Hello all,
Hope you can help - I'm a newbie who has inherited responsibility for our live sound: we're a four piece covers band playing clubs and pubs, audiences up to 300. We run three vocals, guitar and the kick through the system, everything else is backline. We don't produce a massive volume.
Just bought a pair of Mackie SRM 450s (V1) and used them for the first time on Saturday with our Peavey pv10 mixer. Asked some of our regular fans for their thoughts on the new gear and their comments were that while the sound was loud and clear the lead vocal sounded lifeless and dull. Previously we were using a pair of Electrovoice Sx500s driven by a Europower 1500. We love the sound from the EVs but they are just too big and having actives for both FOH and on stage makes for less gear to store and carry.
Other bands we know swear by the Mackies so perhaps we're not EQing them correctly: any thoughts on what we can do to make the sound better?
I haven't sold the EVs yet and may well go back to them this Saturday.

Sound-check or rehearsal: Point the Mackies at yourself, no monitors, and adjust to taste?

Don't see where the compression comes in, on your post. Not a massive volume could mean anything! I bet I'd say it was loud ... it'd be a good idea to actually measure the sound levels on the old and new system: If you are on the limit of the Mackie's power, they will limit.

--------------------
PA stuff on FB

Hi Guy,
Re volume, the control on the cabs were set at 2 o'clock, so plenty of headroom left (max being at 6 o'clock). "Compressed" is my interpretation of people calling the vocals lifeless.
We had already tried the Mackies as monitors at rehearsal and our vocalist said they sounded a bit "flat" then.

My experience with passive speakers would suggest that the EV sx series are brighter and crisper than the Mackies with better definition in the midrange. I would expect the active versions would have a similar response which might account for the perceived lack of presence.

--------------------
Ohm's Law states, "Your PA isn't as powerful as you think it is".

The usual crtiticism from sound professionals about SRM450s is that they are "harsh" rather than flat.

I use a pair myself and have been perfectly happy to date. I always set the volume controls to 12 o' clock and then control the overall level from the mixer. I don't tend to add much EQ, just some minor tweaks here and there according to the room.

Quote morat:

---

Hi Guy,
Re volume, the control on the cabs were set at 2 o'clock, so plenty of headroom left (max being at 6 o'clock). "Compressed" is my interpretation of people calling the vocals lifeless.
We had already tried the Mackies as monitors at rehearsal and our vocalist said they sounded a bit "flat" then.

---

Setting the power amps to full would give headroom in the mixer, where it would probabably be more use!

Quote Exalted Wombat:

---

Quote morat:

---

Hi Guy,
Re volume, the control on the cabs were set at 2 o'clock, so plenty of headroom left (max being at 6 o'clock). "Compressed" is my interpretation of people calling the vocals lifeless.
We had already tried the Mackies as monitors at rehearsal and our vocalist said they sounded a bit "flat" then.

---

Setting the power amps to full would give headroom in the mixer, where it would probabably be more use!

---

Some of us would beg to differ... gain structure?

Quote Mike Stranks:

---

Quote Exalted Wombat:

---

Quote morat:

---

Hi Guy,
Re volume, the control on the cabs were set at 2 o'clock, so plenty of headroom left (max being at 6 o'clock). "Compressed" is my interpretation of people calling the vocals lifeless.
We had already tried the Mackies as monitors at rehearsal and our vocalist said they sounded a bit "flat" then.

---

Setting the power amps to full would give headroom in the mixer, where it would probabably be more use!

---

Some of us would beg to differ... gain structure?

---

I'm all for gain staging until the power amp. Then turn it up! Much more chance of choking in the mixer, particularly when the "just a BIT more" game starts in performance.

We have previously turned our power amps to max but with the Mackies we found that produced quite a lot of noise: as we weren't showing many greens on the level meters on the mixer we backed off at the power amp stage and increased gain on individual channels. That gave us the correct volume with less noise.

Quote morat:

---

We have previously turned our power amps to max but with the Mackies we found that produced quite a lot of noise: as we weren't showing many greens on the level meters on the mixer we backed off at the power amp stage and increased gain on individual channels. That gave us the correct volume with less noise.

---

That is much closer to proper gain structure then.

Seablade

Quote Exalted Wombat:

---

I'm all for gain staging until the power amp. Then turn it up! Much more chance of choking in the mixer, particularly when the "just a BIT more" game starts in performance.

---

And once again the thread that will come up...

http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=LIVE&Num ber=507536&fpart=

The short version is you will get two different viewpoints in that thread, but I don't think either of us would turn an amp all the way up without a processor in front of it at least(Correct me if I am wrong Nathan).

Seablade