Well think about it. If you're going to ring out an entire
SYSTEM, wouldn't you ring out the
system? Not the individual
channel. For taming
feedback the typical
channel strip eq is surgical enough, cuts too much. Even most built in parametric/sweeping cut a little a
bit more. Usually the problem isn't in your channels, but your loudspeakers aren't tuned/rung out. One of the most overlooked details in sound reinforcement is setting proper gains.
Gain is often set higher than it needs to be, so when a ring or two occurs the amatuer engineer will began cutting from the
channel. As things get more
dynamic, the
system begans to ring again, and the amatuer keeps cuttin' and cuttin'. He eventually gets to the
point where he has cut so much he struggles to make the
channel audible. Because of all the cutting, he lost quite a
bit of output. He could have made it easy on himself and notch down the
channel's
gain a tad
bit. Not only does ringing out a
system involve cutting, but it involves boosting to better hear what freqs are causing the problem. Just don't cut too much, it'll shrink your output. Causing you to push your inputs harder, which only make the problem worse. As a general rule of thumb, if you cannot achieve a decent
level/tone after ringing out your
system, then you probably cut too much. Esepecially if your gains are properly set and you're dynamically processing your trouble sources. However if you continue to receive rings, the problem isn't you, it's the source. Sometimes some mics are just a bad idea. Some rooms just absolutely suck. Some systems just don't work with some rooms and stages. Obviously you can manipulate some of those problems with what has been discussed, but you're not directly solving the probem. You're
masking it more so than anything. But start with the source, you're only as good as your weakest link. Garbage in, garbage out.