Karaoke Forums

Hi, I am first time poster here, enjoy reading info here for a while.

I have a home karaoke setup in my basement, using all home karaoke equipment (dvd player, bmb mixer, and a 2 chanel denon receiver) except the Pro-speaker, the room is 14'x17'.  the speaker is on the floor now.  

I have a problem recreate those live wide and deep sound stage like a open karaoke place or like a concert, the sound is ok but not lively.

Please help what can i do to get that type of sound.  does the speaker placement matter?  Any suggestion.  Thanks

Well I'm not sure what you mean by lively. Maybe you should get an audience..? No, seriously, the fact that the speaker is on the floor means that lower frequencies are emphasized. If you have only one speaker, it will also be off mood. So get another speaker. The cure to eliminate extra low frequencies is to cut bass on your mixer (about -5dB should do it) and add mid and high frequencies about the same dB's. You may need to add more high than mid frequencies in order to reach balance. Play a CD while tuning and once it sounds good, let it be there. Do the same for microphone. Adjust frequencies as long as your (or someone else's) voice starts to sound natural or lively enough for you. Of course you may want to try to lift the speaker up the floor and if you do that, you will have to add more bass again. And one more thing is to check that the reverb or echo you're using fits the rest of the sound atmosphere. It can't be too long or short or it's also off the mood!

Hope this helps!!

jee

For my home setup, I have 2- 12" 3 way speakers on the floor behind me and 2- 10" small 2way speakers. the speakers are in the corners of the room. the  bigger 2 are behind me on the floor, and the small ones are in front ceiling mounted.

This enhances the highs and lows. This is only the Home setup. But it has great sound. an advantage to having the speakers on the floor behind you is a less likely chance the mic will be pointing directly at the speakers. preventing feedback.

_________________
______________________________________
I'm Not Dead yet...... But every day Im getting Closer !

My first question.......................
You're setup in the basement. What are the walls, floor and ceiling made off/covered with???
Forget about setting up speakers/sound advice/mixer settings. Let's first look at your surroundings.

I am using a pair of pro-speaker position in the front on the either side of the tv on the floor.

What i want is the sound like when you go on the stage and when you sing the sound is like virtual you can't pin point where is it coming from, wide and deep sound stage but clean and acuracy.

My basement is tile floor with paint concrete wall and drywall ceiling.

Also does your mixer have effects?

_________________
LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

my mixer has some effect mode, but doesn't make a big different.

this is the mixer i am using BMB 3000k

http://www.acekaraoke.com/hbmbkm3000.html

That is a very bad acoustical environment you have Chan. The easiest way to make a bad sounding room sound good is to deaden it as much as you can, with strategically placed curtains, drapes, wall hangings and overstuffed furniture. However, the nicest sounds come from big rooms with nice, high ceilings, where the sound can "breathe".

Now you can start adjusting your mixer/effect and EQ setings.


Courtesy of TweakHeadz (http://www.tweakheadz.com)

Hi Chan, there are many good advices here, especially the last one about decoration materials by Allstar. He's 100% right that anything soft you can find, will make the sound better since your sound room is a "cold" basement. Get a sofa or two, lots of pillows, soft "hairy" carpet and even some acoustic panel for your walls and ceiling if you can get some cheap (normally that's very expensive!) Let us know what you have done and how it has affected ok?

jee

Hi Chan, there are many good advices here, especially the last one about decoration materials by Allstar. He's 100% right that anything soft you can find, will make the sound better since your sound room is a "cold" basement. Get a sofa or two, lots of pillows, soft "hairy" carpet and even some acoustic panel for your walls and ceiling if you can get some cheap (normally that's very expensive!) Let us know what you have done and how it has affected ok?

jee

Is this a byob?   When is the first party?  Can we come too?

 When storing a system in a friends unfinished basement  (All concrete walls) we wanted to do some recording sessions so we set it up..  I thought boy these acoustics are gonna suck..  Surprisingly the reverbs really rocked..But that basement was large prob 80 x 120 or so.. You couldnt stand next to a wall and put your back to it without getting feedback..  But I think size has a lot to do with it.. But like Allstar suggests some damping materials properly placed you can tailor the acoustics to your liking. If it isnt already spray the ceiling with glitter acoustics. I still like Jee's ideas tho  But not too"hairy" a carpet then you wont have any bass  :D

_________________
Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

thanks for all your suggestions, I will try.  What about the speaker placement.  Is it better on the stand 5' up?

Yes.  Put them on stands if you have them or wall mounts.  Getting them off the floor will change the sound drastically.

Getting an area rug and hanging a heavy curtain on the wall opposite the speakers will make a big change in the sound in the room if you can't get acoustic panels, etc.

Of course, if you can find someone renavating an office building nearby you might be able to get some of the panels for suspended ceiling which you could either glue or tack to the wall which will help to deaden the sound.  You might also be able to get them at Builders Square or Lowes.

Anything that's not a hard surface that will reflect a lot of the sound energy will help.  Cork, hanging a sleeping bag, almost anything to deaden the room will be a huge help.  BTW, I got an area run that' 8x10 or so from Sam's Club for under $20 a while back.  Basically, I'm saying you don't have to spend a fortune to make it a lot better.

Fersure place the speakers high(over your head) and directed at the long end of the room. Place them directly against the back wall for the most bass effect possible.

For your room dimensions, that means speakers should be 7-8 ft apart and 6-7 feet high-flat against the wall and maybe directed downwards up to 10 degrees. If setup that way then plan to sing while backed up tight against the speaker wall and standing directly tween the speakers. Otherwise, stretch your mics to the other end of the room, face the speakers and stand 5-7 feet away from the back wall and be prepared to hang heavy fabric or other sound dampening stuff on the wall behind you to absorb reflections that the mic will pick up.

Like the other guys said, try to soften reflections off the walls, ceiling and floor with anything soft and fluffy.(fluffy chicks don't count unless you like them as much as I do)

But most of all, try to snag a stereo (dual) channel 31 band EQ and learn to use it. Start with all freqs at zero and then cut, not boost any freqs that are too brite while you raise masters until it sounds flat. If the EQ has an output gain slider, then use it to restore your overall gain from the total cuts. Believe it or not, you can use simple math to predict where you need to cut the EQ to get near flat. Just remember that sound travels at a fixed rate over a distance and that higher freqs are more directional. Plug in the freqs/distance and hit calculate and then reach for the appropriate EQ slider to cut. as required.... you will have it sounding great fast if you follow a few rules of science and math....then trim with your ears..... Reverb can be used once you get the rest straight.

Have FUN!