Amp feedback
Hi,
I'm interested in knowing about a pedal that eliminates amp feedback. I know about the Lone Wolf Harp Shield, but I'm looking for something cheaper that still gives good results. I have a cheap tube amp, an American Joyo pedal, and a Hohner HB52 microphone.
Thanks in advance.
Hello
First of all, thanks for your comments.
I had the Joyo before, and I occasionally play with it looking for sounds. But you're right, I'm more than enough with the tube amp and the Hohner microphone. Sometimes I try to find something more Bulletini-like with the pedal.
On the other hand, the videos I've seen of the Lone Wolf eliminate that feedback that I still can't avoid at home in small rooms. Any advice on small rooms is welcome. I haven't yet taken the step of playing outside or in a band.
Best regards.
Hello
First of all, thanks for your comments.
I had the Joyo before, and I occasionally play with it looking for sounds. But you're right, I'm more than enough with the tube amp and the Hohner microphone. Sometimes I try to find something more Bulletini-like with the pedal.
On the other hand, the videos I've seen of the Lone Wolf eliminate that feedback that I still can't avoid at home in small rooms. Any advice on small rooms is welcome. I haven't yet taken the step of playing outside or in a band.
Best regards.
I have a Kinder AFB+ and a Squeal Killer but rarely use either of them. I have found that the 10-band EQ pedal linked below for $45.99 allows me to dial down most feedback frequencies, while also allowing me to customize the sound of the amp to remove muddiness while boosting both bass and mids:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08225J9Q1?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asi...
Note that dialing down the 250 Hz slider helps most of my amps sound less muddy, and dialing up the 500 Hz and 1000 Hz sliders can improve midrange definition (although too much can create feedback).
Finally, over the course of playing for 30 years now, I found that my most important remedy for feedback was developing greater resonance in the air column with my playing, i.e., dynamically adjusting my throat, tongue, neck, diaphram, etc. to customize the size/shape of my internal air chamber to resonate with each individual note, yielding more and richer sound volume, while using less air to play. This applies to tongue blocking or pucker, although nowdays I mostly tongue block. The reduction in feedback comes from being able to turn down the amp a bit, while still achieving the same volume due to better resonance.
David may talk about this, but a good way to get started is to pick up an A harp, then with the harp not in your mouth, sing the most full, resonant E note you can sing. Then keep your tongue, throat, etc. in the EXACT same position and play the 2 draw note on the A harp, and notice the improved resonance and volume. This is something that does not get talked about enough IMO.
Mon1979:
I'll be interested in what folks chime in with. I don't use an anti-feedback device, and spend a lot of time trying to adjust tone and volume on the fly when playing in one venue or another.
A couple of things to take into account, though:
Not sure why you're using the JOYO American pedal. It's a solid-state amp emulator designed for guitars that are plugged into solid state amps. Does going straight into your tube amp cut down on feedback? Might give you better tone.
Feedback is a function of certain frequencies being picked up by the harp mic and re-fed into the amp, creating a sort of electronic "cycle of doom." For me, the first step in eliminating feedback is being very careful about how I hold my mic when I'm not actually playing into it. When a mic is cupped, it picks up very little from the amp, monitors or house speakers, reducing feedback. It's when I start singing into a vocal mic that feedback problems arise, as my harp mic is then picking up extraneous sounds and running them into my harp amp and back out into the house system. I try to be very careful to at the very least point my mic away from my amp and from the monitors when singing, and better yet, sometimes remember to literally hold the face of my mic against my chest, effectively muting it. So try different positions with the mic when it isn't fully cupped when you're playing into it.
There are two types of anti-feedback devices. One type works like an equalizer, allowing you to adjust downward the frequencies that might be causing feedback in a particular situation. The other type is a "gated" device that literally shuts off when the harp isn't actually being played. I've heard that the former may affect overall tone, and the latter can be a problem if its response time is slow, i.e., your harp won't be heard right away, pending the "gate" hearing it and opening. Be curious to hear from folks who use one or the other.
Found an interesting discussion on Adam Gussow’s Modern Blues Harmonica site’s forum, at https://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/5498651.htm . Note that “Moon Cat” is Jason Ricci, who probably knows more about pedals than any other harp player today.
Finally, noted that one contributor to that discussion advised "don't stand in front of your amp." I use a fairly small amp, the Lone Wolf Harp Train 10, and usually set it up at a right angle to me on stage, so it functions as my monitor, while the sound tech mics it to put it into the house system. That way, neither my harp mic nor any of the vocal mics on stage are straight in the amp's line of fire. I think that helps a bit.
Great inquiry!
Ukulele Rob plays Hohner™ harmonicas customized by Kinya Pollard, The Harpsmith™