Regarding "Budget" PA Systems And Rock Bands

06-07-2008, 05:37 PM

The guitar player's amplifier only has to do one thing. Guitar. It doesn't have to necessarily sound clean (in fact, that's usually exactly the opposite of what one wants, right?), and feedback (unless it's really nasty) is actually a welcome addition. Along with the frequency range of the sound being produced and less pronounced dynamics than some other instruments, this adds up to some pretty large objective (and subjective) SPL.

I could attempt the rest of this in some succinct fashion, but that wouldn't be my style.

Let's say that a small PA has been acquired to only do one thing, namely vocals. Essentially, it's a "singer amp" instead of a "guitar amp." Let's also say that the power amp section is rated to produce a continuous 100 watts with reasonably imperceptible distortion.

Hold on while I access my inner Slipperman (the originator of this style - the living legend)...please note that this is not meant to assume anything specifically about the OP, this is a generalization only. This is NOT meant to harass, harangue, browbeat, or otherwise abuse the OP or anyone else. This is for informational purposes only. If itching or burning develop, stop reading immediately and call your doctor. Etc, etc, etc.

Kay?

Basically, you're SCREWED.

See, you've got that 100 watt guitar amp over on stage left. You've also got ANOTHER similar guitar amp on stage right. Both are being wielded by dudes who have bought into the idea that the audience is there to appreciate the nuances of how their amps and cabs react at high volume. ("Dude, if I turn it down too far, it starts to sound like solid state and not Led Zepplunds!") The audience doesn't really care, of course, especially since the acoustics of the venue are smearing whatever nuance may actually be present into a giant wall of midrange blast. It's EPIC dude. LEGENDARY.

Wait! We're not done here.

Now, to compete with the raging wall of guitars, the drummer starts smacking the kit. He's not amplified, but the acoustic output is pretty g-freaking-inormous. He's even a little louder than the guitar amps, which is fantastic, because anything you could hear in the guitar amp area is periodically ANNIHILATED by his hammering on the snare (the one in the Musicians Friend catalog with the description: "Guaranteed to slice through the densest of mixes! Louder than the forces of evil after lunch has been canceled!"), as well as his constant use of the loudest and most sustaining cymbals mounted on the kit. (In the cymbals area, he has somewhere in the neighborhood of seven to choose from at any given moment, you know, for versatility in "bringing a different flavor to the song." That is to say, obliterating pretty much everything between 1 kHz and 20 kHz in a stream of white noise).

Sounds loud, right? Ah, but we have one instrumentalist left. The bass player.

To keep up with the guitar players, Mr. Bass has his rig (probably several hundred watts) dialed into the "space shuttle launch" range. Both onstage and in the house, the bass is not just audible - its downright TACTILE. Everything not bolted down is rattling across the floor. He's so loud that the kick drum is completely inaudible. There are birds experiencing mild incontinence several thousand feet above the venue.

Did you think I forgot the PA? I haven't.

Here's the problem. You've got a hurricane of SPL going on from just the backline. If your eardrums weren't rattling from overexcursion, you'd actually be able to hear your spleen pulsing with the rhythm. It's LOUD.

Now, that 100 watt PA might actually produce some respectable level. On paper, it might be able to get to 110 or 115 dB SPLC. Here's the thing, though. Unlike the guitars, bass, and drums, feedback is both much more possible, and UN-FREAKIN-ACCEPTABLE. Similarly, audible distortion is to be filed in the "bad things" category (or at least, it is for me. I'm an old fuddy duddy in comparison to some. I've never been able to get into the screaming, distorted vocal "thing." I must not be fully in touch with my "inner RAYGE" dude. Or something.)

Anyway.

There's also the little problem of the fact that pretty much the ENTIRE audible spectrum, is, to broaden our language horizons, OCUPADO. Especially the vocal "meat" range, which is located smack dab in the region of the earth shattering guitars (and the occasional snare hit), and the "intelligibility" range, which lives precisely in the area of the brain shattering cymbals and guitar "presence" zone.

Now, we're going to add that the singer simply cannot vocalize like a guitar. That is, the poor vocalist simply cannot sing at the top of his lungs all the time. Plus, the singer may have bad mic technique, and be a bit quiet (because they can never get vocal training, you know? It isn't "RAWK DUDE" to get vocal training).

The bottom line?

The vocals are not audible, but the PA is rated at the same output as a guitar amp. The PA is unlikely to have flexible enough EQ to really get its gain before feedback maximized "to the UBER," and it can't be run into the red zone because it sounds like one of those "Metal Zone" pedals. The vocals have nowhere to "sit" in the mix, because all the frequency real estate has been used, and so the only option is to push them over the SPL mountain - which AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN - because the PA can only THEORETICALLY make as much SPL as just ONE guitar amp is making IN PRACTICE.

A real question might be if there is ever a way to make a small PA adequate for a rock band.

There absolutely IS. However, it does not involve technological fixes. Here's the secret. Gurus study on top of mountains for decades to learn what you will hear now, in these few moments.

Relish this.

Make the band quieter.

Make the band quieter.

You're wondering if I'm going to say it again? I am.

Make the band quieter.

If you get the band's level to match what the PA is capable of giving to you, you will be GOLDEN. Not only can you save money (so that, for the huge gigs, you can hire a big PA and competent Live Sound Reinforcement human - thank you, Dave Rat), but you will HEAR EACH OTHER. The band will probably play better. You will go deaf much more slowly (if at all - you are wearing earplugs, right? No, I don't give a crap that they're not AWESOME - wear them anyway.) You will have a greater range of gigs available to you. People may actually get a chance to hear the actual SONGS. (Those exposed to the unbridled hilarity of hearing a well balanced band are ruined for life, though. Everything else will fall short. I am warning you right now.)

This is, of course, all just the opinion of one dude. Your mileage may vary.