If you are having trouble or looking for some guidance on how to set up the mics, mixer and speakers in our Rehearsal rooms this guide should help you out.
Remember that this guide will work on any of our Rehearsal mixers - some will have faders and some other knobs for gain and channel volume. However, they will all work the same way and have features in the same spots. Have a look at them here below:
How to set up the mics and mixer to get sound from the speakers
Let's quickly start from scratch:
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Make sure the mixer is switched on, and the blue power light is lit up. Check that the power cable is properly plugged in.
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Make sure the speakers are on and showing the power light. Check that the power cable is properly plugged in and they’re switched on at the wall sockets. Make sure they're set to Line (not Mic) level.
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Ensure the mic (or instrument) is plugged into Channel 1, the mute button on the channel is off and the switch on the mic is on. If there is a headphones button on a channel, that also needs to be unpressed.
- If you're using a ZED 6FX mixer, also ensure that the instrument button (Guitar icon) at the top and the mute button (Headphones icon) are both unpressed.
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Slowly turn up the Gain knob on the channel you’re using until about 12 o'clock. it's the knob at the top of the channel.
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Check that the Volume slider/knob at the bottom of Channel 1 is pushed up (about 3⁄4 of the way). Now, pay attention to the volume level on the channels (LED lights) - the LED lights should be flashing green as you’re speaking into the mic.
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Turn up the Main Mix slider/knob on the mixer. It will be the last slider on the right. Check this is set to a reasonable level (about 3⁄4 of the way up). Make sure its mute button is off.
- You should now have audio through the speakers.
Common fixes if you think you might have a broken mic or XLR (mic cable)
Please check all of the below if any of the mics or XLR's (mic cables) are not working:
- Mute buttons! Every channel on the mixer and the MAIN output have mute buttons - you'll know when this is engaged because there will be a small red light next to the mute button. Make sure to disengage all mute buttons.
- Main output slider: Make sure the main output slider is turned up! When output is being sent out of the mixer you will see the LED light section on the right side will have jumping green lights
- Mics and cables: Test every mic and cable option you have available to pinpoint if the mic or cable may be faulty
- Try another channel: Test another channel on the mixer
Mixer is working but no sound from the speakers
If you have output lights on the mixer but still no sound from the speakers check the following:
- Do the speakers have power lights on? If not make sure they are switched on at the wall and on the back of the speakers themselves
- Do you see two speaker output cables connected to the 'main out' ports on the back of the mixer?
- Are the switches on the back of the speakers set to 'MIC' or 'LINE'? they should be on 'LINE'
Only one speaker is working
If you have just one of the speakers working and the other not working check the following:
- Does the speaker have a power light on? If not make sure it's switched on at the wall and on the back of the speaker itself - try the power cable from the working speaker
- Do you see both speaker output cables connected to the 'main out' ports on the back of the mixer?
- Is switch on the back of the speaker set to 'MIC' or 'LINE'? it should be on 'LINE'
- Check the mixer to make sure your channel is not panned over to one side only
Speakers are working one or both sound blown or distorted
- Are the switches on the back of the speakers set to 'MIC' or 'LINE'? they should be on 'LINE' - if set to MIC then you may get distorted, bad sound through!
- Remove and reinsert the speaker cables from the back of the speakers and mixer
- Check the settings on the mixer - make sure you don't have any unwanted effects engaged
QUICK CHECKS:
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If there is no power to the unit, try testing with a different mains socket
- Check the power to the speakers
- Check the speaker cables are connected to the main outputs from the mixer