BandAssist

Guides

Finding and eliminating feedback

Few things ruin a gig like a squealing microphone. The good news: feedback isn’t random. If you know where it comes from, you can avoid most of it – and cut the rest in a targeted way.

Where the squeal comes from

Feedback occurs when a microphone picks up the speaker it’s being played through – and the signal keeps building up. It usually happens at a few specific frequencies where the room, speaker and microphone interact particularly strongly. Most often affected are vocal mics in front of loud wedges.

What helps first – even before EQ

  • Placement: main speakers in front of the microphones, not behind them. Put monitors in the mic’s “deaf” direction (directly behind for cardioid mics, slightly to the side for supercardioids).
  • Close to the mic: Singing close needs less gain – and less gain means less feedback.
  • Mute unused mics. Every open mic increases the risk.
  • Monitors no louder than necessary – in-ears solve the problem on stage almost completely.
  • Low cut on all mics that don’t need bass.

Ring-out: cut critical frequencies in advance

When ringing out the system, you look for the frequencies that feed back first and cut them narrowly before the audience arrives:

  1. Put all mics in place and set up the monitors as for the show.
  2. Turn up the monitor or PA send slowly until it starts to ring.
  3. Identify the frequency (with an analyzer) and cut it narrowly by a few dB in that output’s EQ.
  4. Keep turning up until the next feedback, then cut again.
  5. Stop after 3–4 cuts – more does more harm to the sound than good.

Cut in the EQ of the output that is feeding back – Main LR for the PA, the respective bus for a monitor.

Feedback hunter in BandAssist with output, channel, mode and usable EQ bands
The feedback hunter in BandAssist

With BandAssist

The Feedback hunter listens to a mic or a measurement mic, detects frequencies that start to ring and cuts them narrowly in the EQ of the selected output – automatically or as a display only. It only uses the enabled EQ bands (default 4–6), so the room correction keeps its bands. It works on the X32/M32, X Air and WING; on the Soundcraft Ui it sets the nearest band of the graphic EQ, on the Yamaha DM3 only on buses and matrices; on the Yamaha TF it isn’t possible. For the analysis it needs USB audio from the console.

Important: Ring-out and automatic cutting belong in the soundcheck – not in the show.

In detail: Feedback hunter in the user guide.

Guides

Read more

Soundcheck with a digital mixer – step by stepAn order that works: from line check to monitor mix. In-ear monitor mix on your own phoneEveryone in the band sets their own mix – here’s how to set it up on the console. Setting gain correctly on a digital mixerHow much level is right, preamp or trim – and why the fader doesn’t help.

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