NA - Speaker Setup for Guitar & Singing

Lando

Lando

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Lando
Any speaker/amp setup experts out there? We inherited a speaker from my father-in-law and I would really like to put it to use. I have two acoustic electric guitars but have never plugged them in to anything. My wife and kids like to sing so we set up a room in our house with a couple of microphones, small amp (https://www.kustom.com/index.php/pa-systems/portable-pa/pa50.html) and computer.

What do I need in order to use this speaker too? http://usa.yamaha.com/products/live_sound/speakers/passive_speakers/sm12iii/ (pics attached also)
 

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That is a passive speaker...meaning you need an amplifier to power it.

Typical set up would be the mics and guitars run into a sound board mixer where you mix the different levels. That sends out a line level signal to your amplifier. The Amplifier then sends a powered signal to your speaker.

There are also "Powered Mixers" that have the mixer and amplifer combined in one unit then you just run a speaker cable to your speaker.

Those Yamaha are actually decent little speakers.

Here is a cheap powered mixer option that would be fine for goofing off at home with that speaker:

https://www.amazon.com/AW-Channel-Professional-Powered-110V-220V/dp/B015XDWDXU/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1473545979&sr=8-5&keywords=powered+mixer

https://www.amazon.com/PPJJ-30-4-Inch-Professional-Speaker-Cable/dp/B000E1S3OA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473546193&sr=8-1&keywords=1/4"+speaker+cable

Here is a Guitar cable...note that even though it is the same connector as the speaker cable, speaker cables have to be a heavier gauge wire to carry the powered speaker signal than the guitar cables.

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-GTR-210...8&qid=1473546381&sr=8-3&keywords=guitar+cable
 
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a small powered mixer would work just fine. Yamaha, Mackie, Behringer... all make inexpensive models that will suit your needs. - a 1/4" Tip/Sleeve male-male speaker cable will connect it to the power-amp output
 
Don't let 6PC get involved unless you're into metal.... :D
 
Thanks for all of the great info everyone! Could I use the small PA50 I already have and run what's coming out of a small powered mixer into the input on the PA50? It seems I can't use the PA50 as the first piece if I buy a mixer, but maybe I could use it down the line as a 2nd speaker/monitor? If so, how should I configure the volume, bass and treble on the PA50 channel I plug into?
 
Yeah, super easy. If you look at the back of that mixer I linked to it has "Speaker Out" Left and Right which is the 1/4" powered output that would go to the Yamaha speaker via the speaker cable. It also has "Main Out" Left and Right which is a line level signal (essentially an unpowered signal). That Main Out you can plug direct into your PA-50 just as you would a mic via an XLR cable. The L&R master faders feed both the powered speaker outputs and the unpowered line level Main Outputs simultaneously just for that reason. That output configuration should be in most any powered mixer out there.

If I were patching that system, I would plug the Yamaha into the Left "Speaker Out" and the PA-50 into the Right "Main Out" that way the left main red fader is the master for the Yamaha and the right main red fader is for the PA-50 system. Then dial the volume on the back of the PA-50 to match the volume of the Yamaha speaker with all things being equal on the mixer.

Then you can use the "pan" knob on each mixer channel to say send a bit more vocals to one speaker (left) and more instruments to the other speaker (right) if you wanna get really fancy.
 
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Look at a Yamaha EX series powered mixer. They are not Amazon cheap but they will last you a life time. The EMX7 and EMX5 have a speaker processing circuit especially for the club series speakers..work wonders for the tone of the speaker. Note: These are brand new...

They have two amps...one to drive the PA 50's and the other to drive SM112 as a floor wedge.
http://yamahacommercialaudiosystems.com/product_detail.php?prodID=1180

The EMX2 is pretty slick as well
http://yamahacommercialaudiosystems.com/product_detail.php?prodID=1181

I am a Yamaha Pro Audio dealer...glad to help yo with anything you may need...
 
Yeah...there is MUCH better stuff out there than that off brand Amazon mixer...I would never put that in a real application for my company...but for kids and the wife goofing off in the basement...it will work great!

When the family starts playing the dive bar circuit...THEN you will need to step up you equipment game!

It is just like aviation...ask how you can connect your GPS and you will end up with advise that you need to buy a whole new plane!
 
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You can never go wrong with more cowbell. Thanks again everyone...I should have everything later this week and we'll hopefully be rocking soon after. Appreciate all the help!
 
So I got the 4-channel powered mixer and hooked it up to the Yamaha speaker tonight via the speaker output on the back of the mixer. I can hear a very slight hum through the speaker so I know it's getting power. If I plug a guitar in I also hear a little crackle as I plug it in. However I get zero sound coming out of the Yamaha speaker from a guitar or through microphones. I've tried all the obvious things (plug into different channels, try different cords, turn all the knobs on the mixer, etc.) but still no sound. Any ideas?
 
Lando said:
So I got the 4-channel powered mixer and hooked it up to the Yamaha speaker tonight via the speaker output on the back of the mixer. I can hear a very slight hum through the speaker so I know it's getting power. If I plug a guitar in I also hear a little crackle as I plug it in. However I get zero sound coming out of the Yamaha speaker from a guitar or through microphones. I've tried all the obvious things (plug into different channels, try different cords, turn all the knobs on the mixer, etc.) but still no sound. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

I'll go for the obvious ones... I didn't pay any attention to which mixer you bought so these are generic.

Output turned up on the guitar itself?
Pickup switch in the correct position?
Cable from guitar plugged into the correct port on the mixer (an input)?
Phantom power provided by the mixer and turned on if the guitar needs it? (Rare for guitars, essential for most quality microphones.)
Speaker the correct impedance for the output of the mixer? (Or if there's a setting for 4 or 8 ohm, is it set correctly?)
Slider for the input and the input gain pot set correctly?
Input channel selected to the output of the mixer?
Master output volume slider up on the mixer output?
Mute switch for the mixer output disengaged?

I went to the top Yamaha link above but the photo doesn't zoom well enough to see what's actually on that board for me. And I didn't feel like digging up the manual.

Speaking of that... Have you read the manual? :)
 
Make sure the red "trim" knob on each channel is turned up. That is the input attenuation for each channel. The trim sets how much signal is coming into the board then the the fader is how much volume is going out to the speakers.

Trim is used so that with the faders set at say half way up, you set the trim (or gain as it is also called) of each channel so each channel is about all the same volume at the same fader level...then you can "mix" with the faders.

Also make sure your L&R red Master faders are up.

Assuming your signal source is good, you need some trim turned up, white channel fader tuned up and red master fader all up at the same time to get output from the board. Start with the white EQ and yellow pan knobs at 12 o'clock position.

You should also see signal on the LED meter bars in the top right...if there is no meter, there is no signal going out to the speakers. If there is...there is another issue past the board

I also see on the back of that board there is a red 110v/220v switch. Make sure that is in 110v mode.
 
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Shawn said:
Here is the one I think he got...

https://www.amazon.com/AW-Channel-Professional-Powered-110V-220V/dp/B015XDWDXU/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1473545979&sr=8-5&keywords=powered+mixer
Click to expand...

Yes, that's the one. Unfortunately, the only manual that came with it was pretty basic and just shows what each knob/button does. One thing I just noticed is that there is no signal showing up on the stack of lights. If I understand, that means there is no signal even reaching the mixer, correct?
 
Ok - not 100% sure what happened but I just got it working! (There's still no lights/signal flashing though). Thanks again for the help everyone.
 
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