Feedback!
Hello. I have been jamming for about a year and a half. My Amp is a Fender Blues Junior, my mic is a Shaker Madcat, and i recently purchased a Lone wolf Harp Break "Effect box...
i am having a very hard time with feedback. wherever I stand in relation to my amp, i get feedback. Can anyone help me with the potential proper settings for this combination? Thanks, T
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Hank, thanks for that response. i'm going to look into the tubes you mentioned and see if i can get those changed. i always end up "jammed" into a tight corner or on the edge of the stage, so i'll be more watchful as to where i stand in relation to the amp. What is the ideal position in relationship to the Amp? how do you recommend i point the mic? as far as the teble and mid control, i've been turning them almost all the way down because i'm trying to get a deeper, more dirty sound, that's why i bought the Harp Break from Lone Wolf, but utilizing it seems to just confuse the matter even more! I'll check out the Kinder AFB, too. Thanks for all your input and happy Jamming! T-Bone
As I understand it, stand to the side of the amp, as far away as possible and make sure the mic is not aiming at the amp (never used the Shaker so I'm not sure because its inside your hand cup isn't it?) - make sure the cup is not letting any 'leakage' in. Play around with the treble and mid in conjunction with the volume - just a bit at a time. Its more a matter of balance between the different frequencies and volume. Adding the pedal to the amp controls just gives more options IMHO - ???
I'm really hoping someone like David, Greg Heumann or others who know one heck of a lot more about this respond to help out. I hear a lot of harp players at our level asking the same questions. Take care
(Edit) I just punched in "feedback" into the Search box at the top of the Forum page and there are some other discussions that might give you some other ideas.
Hello T-Bone -
Well, I'm not a player myself, but I know that your question is the most common question there is! All the tips in Hank's post sound good. I would add that a volume control on the mic is a big help. I know it's hard to believe, but I've heard Rick Estrin blasting a stock 40 watt Super Reverb in a 12X12 room without feedback!
Skip Simmons
Hey T-Bone - I'm only at the jamming stage and have had the same problems with feedback. And from what I've learned, this is a fairly common problem. Here's some of the things I've learned and tried with varying degrees of success:
- where you stand and which way you point the mic makes a huge difference
- some mics are more prone to feedback than others
- some amps are more prone to feedback that others
- swapping out AX tubes in the Blues Jr to AY or AU can make a difference
- getting a tight cup on the mic is important. I can get feedback just by opening my cup up a bit
- tone controls on the amp can help. Play around with the mid and treble controls with the volume where you'd like it to be
- I got a Lone Wolf Tone+ and it helped a lot - again, treble/volume knob experimentation
- I ended up "cheating" and getting a Kinder AFB which totally works for my set up - haven't had a problem since
I also found the jam setting (stage size, how close players have to be to the amps etc) made a difference. Also watch where you are relative to the PA system speakers. I'd definitely try to play around with the volume, treble and mid controls to start with.
And remember this is from a relative rookie that's also just learning but I hope it helps. I also hope someone else with experience comes up with ideas for you. Good luck!!