Any singers here been able to cancel feedback on your personal pa's ?

My little powered 15" speakers in small rooms sounds fine at very low volumes , but I like it cranked to at least 1/2 volume, so does the audience but can't get anywhere near there without the hum, and screech.

The question here, is : have anyone you found a good feedback destroyer that handles this application ?

DBX makes a couple so does Behringer , I'd be very happy with either brand if any of you have used their feedback suppresors.

If the unit also comes as a Vocal Processor that's fine to, but I don't guess a feedback suppresor as an afterthought feature of the processor itself would be that good of a supressor.

Also as a side note, my acoustic guitar exacerbates the issue as well , I find myself turning to my solidbodies even when the tune calls for an acoustic.

I find the best way to eliminate feedback is to put the speakers in front of the microphone and as far to the sides as you can.

I use little 15w, mic stand monitors to hear myself and two 15" PA speakers in front of the mic and as far to the edges of the stage as is practical.

Also, since most cardioid mics reject signal from the end of the mic the cord is attached to, I point that end at the monitor.

Get a little sound level meter from Radio Shack, if you set it to "A weighted" and "Slow Response" and you are running over 85db you are hurting your ears anyway. At that volume on stage the mic shouldn't feed back.

If you use a notch filter, you will not only filter out the feedback, but that part of the audio spectrum that helps color your voice. So if you can eliminate the feedback without the hardware, you are better off.

Notes

How is the placement? What speakers? Which mic? Do you use EQ?

Try working with different gain and volume settings on mixer and speakers. Effects increase feedback, I run completely dry vocals, not even reverb. As Norton says, speaker points from mic and as far front and away as possible. You can try to ring out feedback by increasing volume to the point of feedback, then one EQ fader at a time to find the frequency feeding and then turn it down. Then raise volume to right before feedback and repeat.

I've tried Peavey, dbx and Sabine feedback killers. They are all ok, but it's the last way out, or to be used as a safety net.

One can say that if you NEED feedback killer, something is wrong with your setup. Or a terrible room.

Keep the mic behind the speakers and use a drive rack.

I used the dbx driverack PA with the RTA function. That meant that in 99% of the times there was no feedback to kill. But for me using a omni headset mic walking around, the feedback killer was nice as a safety net. In my band I walk around with a wireless handheld mic and feedback is no problem. For a stationary mic, there is no reason for feedback killer, there HAS to be something wrong with the setup or gear.

a shure sm87a doesnt feedback as bad as alot mic's

http://www.myspace.com/window100

Thanks for all your good suggestions all,

By the way I have never tried to perform with my mic in from of FOH speakers.

Bose has a new pa out that seems to address my issue, maybe I need to save my money for one of those.

Once I have a good sound coming out of a PA , I'd prefer not to kill all the settings that have given it the sound I like.

What you just said about the 87a is interesting Roby Lee, I think someone mentioned another mic in the New Products Forum a while back that was good for this too.

My feedback isn't an instant hi pitched screech , it's more of a regeneration kind of building rumble that eventually howls.....

And this happens at rediculously low SP levels.

WHat mic do you use? Which speakers? Which mixerboard?

I't not neccesary to have a BOSE PA to avoid feedback. Have you tried with flat eq? if it's ok with flat eq but but not with the sound you like, then the sound you like will make feedback. And then it's not the sound you and your audience like at alll....