StereoType Records

3 tips to avoid getting feedback on stage

What is audio feedback and why does it happen?We’ve all heard it before. You’re at a gig watching the band or musician get down on stage and then whoooooooooom a loud, high pitched shrill comes from the speakers. Everyone in the audience covers their ears and the band is instantly deaf. This phenomenon is known as feedback and it’s given engineers everywhere nightmares. But how does it happen?

A typical feedback situation

• - The microphone picks up a signal (like your voice) and amplifies it.
• - This amplified sound then comes out of the speakers.
• - The microphone picks up your voice again and amplifies it even more.
• - This re-amplified sound is played through the speakers where (you guessed it)
• - The microphones picks up the same sound again and amplifies it a third time.
• - Lather, rinse, repeat.

This all happens very fast (in a matter of seconds) and also explains why the ringing starts off soft and gets progressively louder until is reaches ear bleeding levels.

While you won’t be able to feedback proof your performance 100%, there are a few things that you can do to try and limit the amount of feedback that occurs.

3 Quick tips to prevent feedback

1. Don’t cup the mic

This is something that most new singers do. When grabbing the mic, they cup their hand around the head of the mic. This is bad for two reasons – firstly it will make you sound muffled and reduce your volume, and it also interferes with the way in which the microphone picks up your voice and can cause feedback. When performing, hold the body of the mic and try not to get too close to the head.

2. Keep your distance

Feedback usually occurs when microphones or guitar pickups are too close to speakers. So, a quick tip is to keep the mic or guitar well away from the speakers if you can.

3. Get the mic/monitor position correct.

Vocal microphones are designed to pick up sound from the front. So, if you’re singing with a speaker right behind you, the mic will pick up your voice coming in to the microphone which is a sure fire recipe for feedback. Make sure that the monitor speaker is placed in front of you when you sing and try to keep the back of your mic aimed at the monitor. Most vocal microphones (cardioid) will also pick up sound from the side, so if there’s a speaker right next to you, this might also cause some feedback.

I hope that this feedback about feedback has been useful and that you’ll be able to kick (even more) ass the next time you’re up on stage.

Till next time, thanks for listening,

Lester