Church Audio – Killing Feedback

.  That way, it will keep the microphone pointed generally in the correct direction.  Politely ask them not to let it hang at their sides or face any stage monitors that are set up in front of them.  If they forget, and chances are, they will, politely and humbly remind them how to properly hold a mic.  Patience and humility is key here.  No one likes a bossy or nagging sound tech.  You have their best interests in mind; communicate it that way! 🙂

STEP NUMBER 3: UNDERSTANDING THE MIXER CONTROLS

Make sure that you understand the correlation between gain, EQ, your auxes, and your fader level.  Always start your sound check with your gain knob turned all the way to the left (counterclockwise position), your EQ filters at 12 o’clock, your auxes turned all the way to the right, and your fader all the way down.  If the mic requires phantom power, this would be a good time to turn it on.  After that, unmute your channel strip and bring the fader up to unity gain or the 0 area on the fader strip.  Then, while a vocalist is either talking or singing into the mic, increase your pre amp gain until you reach your desired loudness.  Using your EQ and ear, EQ the input until it sounds good.  If you hear feedback, determine how high or low it is and then, using your EQ filter and your sweepable control, determine where the exact frequency is and cut it until it stops or goes away.  If you experience reoccurring issues with feedback, you may need to assess mic placement or maybe even the type of mic.  If you have the wrong mic for the job, or the mic is placed too far away, you won’t be getting optimal signal from it and it can cause problems in your mix.  In addition, don’t be afraid to use your mute button.  If a mic is not being used, turn it off.  Open microphones and channels can cause excess noise in the mix and system so remember, if it’s not in use, it shouldn’t be on.

STEP NUMBER 4: GEAR

There is also outboard gear that can help with controlling mics and volume as well.  If you are struggling with maintaining consistent volume of individual mics or inputs, you may need a compressor to limit the dynamic range.  A compressor can usually be inserted into a signal chain at various points on the mixing console whether it is on the channel strip, audio group, mains, or even on an aux.  You can also get a gate, which essentially turns a channel off when the signal drops below a certain threshold and turns back on when signal comes through.  This is especially helpful in isolating individual drums when they are miced in close proximity.

In any case, if you have serious, uncontrolled feedback on a reoccurring basis, you may consider seeking help from a trained professional to see if they can track down what the problem is.  That way, you aren’t spending money on gear that you don’t really need and it can help you pin point the problem so that it can be assessed either by the professional or by a church sound tech.

It’s important to make sure that feedback isn’t part of your worship service.  Don’t let feedback become a distraction to worship or what God is trying to do in your congregation during any given service.  Running sound is a huge part of making sure the message of Jesus Christ is communicated clearly and effectively.  Do the best you can to improve your skills so that you can serve God with all the talents he has blessed you with and continue to invest them back into the furtherance of the Kingdom of God.

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