My friends and I are starting a band and it's the first time for all of us. Right now we're just playing in a basement and figuring things out. We just got a mic and quickly realized vocals sound BAD without reverb and possibly other effects that are unknown to me. What should I get to make the vocals sound decent? Also probably need help on how to set up the signal chain. Right now the mic is plugged directly into a Roland KC-550.

Also, recommend some bass pedals that won't make me homeless if I buy them. I currently just have a P-Bass going into an Ampeg RB-108.

  • bortsampson [he/him, any]
    ·
    3 days ago

    If you have an iphone get a camera kit, a cheap usb interface that has a mixer on it (get one with a send), and use effects from Valhalla. You'll need a host app for the plug in. Theres a few but one of them should be free and allow you to save your setup as a preset. Run the mic into the mixer and put the iphone on the send. Valhalla plugins should be wet. Don't bother with delay in a live setting. It gets too fucking messy. Use one of the Valhalla verbs. Set to 100 wet. Tweak to taste. If you have an iphone this setup is like 200bucks max used and is very stable. You also can add more effects down the line to your chain should you want to. Light compression/limiting can be helpful. Careful with eqing. If you are eqing vocals in a live setting the problem is your mic or how you are holding it. Do less with effects and focus on technique.

    • FumpyAer [any, comrade/them]
      ·
      3 days ago

      I adjust eq for every venue... And I have a nice mic and good technique. Different rooms absorb different frequencies and have different resonances.

      Even with basic "low mid high", you can improve your sound a lot with eq.

      I do agree that one should learn mic technique though.. Eq can't fix bad technique. It can kinda fix a subpar mic.

      • bortsampson [he/him, any]
        ·
        3 days ago

        The venue should be eqing your vocals if it's not a coffee shop, basement, or just diy thing. You can do work with eq's but if you are running a mic through a keyboard amp you are not gonna get far. I've been there. They are not the worst but I would rather go right from my vox mix into a real PA. General rule of thumb I was taught for live sound mixing is "If a mic sounds bad without eq something else is very wrong". You may make sound better at a cost but it won't help that much. The roland amp has built in eq. Who knows where those eq lp, bp, and hp frequencies are tuned to though.