Feedback on experimental set up

  • Thread starter Thread starter Erockrazor
  • Start date Start date
Erockrazor

Erockrazor

I mix in (2x) real-time
I need your help!

My signal chain is as follows.

Audix i5 > old xlr > Audio buddy preamp for gain > 1/4'' instrument cable > Line 6 guitar spyder amp.

Yes , I know this isnt exactly what im supposed to be doing but I am experimenting and I would really like to utilize this set up. Problem is , I'm getting signal BUT if i give it any volume I get blasted with feedback.

As you may have guessed , my question is where is the feedback coming from and how can I rid of it. I will try any suggestions , just throw them at me.

thanks a bunch , eric.
 
Well it's all from the mic.... but I guess you could try standing behind the amp or mess with the eq to try and get the most volume you can.


-jeffrey
 
Nothing unusual about it. Classic feedback problem. You just need to figure out a bit about cardioid mike use re limitations of live sound reinforcement. In a small room you're very limited in amplification of a live mic. Huge room or outdoors and it becomes very easy as long as you know where to point stuff.
 
what am i trying to mic?

I want to mic the xylophone i just ordered and put some distortion delay and reverb on it. :rolleyes:

I just though there might be more to it cause when i hook it into my PA , i get way more gain out of it without feedback. I tried hooking the output of my PA into my guitar amp too , still got feedback. Im dealing with my basement , very reflective hard walls so thats probably not helping either. I always face the mic away from the amp since its cardioid.

I was thinking of trying to put one of those cheap acoustic guitar pickups on the xylophone too but maybe I'm just dreaming :) . Ive just been trying to figure out ways to make different sounds and this is one way i came up with.

thanks for the help guys
 
Erockrazor said:
...when i hook it into my PA , i get way more gain out of it without feedback. I tried hooking the output of my PA into my guitar amp too , still got feedback. Im dealing with my basement...
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Probably related to the frequency range the gtr amp emphasizes. Maybe more low-mid oriented than a PA. And in a small room lows and low-mids are a big problem, regardless of what you do with mic nulls since lows aren't very dirctional. Small rooms are quirky.

What kind of feedback are you getting? High freq? Low freq?
 
High pitched deafening feedback is the culprit. I have tried messing with the equalization on my amp. I have the highs all the way down and it still feeds back. there has to be some way to rig this so i can use the guitar amps effects .. effectively. thanks for your help :)
 
Maybe put HF deadening material in a semicircle behind the source where the mike is pointed so it doesn't get reflections from the amp. Blankets, mattress, anything that absorbs the highs.
 
Good suggestion , I honestly have tried a good amount of things and that is not one of them. The highs bounce off everything in that room and there really is nowhere to absorb them so some blankets around the mic might be an excellent idea. Thanks a lot tim.
 
are you just trying to record it, or play it live?

if recording it, maybe you could isolate the amp, throw it in a closet or something.
 
I'm trying to play it live which makes the problem a little bit harder with isolation as less of an option. Would it still feedback into the headphones easily you think? I dont feel like going deaf trying. :)
 
well, the issue is that the mic is picking up what's coming out of the amp, and it's feeding back. if you plugged headphones into the amp, it honestly shouldn't feed back....in case there is something else wrong though, i'd turn your amp down all the way before plugging your headphones in
 
You either have to turn down the volume on the amp, isolate the amp, or go direct out of the recording/headphone output. If you're recording to your computer and have enough ins/outs, maybe try recording it dry, then loop it out to the amp and on to a new track.
 
I am thinking that rather than isolating the amp , isolate the microphone. I want to use the sound for live performances at one point. Maybe a more directional microphone would be more suitable and accompanied by some sort of blankets to absorb the highs. The xylophone should be coming any day now so I'm getting extremely excited. :) thanks for your help guys.
 
Erockrazor said:
...when i hook it into my PA , i get way more gain out of it without feedback. I tried hooking the output of my PA into my guitar amp too , still got feedback.
Click to expand...
Are your PA speakers on stands and the gtr amp on the floor?
 
Timothy Lawler said:
Are your PA speakers on stands and the gtr amp on the floor?
Click to expand...


Precisely ... but my PA speakers are on a table rather than a stand. My amp is on the floor. Is that probably hurting my cause by making all the hard floor early reflections? or is it helping that its not the same "axis'' as the microphone. Thanks.
 
Erockrazor said:
Precisely ... but my PA speakers are on a table rather than a stand. My amp is on the floor. Is that probably hurting my cause by making all the hard floor early reflections? or is it helping that its not the same "axis'' as the microphone. Thanks.
Click to expand...
I bet if you get that gtr amp up pretty high off the floor your problems will be reduced.
 
Problem solved to the best of my ability!

Okay , I put the amp up on a desk in my basement ... maybe 4 feet off the ground. Then I put a pillow in front of the speaker cone , which hopefully absorbed some of those high frequencies. But since I did those two things I can crank up the volume pretty good to play into. Thanks alot guys! I cant wait for this xylophone ... I dont even know how to play it haha. This is gonna be great ... thanks! ERIC
 
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