ColonelForbin Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Looking to get a bit more "in depth" with the M20d. Looking for suggestions on how you all work vocal channel FX, processing - what is your go to channel strip for vocals in the M20d? Best way to run comps or other dynamics processing - do you do that on both mains and monitors, or are you creating presets with certain settings that are only routed to one, or the other>? I will also read up a bit, so I know more of my options - I realize this is vague. More specific scenario, working with a band where one singer projects his voice well, sings loud, so just looking for shaping and subtle clarity related settings. The other singer has issues with volume, sings lower, and having some monitor related issues. Looking for tips to balance the two out with monitor levels, avoiding feedback if possible. Also, mic suggestion for soft singers vs loud singers? Currently using a pair of L2t speakers as the floor monitors; still saving up the coin to get into the L3's for the mains. Typically run the analog main outs from the M20d to the main PA power amp. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick_Auricchio Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 I've been using the standard male lead-vocal preset with my band. A little tweak on the EQ6 as necessary for different voices, and a bit of the DynEQ. The Dynamic EQ lets me reduce a bit of upper midrange two of our voices as we sing louder, and similarly reduce a bit of upper bass for one of the guys when he sings louder. I don't have the compression engaged, because it will appear in the monitors; that can increase the chance of feedback. No delay or other FX in the channel preset, to keep the monitors dry; I use global FX for that so it shows in the mains and it can be muted by a footswitch when I speak between songs. I do use the 4Comp on the main outputs---just a little to tighten up the mix without flattening it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColonelForbin Posted December 27, 2014 Author Share Posted December 27, 2014 I've been using the standard male lead-vocal preset with my band. A little tweak on the EQ6 as necessary for different voices, and a bit of the DynEQ. The Dynamic EQ lets me reduce a bit of upper midrange two of our voices as we sing louder, and similarly reduce a bit of upper bass for one of the guys when he sings louder. I don't have the compression engaged, because it will appear in the monitors; that can increase the chance of feedback. No delay or other FX in the channel preset, to keep the monitors dry; I use global FX for that so it shows in the mains and it can be muted by a footswitch when I speak between songs. I do use the 4Comp on the main outputs---just a little to tighten up the mix without flattening it. Thanks Rick!! Those are great tips, perfect place for me to start - and good to know about the comp causing monitor feedback. Good move, I didn't think to put a comp on the main outputs. I just saw the L3t and L3m $200 price drop, looking at getting a couple more speakers to add to my Stagesource rig! They dropped the price on the L3's more than the L2's; the L3m is now only $50 more than the L2m.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick_Auricchio Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 With compression, it's always good to try for a little bit just to tame the peaks and smooth out things, especially on the main mix. I ran a quick recording of the mix, then experimented with the 4Comp in my little home studio. We run four vocals and sax through the PA, so the other instruments (drums, bass, and guitar) only show up in the vocal mike leakage. As a result, there isn't a lot of bottom end in the main PA output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiWatts69 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Also, mic suggestion for soft singers vs loud singers? For the quiet singer(s) I typically roll out a Beta58a. It's got around 3db more headroom than an SM58 which are fine for strong voices. Our girl singer tends to stand off the mic more than our guy singer. He uses his SM58 and she uses one of my Beta58's. He also tends to hand hold his mic more than her so we get more consistent proximity and thus the levels remain fairly constant. Her's not so but the added headroom on the beta seems to do a reasonable job. I've also found the beta58's reject more from behind the mic so create less feedback, enabling them to run that bit hotter, so long as you position the monitors well. Alternatively, I've had good success with AKG D5's though they don't (IMHO) sound a sweet as the betas and are more prone to feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick_Auricchio Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 My keyboardist just bought an SM87A after we all liked how it sounded on his thin voice. i've always been fine with a plain SM58 or even a Shure 55 (the "Elvis mike") if it was the right look for the band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiWatts69 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Rick... what mic(s) is your sax player using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dboomer Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Compression on vocals is always tricky in a live situation although you likely hear tons of it on recordings. So while it smooths out the vocals it also brings up the amount of leakage from the stage in the vocal channel and lowers the potential gain before feedback by however many dBs of compression you are applying. So in some situations you can use a lot and in some you can use very little if any. It all depends. "De-essing" is a common use of dynamic EQ. It is usually not as versatile with most mixers as the way it occurs in Stagescape. So you can dial it in to do similar jobs as Rick pointed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick_Auricchio Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 The sax player---who is our keyboardist---has been experimenting with a couple of mikes, since he's only been using the sax on one or two songs. He's used an SM5 and a Shure wireless system (which I think has a 58 capsule). I'd already sold my EV RE-20, which is great for sax. I just use the standard miked-sax preset on the M20d. I may try an EV RE15 dynamic next time out. It's fun when we open a set with Huey Lewis' "Heart of Rock 'n' Roll." Ron plays keys and sings the song, then picks up the sax for the solo. At the end of the song he can play the two-note harmony riff on both the sax and keyboard. He's formally trained on bassoon, sax, and keyboards, also was a choir teacher. And, as the only band member who reads music, he's handy to help with vocal harmonies and fancy guitar chords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColonelForbin Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 My keyboardist just bought an SM87A after we all liked how it sounded on his thin voice. i've always been fine with a plain SM58 or even a Shure 55 (the "Elvis mike") if it was the right look for the band. Yeah; I have the Beta 87a, which is a great mic - but it picks up *alot* of the background mix. Makes mixing a bit of a challenge.. Nice mic though! I was looking at the Beta 58, that looks like a good option. Also have a nice Audix OM7 mic, which is similar to the Beta 58 I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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