Brat Vocalists purposely creating feedback....

[Anonymous067]

As written in another post, I am using wx IEM for a gig this week (I own the system tho), and am [un]lucky enough to have a few teen girl vocalists...but the main singers are two female adults. At sound check Sunday night, two of the brat teen vocalists thought it would be funny to create feedback with their microphones, which I heard through other mics (as well as theirs) creating nasty sounds in my ears, and throwing my transmitter into clipping (I didn't have my limiter patched in yet). I was pretty furious, telling them they had potential to damage 1600 dollars worth of MY equipment alone, NOT TO mention all the venue gear they sent spikes to.

I can't seem to get them to understand feedback is not funny, nor is damage to my hearing.

HELP ME?

 

[Eboy87]

Experience tells me there's no way to win in this situation. Did you explain to them nicely, or yell at them?

 

[jkowtko]

Aside from simply turning down their gain and channel volume as much as needed to protect the equipment, and let them look like fools miming to the crowd, if you have access to a feedback destroyer unit, hooking it up to just those two input channels and letting it kill the sound with notch filters may do an okay job. Leave the filters on dynamic so the unit keeps pulling down frequencies as they spike. I don't know exactly what your config is, but in ours with overhead PA and omni body lavs, it worked pretty well on individual channels.

 

[Anonymous067]

Actually, our main sound guy (i'm the piano player, but also do sound) came down and told them its not okay, and the MD threatened to kick them out of the band.

What they're doing is purposely putting their hands over the mics to make them omnis which feed back in the monitors. I will be putting them on their own amp channel and plugging a feedback destroyer (yeah i have one layin around) into that aux send (but that amp channel only). This should be reasonably controllable.
I've also sidechained my eq with a limiter, so it knocks down the painful tones in my ears when feedback occurs. I'm using two limiter channles, one set to make feedback less painful and one for hearing protection. I'm not messing around with these &^%$#s.

 

[TimmyP1955]

Put one of those remote shock dog collars on the little ********s. Feedback on purpose - push the button!

 

[Chris15]

Put one of those remote shock dog collars on the little ********s. Feedback on purpose - push the button!

Didn't Uncle Doug make a DMX controlled one of those for followspot ops a coupla years back?

I'm not opposed to playing mind games with "talent"... The next time they do it, perhaps some radical EQ gets applied to their inputs - tell them they broke something.

 

[soundlight]

I'm not opposed to playing mind games with "talent"... The next time they do it, perhaps some radical EQ gets applied to their inputs - tell them they broke something.

That idea actually might work! Yank out almost everything in terms of frequencies, and tell them that the microphones broke. Then take them away, bring them back, and say that you "installed new capsules" 'cause they'll have no idea what you're talking about and hopefully be scared enough not to do it again.

 

[Chris15]

That idea actually might work! Yank out almost everything in terms of frequencies, and tell them that the microphones broke. Then take them away, bring them back, and say that you "installed new capsules" 'cause they'll have no idea what you're talking about and hopefully be scared enough not to do it again.

I was more thinking along the lines of however many bands of EQ you have on the console, send half hard left and half hard right - ought to create an *interesting* sound.

 

[pacman]

A pair of Sabine FBX2020s was the best money I've ever spent.

 

[jkowtko]

I'm not opposed to playing mind games with "talent"... The next time they do it, perhaps some radical EQ gets applied to their inputs - tell them they broke something.

Or, if they are using a specific monitor and you can get that monitor on it's own aux, you can pipe whatever audio you want -- including a talkbalk mic -- through to just that monitor. The sound op has a tremendous amount of power/control in these situations, and if they understand that maybe it will curb their antics

 

[Eboy87]

The next time they do it, perhaps some radical EQ gets applied to their inputs - tell them they broke something.

Nah, all you need to do is start increasing the delay slightly. Then sit back and watch the show as they try and figure out what's throwing them off.

 

[Anonymous067]

Unfortunately, we have no sound op for this week, as I am the piano player. Our mix has been static all week, and I adjust my own monitor in between songs.

But these are all awesome ideas.
I may have to consider some of these this week....

 

[howlingwolf487]

The next time they do it, perhaps some radical EQ gets applied to their inputs - tell them they broke something.

If the OP leaves the feedback destroyer in dynamic mode, it'll just keep notching the offending frequencies and making the mics sound like crap anyway - it's automagical!!!!

I would tell them to get off my stage - they're not performing. If they wouldn't move, I would pull the plug on the show. Their stupidity and lack of respect just ruined the show for everyone.

EDIT: Oh, I just thought of something else I have considered doing. If they're on wired microphones (and you are using your own cables), I would mute their channels, go onstage and cut their cords. I ALMOST did that to a guitarist at my university, but he shaped up before I followed through. That's another point: if you say you are going to do something to punish their stupid behavior, you absolutely MUST follow through with it. Otherwise they will NEVER take you seriously.

 

[NickJones]

Our mixer has an "effects" section that allows you to change the pitch of there voice in real time. I like this, as the perfect revenge would be for them to walk on stage, and there voices constantly changing pitch, as long as no one catches on that it's you doing it, then it seems like they are awefull singers.
Revenge is sweet.
Nick

 

[Schniapereli]

Sometimes I have really wanted to change the pitch of their mic so it is only slightly off (maybe a half-note sharp or flat) and then feed that only through the monitors, but keep the house sound the regular signal. You don't need to be adjusting it, you can just leave it there.

I have never done it for a show, but in toying with it, it throws off the singer, and makes them also look like they are struggling, (cause they are) and it makes it much more convincing to the audience that they stink.

However, the shock collars don't embarrass them as much, and doesn't ruin the show as badly for the audience, but sometimes a more drastic weapon is needed...

 

[FMEng]

I would explain the situation to the singers this way: If they want to hear themselves in the monitors, then they WILL stop screwing around. If they continue, I would carry out the threat and simply take their mics out of the monitor mix. That's like inflicting death upon a singer. That will get the point across AND stop the feedback.

 

[AlexD]

Do feedback eliminators make a mic sound really bad?

 

[achstechdirector]

I like the cord cutting idea....I always mute their mics or put a effect in and tell they broke it.

 

[FMEng]

Do feedback eliminators make a mic sound really bad?

If used properly, they have very little coloration. If over used with many filters tuned to the same frequency, they can start to sound a little rough.

They cannot remove all chances of feedback. What they are designed to do is get you a few more dB of gain before feedback, or stop an un-expected squeal in its tracks faster than an operator can react.

They are not miracle cures, just another tool in the audio tool box.

 

[seanloughry]

First of all, you are dealing with teenagers who know that they didnt purchase the equipment, therefore they could care less if it breaks. So, telling them how much the gear costs will do you no good. Once you have told them that feedback is taxing on a sound system, you have done all that you need to do as far as warnings are concerned. When they do it again you simply remove their wedges, and they will be forced to perform old-school. No use getting upset over the feedback...just do what you need to do to protect the gear. Purposefull feedback is abuse.

I had a gig with a band whose lead singer would get so angry on stage that throwing the microphone on the floor was commonplace. They were my mics. I fixed the problem in the next tune by replacing my now-dented Beta 58 with an nasty old Realistic switch mic whose grill smelled like 10 week old tuna. You CANNOT teach respect, but you can control the damage.

By the way, EVERY sound company should carry an old tuna-smelling microphone in their arsenal for just these occassions.

Sean Loughry
Freelance Audio Engineer