Karaoke Forums

Hey everyone,

I have a question regarding microphones. I have an Allen and Heath ZED 12FX
mixer and two audix mics hooked into it. The sound quality is very good but I dont have the volume I feel it needs. The gain is pretty maxed and I almost have to turn off the dbx166 compressor to hear it coincide with the music. The slides are also pretty maxed as well. Any kind of "mic amp" or soething to that effect that will give me more mic sound???? Dont get me wrong, the sound is there but I feel I should't have to "max" the controls to get it where I need.

When you say "gain is maxed" what do you mean? The channel faders, the trim knob, or both?

I have an Audix OM2 and I don't find that it has a low output. In fact, it is hotter than my Shure mics. There is no reason the preamp on that fine mixer should not handle it.

Is it possible that 1) your compressor is wired improperly or 2) your music volume is at a very high level? Or that you have not looked at the output level knob on the compressor?

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Thanks for quick reply..... The mic problem existed before the purchase of the compressor and yes the faders and gains are just about maxed. Now, when set to thses levels the sound is good but why would I have to set the levels so high? The compressor is currently not hooked up but got pretty good instruction from lonman on that. It does work properly when I use it and I love it.

Then I bet you have something which is bad in the chain. The first suspect is the cable -- is it a standard XLR-->XLR? If a 1/4" connector is involved, then I am betting it is just the wrong cable.

I assume you have tried different channels on the mixer. How about a different mic?

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

what kind of mics are they - makes/models?

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Hey, They are Audix OM2's and are very serviceable mics. The clarity, etc are very good. However, I dont believe that I should have to max out my controls on a continuous basis in order to get "the proper sound" I want. Faders, gain, etc are all turned up to the nines. Is this normal? And back to my original question..... Is there such a thing as a mic amp? My speakers are powered rcf art series and i use hoster on my laptop.

Your original question is not really valid. We know what exactly what the OM2 is and it is a pro mic that should have no trouble with your setup. The preamp on your mixer *is* the microphone amp. Any additional ones you would buy woudn't really do you any good.

I don't know why you won't answer my cable question. If you are maxing out an A&H mixer with that mic, something is very wrong. Does the peak light go on? What happens to the VU meter when you do a pre-fader listen (PFL)?

It should not have to happen. Have you tried changing the cable for a standard XLR --> XLR cable? If you have, and have tried multiple mics and channels, then the mixer is probably bad.

I would take some pictures of your cables, mixer, and how they are plugged together and set. Then post those here.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

??? Why not? Outboard pre-amps are very common & can help quite a bit - I use them on my Mackie board while recording. But in his case, I agree something else is wrong. It could be the pre-amp section on his board is bad, but chances are not.

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thx for replies, How much are these amps u speak of? Oh, all the cables and connections are correct.

Before you go out and buy a pre amp CHECK if the pre of your mixer is not malfunctioning. Do what mckyj said.

It does not make sense having an outboard pre for the mic unless you are recording. A & H mixer preamp are reputed to have fairly good preamp and in most cases can out preform those low end outboard preamp.

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

This is far from normal. These kind of situations are always hard to resolve long distance. I don't know the history of your board or what your trying to do with it. Is the board new?, has it always had low output? What are you trying to do with the board? Is it low in a straight PA situation or recording situation or both? You should need nothing else to achieve the volume you're looking for. If you are lacking headroom you have a problem somewhere in the signal path period. It could be in the cables, it could be the amp section, it is possible you have a faulty board. It could be the pre amps, it could be on the output stage or anywhere in between. You shouldn't need to exceed +20db (roughly 12:00 position) on your gains. I have an Allen Heath and it works great at any level. Have you contacted A&H customer support? If you live in the states feel free to PM me your phone number if you like and I'll give you a call. Maybe we can figure out whats wrong.

http://www.allen-heath.co.uk/US/technicalsupport.asp

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

They can help qualitatively, but from a level standpoint they aren't necessary when plugged into a mixer, are they? You would end up feeding them into the line level input, not amplifying them more with the on-board preamp.

Plus, you would have to get to a quite expensive pre-amp (like an RNP at the low end) to equal the Allen & Heath which are pretty decent. In this case he could spend $1500 on a GML mic pre and I am guessing it wouldn't solve the problem.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

This may be basic, but try checking if the pad next to the gain port is press down or released?

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

Bingo, that could easily be it. Except I don't see one.

This may be basic too, but the mic is plugged into channels 1 through 6? It must be if you are using an XLR->XLR cable. Not that I am sure of that.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

First of all, thanks to everyone trying to help a rookie figure out the basics of SOUND!! I do have xlr cables hooked up and all the epuipment is less than a couple of months old. The "pad" as I can see is directly below the gain (it says 100hz next to it) and was pressed down. After releasing the button the volume has increased on the mic but not significantly.

Thanks again to all those volunteering their knowledge and expertise. I will continue to inch my way along.

That's a low-cut filter and shouldn't matter much.

Have you changed out the cable with a new microphone cable? With XLRs on *both* ends, one male and one female? A bad cable is still my top suspect -- to have two microphones bad and two mixer channels bad would be very unlikely. Two bad cables would be more likely.

And when you say "output is low" what do you mean? In relation to the music? If you remove the music and send the output of the mixer to the amp and speaker, can your voice get loud when you turn up the main output fader? Is the music sound good, without distortion? Have you checked the VU meter (the two rows of LEDs) when you press down the PFL button, on both the music and the mic? Does it go all the way up in the green when PFL is pressed on (only) the mic channel? How about when PFL is pressed on (only) the music channel?

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

No you can use & actually get very good results on a board with an outboard. When I owned my studio we use to have a really good strip pre-amp on the Mackie - straight through the regular XLR - you have to turn the gain almost completely off - not run through the line level. They don't sell them for a reason.
My current p[re-amp is a $60 ART Tube MP that works surprisingly well & very simple. Even have run it through my sound card on my computer for a tremendous difference - just have to watch the output stage on it.
For live use I do not use them so much but know other engineers that do.

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