Posted by Bill Phelb on December 13, 2000 at 17:48:55:
In Reply to: How can i control feedback? posted by Ruben Emmanuelli on November 17, 2000 at 01:10:40:
After 24 years of screwing around with harmonicas, mics, and amps, I'm here to tell you that there is no easy answer to your question. Anytime you put your hands around a mic or add distortion to your sound, you are asking for feedback. You of course are doing both. Controling feedback is not possible with current technology and what you're trying to do. Dealing with it is a better approach.
1. Turn down and have the sound man mic the amp.
2. Use less distortion (or overdrive), that is, a cleaner sound won't feedback as much.
3. Add a second speaker cabinet on the other side of the stage.
4. Play through a vocal mic instead, a la James Cotton, let the sound man deal with it.
5. Make sure your amp is on a chair and facing you so that you can hear yourself.
6. Make sure that you are playing with a mic that has an ON/OFF switch, or at least a volume control so that you can turn off when you aren't riffing.
7. Bullet mics are notorius for feeding back at low volume levels. Players like Paul Butterfield, James Cotton, Norton Buffalo, Dave Gage, to name a few, don't (or didn't) use bullet mics and still sound great live.
Bottomline, working pro guys like Sugar Blue may put literally thousands of dollars into their on stage setups. They also may have their own roadies and sound men to do the set up and testing.
Hope this helps,
Bill
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: I have a Fender Twin 100 watts, but to play with it is a trouble because the feedback and if you put the volume down you simply can't hear it with all the fuzz on stage.
: Can somebody recomend me a way to sound good on stage with less equipment, to sound distorted but clear to hear every note (like Sugar Blue) I have a Tech 21 foot pedal for guitar, but the damn feedback....Please Any Help?