which plugged into the gutarists amp and it was clear!

[pitchfork]

I love beer!

BEER!!

WE are MEN, LETS ARMWRESTLE!

[Ethan.]

Why man? You'll go 2-4 weeks without practice.

And, realistically, do you really think it'll only take a month to save for a PA??

Just a very basic system for rehersal (two powered bins, an SM58 and a stand) costs about $1500 australian.

If you have rent to pay, food to buy and other sh!t, spending $30 a week to practice and saving another $30 for your PA and still practicing every week is a lot better than starving for a month so you can buy a PA, especcially if you call off practices.
Who says you can't practice without vocals a little longer to save for a PA?

Maybe a more appropriate time frame would be 4-8 weeks, but there are used gear, payment plans, and various discounts available from most big music gear companies like Guitar Center and Samash.

1500 Aus = 1,174.08 US; if you can save $150 (US) each week for 8 weeks thats more than enough for the stuff you described. You can probably get a used set for half or three fourths of that.

It's not that impractical. And then there is the occasional dip into the savings account...

[Jon]

Hmm, there are some complete systems on eBay for £100-150..

[pitchfork]

Exactly, if your drummer has any sense of dynamics and you guys turn it down you can easily get away with one of those little 100 watt kustom ones.

[10571z]

Why man? You'll go 2-4 weeks without practice.

And, realistically, do you really think it'll only take a month to save for a PA??

Just a very basic system for rehersal (two powered bins, an SM58 and a stand) costs about $1500 australian.

If you have rent to pay, food to buy and other sh!t, spending $30 a week to practice and saving another $30 for your PA and still practicing every week is a lot better than starving for a month so you can buy a PA, especcially if you call off practices.

I bought my bands first pa for $300 paid 30 for a mic and 40 for a stand. Did the job awsome. The mic was awsome. JTS

[Jon]

We play with 100w JCM900s on 8 :p

Ahh good times.

Bad for our ears, but good times.