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Please help with feedback problems!
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Author:  jstwchn [ Wed Dec 31, 2008 10:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Please help with feedback problems!
Hi all. I am just starting to host karaoke events. At this time, I volunteer for charitable events. Mostly through my local VFW post. It raises money to help the vets.
My problem is feedback. Anytime I try to raise the volume on the mixer board, I get terrible feedback. I am not an expert on using a mixer, (although I am learning) Can anyone offer some advise? Maybe some online demonstrations, or specialty sights,etc.
I downloaded the manual to my mixer, but it is too technicle and doesn't tell you much.
I know that u need to keep the speakers away from the mic's. How about the "monitor" speaker. Doesn't this have to face the singers? They all do when I see bands on stage.
If I turn the monitor away, will it help with feedback? Any mixer secrets or tips. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks all!
Author:  lordairgtar [ Wed Dec 31, 2008 10:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Please help with feedback problems!
Probably your mic is very sensitive and needs to be backed away from the speakers and you should reduce the gain setting as well. Is your monitor on the floor? Then that probably shouldn't be an issue. How close are your house speakers to the mic? Try moving them away from the mic a bit. I know some of the better KJs on this board will probably give you more detailed information to solve this problem, but I would work with placement first since that is the easiest to deal with. Not knowing what you use as a system limits me as far as advice anyway. What are you using?
Author:  MorganLeFey [ Wed Dec 31, 2008 11:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Please help with feedback problems!
I have an rcf powered monitor and to be honest it can be a problem with feedback too...especially if I turn my cordless mic upside down to turn it on.

The type of mics can also be a problem...did an outdoors gig for ny eve last night and it was during a howling gale...I had 5 mics lined up in stands for the little people who joined us on stage and the good old sm58s were the only ones that didnt boom with wind noise. They are very forgiving mics.

Also what type of venue are you playing in? if you are set up very close to a wall and the venue has a wooden floor then that too can add to the probs
Author:  Jian [ Thu Jan 01, 2009 5:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Please help with feedback problems!
Check your gain on the mic channel; too high and you will get feedback.
How is your eq setting? Boosting too much may cause early feedback.
The use of too much exf may also cause early feedback too.
Do you use comp for the mic channel? Too much of it will also cause early feedback.
Author:  supercharged [ Thu Jan 01, 2009 10:02 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Please help with feedback problems!
you don't tell us what mics and mixer you have. cheap mics and cheap mixers will feed back much more easly than good ones. set your gain properly (its explained in most manuals. try to keep knobs and faders at or below "0" (or unity). in many mixers there will be a detent at this point.
Author:  jstwchn [ Thu Jan 01, 2009 11:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Please help with feedback problems!
Thanks for the comments. My monitor is not on the floor. It is on a stand facing the singers from their left at about 10 o'clock. Should I put this on the floor? I am using only one speaker,(not including the monitor) due to not so much room. It is about 15 feet from the singers and in front of them to the right. Would it be better for more volume to use my other speaker? or wont it matter too much?
Author:  Gryf [ Thu Jan 01, 2009 11:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Please help with feedback problems!
PA systems can be problematic in unusual shaped spaces until you get things dialed in. A couple of tricks I use for setting up a space:
  • Monitors should be as low as I can get it while being right in front of the singer. I mount mine low on the stand I use for the lyrics display.
  • Get it in front of the singer so they have to turn a lot more to get any pickup from it
  • Educate your singers on the items that cause feedback. I have a singer or two I had problems with that simply learned how not to have feedback.
  • Keep your singers behind your mains.
  • Have separate volume control for your monitor from your board. If you have a soft singer and really need to pump them up being able to pull back their vocals from the monitor has helped me keep the feedback at bay.

In short play with the space and your equipment to find strategies that nullify the effect. Go setup early or stay past closing and play a little to see what might/might not work for you.
Author:  jstwchn [ Thu Jan 01, 2009 11:40 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Please help with feedback problems!
I need to get the info on the mixer and mics as they r stored at the VFW post.
Everything is of pretty decent quality. It was purchased from a pro KJ a year ago as health problems dictated. I think the mixer is Beringer. It has a seperate player and a seperate amp. Again, all is ok when I don't need too much volume. But as the bar gets more crowded, I really need to turn it up. Again I am an amatuer trying to learn. I volunteer my time and don't get paid for this. But I do want to do a good job for the people! How should I handle the amp? Should I turn it all the way up at the begining then move the master volume up accordingly, then the mic volumes? Is there a method of starting the process? Also, I need to check on the wattage of the amp, is there a recommended minimum wattage to use in a bar/small club venue?
I dont know what all the knobs on the mixer do, is it best for simplicity reasons to stick with the HIGH,MID,LOW adjustments and leave the rest alone except for the GAIN?
These may sound like dumb questions, but II've been thrown into this and need to learn from square one. They all are counting on me!!!!
Author:  supercharged [ Thu Jan 01, 2009 12:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Please help with feedback problems!
Gain should be set so that you just flicker the input light when you speak loudly or almost shout. this is the maximum input the channel will get after its set i leave it alone. usually i set the channel volume at about 10 o clock on a knob, or slightly below unity on a fader. I like to run the master vol on the mixer about the same. I turn the music channel up till i get a good mix. my experence has always been that it would be below the level of the mics. never above 75%. when i am getting everything set for the night i will sound check these with the power amp waaay down to get my balance without disturbing anyone. then when i get going i will turn up the power amp as needed.
Whenever possible I set my speakers BEHIND the singers and high enough that the horns are at least 6 feet off the ground. I do not like monitors as they can fool an inexperenced sound person into thinking the mix is ok when it is not. By setting the speakers high and behind the singers (and I) can here everything yet the bulk of the highs pass over the singer. also the singers head will be between the speaker and the microphone. One speaker is usually closer to the singer the other a ways away. I almost never get feedback, But I do use top notch mics and amps. Most singers say that it takes some getting used to , but they do like hearing the mains after a couple songs. while it is unconventional and MOST will say its wrong its how I do it. these are my ways and no two do things exactly alike.
Author:  SwingcatKurt [ Thu Jan 01, 2009 12:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Please help with feedback problems!
mic is too hot. move away from speakers. turn mic down.
Author:  mckyj57 [ Thu Jan 01, 2009 1:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Please help with feedback problems!
Feedback often depends on one or two frequencies, and will disappear when those frequencies are cut in the equalization.

If we are going to help, you really need to give us the equipment type, *along with* how the major knobs are set. Honestly, truly -- those knobs do indeed do something. 8-)

If I were you, I would take any equalization back to exactly flat. Not only the main equalization out, but the channel equalization on your music and vocals along with your sound card and/or player. If you are tempted to turn them up, don't. Turn up the main out, and cut some frequencies *a bit* until it sounds right.

When you get feedback, turn down the mains a bit and try cutting a specific frequency on your main equalizer, like 1000Hz. See if the feedback continues when you nudge the volume back up. If the cut doesn't help, return it to flat then try another freq in the 600Hz - 4KHz range. If one frequency doesn't fix it, try cutting two frequencies.

I did the sound at my service club, and eliminated the feedback. Slowly over time, people would play with the equalizer on the output and the feedback would come back. Finally, we bought a DriveRack PA and that is a thing of the past. The eq was set by me based on a couple of auto-eq runs, sounds good, and we have the automatic feedback suppression enabled. Feedback is a thing of the past, and no one changes the equalization any more except on the music coming in. That resets automatically every time we start up CompuHost, so any problems created by that are short-lived.
Author:  Lonman [ Thu Jan 01, 2009 2:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Please help with feedback problems!
jstwchn @ Wed Dec 31, 2008 11:24 pm wrote:
Hi all. I am just starting to host karaoke events. At this time, I volunteer for charitable events. Mostly through my local VFW post. It raises money to help the vets.
My problem is feedback. Anytime I try to raise the volume on the mixer board, I get terrible feedback. I am not an expert on using a mixer, (although I am learning) Can anyone offer some advise? Maybe some online demonstrations, or specialty sights,etc.
I downloaded the manual to my mixer, but it is too technicle and doesn't tell you much.
I know that u need to keep the speakers away from the mic's. How about the "monitor" speaker. Doesn't this have to face the singers? They all do when I see bands on stage.
If I turn the monitor away, will it help with feedback? Any mixer secrets or tips. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks all!


Main causes of feedback are speaker placement too close to mics or mics getting too close to the speakers.
Improper gain structure and/or eq settings on the mixer/eq's, or everything is just turned up too loud in general.
Are the main speakers in front of pointing away from the singers or behind the singers?
Is the monitor really needed in this particular room - smaller rooms tend not to need monitors as often or need them up as loud. If you turn the monitor away that is defeating the purpose of the monitor. Does it feedback when the monitor is turned off? If not the cause lies in your monitor, if so, it goes back to improper speaker placement.
How do you have the eq settings on the mic channels - and multiband (graphic) eq if any.
Author:  Lonman [ Thu Jan 01, 2009 2:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Please help with feedback problems!
jstwchn @ Thu Jan 01, 2009 12:27 pm wrote:
Thanks for the comments. My monitor is not on the floor. It is on a stand facing the singers from their left at about 10 o'clock. Should I put this on the floor? I am using only one speaker,(not including the monitor) due to not so much room. It is about 15 feet from the singers and in front of them to the right. Would it be better for more volume to use my other speaker? or wont it matter too much?


Well this is probably the main culprit then. How about sticking the speaker further toward the back of the room since it's fairly small & then you can aim them back at the singer so they can still hear but it won't be in close proximity to feedback, this will eliminate the need for a separate monitor.
Author:  Lonman [ Thu Jan 01, 2009 2:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Please help with feedback problems!
jstwchn @ Thu Jan 01, 2009 12:40 pm wrote:
I need to get the info on the mixer and mics as they r stored at the VFW post.
Everything is of pretty decent quality. It was purchased from a pro KJ a year ago as health problems dictated. I think the mixer is Beringer. It has a seperate player and a seperate amp. Again, all is ok when I don't need too much volume. But as the bar gets more crowded, I really need to turn it up. Again I am an amatuer trying to learn. I volunteer my time and don't get paid for this. But I do want to do a good job for the people! How should I handle the amp? Should I turn it all the way up at the begining then move the master volume up accordingly, then the mic volumes? Is there a method of starting the process? Also, I need to check on the wattage of the amp, is there a recommended minimum wattage to use in a bar/small club venue?
I dont know what all the knobs on the mixer do, is it best for simplicity reasons to stick with the HIGH,MID,LOW adjustments and leave the rest alone except for the GAIN?
These may sound like dumb questions, but II've been thrown into this and need to learn from square one. They all are counting on me!!!!


Typically most amps will be turned up wide open & controlled by the mixer main fader.
Set the mics at around the U or '0' mark to start with (main fader down). You can start to adjust your main fader up until you start hearing the vocals. Now adjust your music faders to come in just under the vocals. Not knowing the mixer model, can't tell you much more - that's a pretty standard mix, but there should be clip or overload lights on each individual channel, if you see these lighting on a steady basis, then your individual channel gains are set too high on the channels that are lighting, an occasion blinking is okay, but not a constant blink or steady lighting.
There is no real recommended wattage for rooms, it's preferred by me (and other sound engineers) to match the amp to the speakers that they are pushing. Could be the amp is underpowered for the speakers - if you can get the makes & models of both the amp & speakers while you are getting the mixer info would be helpful as well.
Author:  jstwchn [ Fri Jan 02, 2009 7:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Please help with feedback problems!
Man, this is all good stuff. Thanks alot for all of the info. You've provided a lot of food for thought. My next function is Jan. 9th. I think the best would be to set up extra early and try some of the suggestions set forth. I need to experiment from square one and slowly build up the volumes. Also, speaker placement or the elimination of the monitor needs to be addressed. Sure wish I can actually watch someone work aq mixer board.
I,ll report on my progress after my gig. Thanks again.
Author:  mckyj57 [ Fri Jan 02, 2009 8:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Please help with feedback problems!
jstwchn @ Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:32 pm wrote:
Man, this is all good stuff. Thanks alot for all of the info. You've provided a lot of food for thought. My next function is Jan. 9th. I think the best would be to set up extra early and try some of the suggestions set forth. I need to experiment from square one and slowly build up the volumes. Also, speaker placement or the elimination of the monitor needs to be addressed. Sure wish I can actually watch someone work aq mixer board.

You might be able to if you post your location. We have lots of people here from all over the place....you could go to one of their gigs.
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