Specific mic placement question??

[skier4467]

hi...

my band plays at this bar where they have the main cabs bolted to the ceiling right above where we play. It isn't thought out very well because they are too close to the back wall (directly over our vocal mics instead of out front a little more. Any suggestions to avoid feedback? We have 3 singers in front and a bassist and a drummer behind.

 

Should we put the singers behind the cabs and put the drummer in front of us?

 

If I do a solo gig there should I put the mic between the mains or directly behind one?

 

Lemme describe the room again. The room is about 200 feet long and 20 feet wide. We play against one of the walls facing lengthwise. The mains are about 8 feet from the back wall and there is about 8 feet between each cab.

[Drumtech]

You need to get behind the speakers in order to avoid feedback and to get a decent volume out of the PA. If this bar / club has other speakers, simply disconnect the ones that are in back of you and use the others. If that doesn't work, you may need to bring in a separate PA.

[Old Steve]

Be sure to mention the bad design to the bar owner. In the long run, he'd be better off moving the speakers out.

 

You might be able to stand between the two speakers and move out ahead of them slightly, depending on the angles of the speakers, and the dispersion of the sound out of the speakers. It would also be helpful to use a microphone with a very tight pickup pattern. Keep the gain down as much as possible and get right on the mic when you sing.

 

Even doing all of this won't let you get out very far in front of the speakers (maybe not at all), but it might be worth trying if it buys you a foot or two.