johnbegone Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 Alright, I'm extroardinarily new here, I'm just looking for some sound advice (hah... it's like a pun). Anyhow, I have a band, and we're very new with very little equipment. We have all the essentials except PA. Right now I can't afford to buy a mixer + speakers, so I'm trying to find a cheap alternative. I've got some old home stereo speakers (with the regular red/black speaker cables) that I'd love to be able to use. Is there a way I could plug my mics into these using something? I want to be able to sing through these speakers basically. If anyone has any advice, it'd be much appreciated. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salyphus Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 It's possible, but it's very likely that you could damage your speakers doing that. They simply aren't designed for this type of use. Then again, you might like that cool distorted sound on your vocals :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salyphus Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 On the other hand, take a look at something like this: http://www.oakwoodbroadcast.com/Speakers/JBL/eon15pak.html (note: I know nothing about this site, it just had info about the JBL EON PAK) For around $500 you get a powerful PA and a built in three channel mixer. I have one and it works great. hth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbegone Posted December 18, 2002 Author Share Posted December 18, 2002 Maybe you didn't get the part where I said we have no money :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salyphus Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 Just trying to help, at least you know what to start saving up for :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrysb3 Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 John, lots of guys started out with things like old radios for guitar amps and stereo speakers for PA, but you should understand going in that: A. They probably won't sound too good if you get them loud, and B. You will probably destroy them in the end. This is because stereo eq. is meant for the playback of recorded music, while pro audio is meant for sound reinforcement. Live Music has many more transients (spikes) than recorded music, because in mixdown and mastering, the big spikes in volume are compressed or reduced in some other way thru EQ. In the early eighties, a friend of mine brought a tape he was working on in his studio. He was trying to get the effect of an atomic blast at the end of one of his songs. Well, the huge bass boost blasted my JBL's surrounds instead. Surrounds are the soft edges of a speaker. The other main part of a speaker, the voice coil can fry with too much input if it's not able to take sustained high energy and cool itself. If you have no money, you might try stereo speakers, but you'll have to turn everything else down if you want to hear clear vocals. This can be hard with a drummer, as the volume knob can be elusive. Good Luck, Henry He not busy being born Is busy dyin'. ...Bob Dylan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty Tonk Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 My first garage band in high school tried that little trick before.We had found an old 4 channel powered mixer in one of the guys storage rooms(it was his dads).Anyway we didn't have any speakers so we just grabbed his home stereo speakers,hooked'em up,and let'er rip.And I do mean rip,the speakers blew up with such :D force it filled the room with tiny pieces of paper.It looked like a ticker tape parade for a split second.Any time I see any of those guys that story allways comes up and we have a good laugh. jgc2002 is not responsible for damages ,injuries and or death as result of above post.Side effects include nasuea,dizziness,dry mouth,vomiting,blurred vision,nervousness,loss of memory and in extreme cases sexual side effects. www.mp3.com/salt_creek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbegone Posted December 18, 2002 Author Share Posted December 18, 2002 Hmm, alright you guys have scared me out of it. Thanks a lot ;) Hmm, guess I'll have to seek other alternatives. My bass amp has 2 inputs, maybe I could try plugging a mic into that, or do you think the high-end vocals would never be heard over the bass? I could turn down my bass via the bass itself instead of the amp. I also have a 12w bass practice amp... but I'm pretty sure that would never give enough sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brakka Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 In one of my early bands, we used a 20-watt realistic (RadioShack) powered mixer. I got it used at a pawn shop for about $10 less than they were new- I think I paid $20. They still sell a similar thing- IIRC it was 3 channels plus tape ins. I think it had XLRs, but we may have used XLR>1/4" adaptors. The cabinet was 2x8" with a shitty little blown disconnected horn. :) One of the other band guys borrowed it from a friend. RadioShack still sells a similar item, but their site wasn't working for me just a second ago. [b]Check pawn shops for cheap stuff.[/b] [b]And ask any musicians you know what's in their basement. [/b] :thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeebus Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 The Jeebus strongly advises against it. You could damage your speakers quite easily. ---------------- Your Friendly Neighborhood Jeebus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 You can get by with using the stereo speakers for a while. You do have to understand they won't be worth much when you're done but... If they are rated at 100 watts or more, RMS you can get by using no more than a 30 watt or so amp. I'd follow Brakka's suggestion and look at one of those Radio Shack little amps like an MPA20? They are 20 watt pa's with mic inputs. Not too bad a little pa amp. I have a 100 watt Radio Shack 4 channel unit that I use in certain situations and sometimes use it as my stage monitor amp. You can probably find one of the 20 watt units on eBay for less than $20.00 plus shipping. Check the swap meets and pawn shops too. Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty Tonk Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 John ,In another deal early on,the other guitar player and myself each had a small practice amp and a bigger amp each.So we got a little mic mixer from RS (15$ or so)and ran a line from each side to one of the practice amps.Stereo vocals YEEHAA!! :D jgc2002 is not responsible for damages ,injuries and or death as result of above post.Side effects include nasuea,dizziness,dry mouth,vomiting,blurred vision,nervousness,loss of memory and in extreme cases sexual side effects. www.mp3.com/salt_creek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbegone Posted December 18, 2002 Author Share Posted December 18, 2002 I know, we borrowed a guys 20w guitar amp and used that as PA for our first practice. And then the guy went really gay and wouldn't let us borrow it, what a fruit. I've asked alllll the local people I know. Some of them have stuff, but it's always crap like "I might need it for my band's rehearsal" or perhaps the good ol' "It's my dad's, he won't let me loan it out" And all that jazz. Thanks for the advice, I'll check out something from radio shack. I'm going to keep checking the local pawn shops, last time I went in they didn't have much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHAN Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 [quote]Originally posted by johnbegone: [b]And then the guy went really gay and wouldn't let us borrow it, what a fruit. .[/b][/quote]Not that there's anything wrong with that. :eek: [img]http://www.quicktimeflix.net/agd/agdtitles.jpg[/img] So Many Drummers. So Little Time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeebus Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 Khan is that the ambiguously gay duo? ---------------- Your Friendly Neighborhood Jeebus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHAN Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 [quote]Originally posted by Your Friendly Neighborhood Jeebus: [b]Khan is that the ambiguously gay duo? ---------------- Your Friendly Neighborhood Jeebus[/b][/quote]Yeah. What were their names??? Oh yeah, Ace and Bill Foster. :eek: :D So Many Drummers. So Little Time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audioboticatoccata Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 Look for a used pair of Bose 901's. Loud as f%$# and they can really dish it out!!! A vocalist friend of mine used them for years as his primary PA and he never managed to blow them out. Tough suckers!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sign Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 Hi fi speakers are designed for a certain quality of sound and are pretty low efficient, at best 90 dba/1wtt/1m. Which means that if you feed the speaker with 1 watt of electric power, you will have a sound pressure level of 90 dba at 1 meter distance. An old Vitavox S3 driver on a multicell horn will give you an efficience of 118 dba/1wtt/1m. Because this driver was designed for high efficiency. A PA speaker is like a race engine, a hi fi speaker is like a family car. A PA amp was disigned for this special job, like a guitar amp was designed for amping a guitar :D Don't try to do the job with home stereo gear, you will blow it all and your gig will be a disaster. Find yourself a (used) powered mixer and a pair of decent speakers (PA speakers! :) ) Peace, Han The alchemy of the masters moving molecules of air, we capture by moving particles of iron, so that the poetry of the ancients will echo into the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECBRules Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 I live in the dc area. there is a place called atomic music that sells nothing but used music gear. It rules. I don't know where you are from, but maybe there is a place like that somewhere around you. You may also think about getting a couple amp speakers off of ebay and then installing them into a regular speaker cabinet. I did that once. It sorta worked a little. You still need to power it though and must be careful about the speaker resistance (ohms) or you will also blow your amp. http://www.kennyruyter.com/old/cowmix.mp3 <- Cowbell fever REMIX oh damn!!! http://www.eastcoastbands.com aka: ECBRules . thisOLDdude . keny . Scooch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brakka Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 [img]http://snltranscripts.jt.org/96/pics/96agayduo4.jpg[/img] What's everyone looking at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thrashole Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 Quit picking on us poor musicians. My practice P.A. has a Old teac 6 channel mixer i traded the old speakers out of my fender amp for, some home brew speakers with some high efficency 15's(eminence)and piezo tweeters, and a lovely 1971 kenwood 80watt reciever.the preamp section on the amp is toast but it has pre-ins so i feed the mixer to an alesis nanoverb and into the kenwood. the speakers cost right around $100 dollars to build and the reciever i fished from the trash.it's not real elegant but i can clear the rest of the band with my vocals with no problem. Reach out and grab a clue. Something Vicious My solo crap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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