Perhaps now?

[QUOTE=Manimal]Is this a line out or a speaker level out?[/QUOTE]It is a speaker out. It is wired in parrallel to the speaker that is already in the cabinet. Do not run it into anything other than an adequate speaker load.

[QUOTE=Samick]i need some general info on vocal P.A. thanx[/QUOTE]

well, that is TOO general.

what do you want to know?

My PA's speakers are 8 ohm. If I added on an 8 ohm extension speaker off of each end would that bring the load down to 4 ohms? I'm not sure if my powered mixer can handle 4ohms or not.

[QUOTE=Manimal]My PA's speakers are 8 ohm. If I added on an 8 ohm extension speaker off of each end would that bring the load down to 4 ohms? I'm not sure if my powered mixer can handle 4ohms or not.[/QUOTE]

2 8ohm speakers wired in parallel will give you 4 ohms.

It will also depend on the outputs of your powered mixer. If it is a stereo powered mixer then yes you should be able to do this. Having a minimum of 4 ohms load on each of the two outputs.

However, if it is only a mono powered mixer, and if you are currently running two 8 ohm speakers off it then it will already be running at 4 ohms.

I just double checked. Its a mono amplifier. Meaning my 2 8 ohm speakers are a 4 ohm load on the amp. Meaning that adding on 2 more 8 ohm speakers would create a 2 ohm load correct?

Yes, correct. And it may not be safe to run anything < 4 ohms off your powered mixer.

I always see amplifiers in musicians friend being advertised as 1000 watts x 2 @ 2 ohms and such. Is this just false advertising to get you to think "more watts, better amp"?

Can some amps actually run at 2 ohms safetly for long periods of time at loud volumes?

Some amps can be safely run at 2 ohms. Usually these amps have got built in cooling fans and large heat sinks to help dissipate the heat caused by doing so.

It would be best to stick with what is noted on your amp to be its minimum safe loading.

Another question:

My current powered mixer is, as you now know, a mono amplifier. It has a line out on the back to connect to an outboard amp. I plan on using this later on to run either monitors or my mains if i need more power later and run my monitors off of the powered mixers main outs. If i use a stereo amp for this will i need to run a splitter cable to duplicate the channel onto the second stereo channel of the new amp?

[QUOTE=Aes820]Some amps can be safely run at 2 ohms. Usually these amps have got built in cooling fans and large heat sinks to help dissipate the heat caused by doing so.

It would be best to stick with what is noted on your amp to be its minimum safe loading.[/QUOTE]


This powered mixer has a cooling fan in the back. I'm not so sure as to if it can handle that type of load though. I'll have to check in the manual.

[QUOTE=Manimal]Another question:[/QUOTE]
A Y splitter would do the job.

Good stuff.

Thanks moaner and Aes.

Looks like I have another for you guys:

I tried plugging my guitar direct to the powered mixer to see how it would sound. However I noticed that the level was very low even when the volume on the channel and the main volume was set very high? Is this normal or is something wrong with this?

check for a mic gain knob?

[QUOTE=Manimal]Looks like I have another for you guys:

I tried plugging my guitar direct to the powered mixer to see how it would sound. However I noticed that the level was very low even when the volume on the channel and the main volume was set very high? Is this normal or is something wrong with this?[/QUOTE]
If you are running an electric guitar direct you'll need either a Preamp or a DI box before running it into the powered mixer.
If you are using an acoustic/electric guitar (with a built in preamp) then make sure the levels on the guitars preamp are suitable set and it has fresh batteries in it.

Just a footnote tho. Running an electric guitar direct to the PA (using a DI) doesnt usually sound too impressive (especially not if you want a distorted tone - It wont be any good for the Mixer anyway).
I'd reccomend using an amp modeller (like a POD) or a Preamp with a suitably voiced direct output. Better yet, Mic up your guitar amps speaker cabinet.

behringer make a DI box with cab simulation, for not a lot of money. You could use that with a distortion pedal or amp's line out.

Yeah I know it doesnt sound very good. I was just curious to see how well it actually sounded. I'd never think about doing this to use as an amp.

[QUOTE=moaner]well, that is TOO general.

what do you want to know?[/QUOTE]
just simple things like, do u plug the mic straight into the p.a. whats a cheap one, why do i gotta use a p.a. on vocals VS a amp.
never used p.a. befor so...

[QUOTE=Samick]just simple things like, do u plug the mic straight into the p.a. whats a cheap one, why do i gotta use a p.a. on vocals VS a amp.
never used p.a. befor so...[/QUOTE]
There's really too much to go into.
I suggest you read through these articles: [url]http://www.colomar.com/Shavano/pa_page.html[/url]

Then ask more specific questions if you need anything confirmed.

The built in effects on my PA just don't work, it dosen't say anything about it in the instruction manuel

Here it is:

[url]http://www.shuredistribution.co.uk/products_phonic/product-Shr-472-56-250.htm[/url]

i need moniters, i figure this thread's close enough. I don't have much money at all to mess around with, but i want 2 moniters, i dont need them to be particularly loud. I already have a mixer. any suggestions on cheap moniters?

[QUOTE=KissMeIamSh*tFaced]The built in effects on my PA just don't work, it dosen't say anything about it in the instruction manuel[/QUOTE]
Are the FX send levels on each channel up enough?
Are the FX return levels set properly.

[QUOTE=himynameistweek]i need moniters, i figure this thread's close enough. I don't have much money at all to mess around with, but i want 2 moniters, i dont need them to be particularly loud. I already have a mixer. any suggestions on cheap moniters?[/QUOTE]

monitors? cheap?

not usually words in the same sentence.

the problem comes when you need a way to power your monitors.

Either, get a powered monitor, and a passive, and use those (works out expeensive)

or a couple of cheap passives off ebay, and a cheap poweramp (a bit cheaper)

better still, find a band upgrading their PA, or buy a new, small Pa setup. then, use the speakers in it as your monitors, powered by the powered mixer.

argh... so even if i buy PAs i still have to use a poweramp? blowage! well thanks moaner, you kick ***. any suggestions on brands?

[QUOTE=himynameistweek]argh... so even if i buy PAs i still have to use a poweramp? blowage! well thanks moaner, you kick ***. any suggestions on brands?[/QUOTE]

hmm...

kustom, behringer, and any ebay nonames.

Some model powered mixers come with an ability to be switched to split for both monitoring and FOH applications.

[QUOTE=Aes820]Some model powered mixers come with an ability to be switched to split for both monitoring and FOH applications.[/QUOTE]

its usually not the lower end ones, unfortunately.

I never worked out how they managed that, form an electroics point of view. i guess splitting the line signal into 4 and combining it again after 4 transistors could allow 1/2 ttrassistors outputs to be split for monitoring and the rest combined to make i louder.

Foh?

FOH = Front Of House = the big speakers up the front of the stage, that point out towards the audience.
I'd reccomend reading through the rest of this thread to find out other terminology.

Moaner, say it was a 2x400 watt powered mixer. Two channels, both a left and a right, each with an output of 400 watts.
While split for monitoring, its like using what was the left channel for the FOH and what was the right channel for the monitors. So it'll be a dual mono output.

how many watts powered mixer do u reckon you need for a 3 piece punk band for the singer theres like bass, guitar and drums so its quite loud???

[QUOTE=10571z]how many watts powered mixer do u reckon you need for a 3 piece punk band for the singer theres like bass, guitar and drums so its quite loud???[/QUOTE]
it depends what you'll be doing. if it's just for messing around in your garage, not that much. if it's for playing a show in front of 500 people, obviously you'll need a little more. It also depends on how powerful the guitar and bass amps are. can you specify a bit more?

[QUOTE=himynameistweek]it depends what you'll be doing. if it's just for messing around in your garage, not that much. if it's for playing a show in front of 500 people, obviously you'll need a little more. It also depends on how powerful the guitar and bass amps are. can you specify a bit more?[/QUOTE]

except for very small gigs, you should always try to have guitar and bass going into the PA. mid size gigs, drums too i'm afraid.

[QUOTE=Aes820]FOH = Front Of House = the big speakers up the front of the stage, that point out towards the audience.
I'd reccomend reading through the rest of this thread to find out other terminology.

Moaner, say it was a 2x400 watt powered mixer. Two channels, both a left and a right, each with an output of 400 watts.
While split for monitoring, its like using what was the left channel for the FOH and what was the right channel for the monitors. So it'll be a dual mono output.[/QUOTE]

ah, right. so it has some limitations.

you could do that on any powered mixer really, if you watched your ohms, couldn't you?

[QUOTE=moaner]you could do that on any powered mixer really, if you watched your ohms, couldn't you?[/QUOTE]
An advantage of being able to split it is so that you can control the volume levels between the FOH and the monitors independantly.

[QUOTE=Aes820]An advantage of being able to split it is so that you can control the volume levels between the FOH and the monitors independantly.[/QUOTE]

ah, thats true,

do most powered mixers not have a master pan?

hey aes quick question... my band is looking to invest in a new pa system , just want to know what one would be better for the money, and big enough.. [url]http://www.music123.com/SoundTech-S20-i131742.music[/url] that or.. [url]http://www.music123.com/Kustom-KPA7212-7-Channel-PA-System-i106475.music[/url]

Out of those two, definately go for the Kustom.

The Soundtech one is rated at 160 watts [B]peak[/B]. Which you really have take with a grain of salt.
Be very careful when looking at amp brands that rate their power output in Peak. As this is no real representation as to how loud the amplifier actually is.
What you would want to take note of is RMS power output. Ignore peak power output, as a 160 watt peak amp may only have an RMS output of 50 watts or so.

The Kustom however has an RMS output of 200 watts. It will be a much more powerful and versatile setup.
This PA would be suitable for practising and some house party sized gigs, but may not be suitable for anything larger.
But, the price seems failry reasonable.

I have a few questions and I cant find the search bar anymore so I apolagize if these have been asked before.

First up, my powered mixer has 6 channels, 5 of which have mic inputs. This is fine for right now. However later we will need more channels for more instruments and more drum mics. Chances are we wont need more power right away, and what I really want to do is start building up a serious PA with seperate mixer and amp components for monitors, mains, etc.

Would the most sensible method right now be to buy another mixer and then run it into one of the channels of the powered mixer? Is there anything wrong with doing this? What I would do is get a decent sized 16 channel+ mixer and run it through one of the powered mixers channels till I got the seperate power amps.

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The mics i have right now are pretty cheap and I believe microphonics (I believe thats what you call it) is causing the mics to squeal and feedback when i turn the mic channels volume passed half way. I cant get to use all of my PA's power because I cant amplify the signal enough before this starts to happen. Would an outboard mic preamp unit boost the line signal to be amplified? Also, would a seperate mixer such as one I was talking about getting in my first question have a mic preamp built in?

Also can I have some info about mic preamps? Is this what they are intended to be used for or are they mainly just for tone shaping? Thanks.