stuck on sound..

[Hlighthouse]

I'm currently doing sound for a local community theater for there annual musical and I'm having a few problems and would love some advice.

We are using rented wireless lavaliers mics and some of them are giving me noises not the clearest sound but i can kind of deal with it. but my biggest problem is feedback.

I'm Using 2 jbls (non - powered) right by the lighting tress i would say 10 to 15 feet away from the stage and have use of powered speakers. right now i have one right next to the mixer so i can here the mics and one right in front of the stage to fill in for the front of rows. the director really isnt happy with the speaker there due to the fear of feedback and wants to put it on a stand in the back Conner behind the drummer in the pit. the pit is located next to the stage extension to the right. I don't really agree with him due to the fact im going to push the speaker to be louder then the pit.

the second problem some of the actors mostly actress hit very high notes which cause the receivers to flip and sound distortion the receivers do have meeter on it and i have tried lower the gain on mics but doesn't really help!

Right now I'm using 2 shotgun microphones attached to the roof to pick up those that don't have wireless but I'm also getting feed back and a lot of the pit. and there only on when the groups are onstage but it sounds weird with the sound come on and of from the pit.

some more problems where:
raise the speakers higher will that work?
what should i do with the powered speaker?
is it true powered speakers get more feed back then non powered?

one thing i didn't mention is the cast past the speakers and walk through out the allies with the mics on.


I know this is a lot but all advice would be helpful!!!!

Any anything else you can suggest!

Thanks In advance.

 

[gcpsoundlight]

Sound like the main problem is mic placement on the cast, and the type of speakers you are using. With the mics, have a look on the Internet, and depending on the brand of mic the manufacturer may have some information on their website.

With the speakers, i suspect the type you are not very focused to the front. With the powered wedges, I don't see why you need one at the console, if you need to solo a mic you should use headphones. As for front fill, having it behind the drummer will not cover enough area and annoy the band.


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[MarshallPope]

First, I'm thinking that a photo or two would definitely help us to better understand your situation. A few notes based off of the mental picture I have of your space -
You say that your shotguns are hung from the roof - what is their relative position to your speakers and pit? Would it be possible to get them closer to the stage, assuming that the speakers/pit are in their paths? Are you turning them off or fading them out? A slow fade will do wonders to hide the fact from the audience that the pit is getting quieter or louder. How do you have the lavs mounted on the performers? Altering the placement to pick up more of the voice can help reduce feedback. Do you really need the mics when the performers are in the audience? It is dangerous, to say the least, to have mics in the area covered by speakers. It can be done, but it can take some work to get it so that you are comfortable with it. With the high notes, is the problem more volume or frequency?
I would caution against having a speaker at the mixer for monitoring purposes. Use headphones when you need to briefly check something, and there will be a time during the show that you will need to see which mic is clipping or has a dead battery or etc., but you should be hearing exactly what the audience hears throughout the show and the rehearsal process.
Without seeing/hearing your space it is difficult to give advice about the positioning of speakers, but you may want to try having a speaker on the stage deck on each of the offstage corners. This could possibly cover your audience better than having speakers farther back and trying to fill in with additional boxes. Again, though, this is just coming from my assumption of what your setup looks like. Photos would help greatly.