Does the mixer matter? Do all mixer produce the same sound quality?

[Savrot]

Hi!

I've been buying a lot of new gear recently. Almost everything is expensive except the mixer. So my question is, does the mixer matter? And do the produce different results? Do cheap ones get feedback more easily?

This is the mixer i have.

http://usa.yamaha.com/products/live_sound/mixers/analog-mixers/mg_standard_model/mg10/

 

[pauly]

Hi savrot,
Everything matters - having said that, your little mixer should be ok - the mixer is the heart of your sound but Yamaha tend to put enough research into all their products to make them fit for purpose. The mixer should not cause. You feedback issues. Cheap mics will.

Thanks
Pauly

 

[Savrot]

Okay! The mics that we use are shure beta 58a. Are they considered cheap?

 

[pauly]

Hi again,
No they are fine!
Is the problem feedback?
Thanks
Pauly

 

[Savrot]

Hi again,
No they are fine!
Is the problem feedback?
Thanks
Pauly

Yeah! Do you think a feedback destroyer would do the job? Or any other tips for battling feedback?

 

[Rex]

Get a mixer with sweepable mids on each channel. Every feed has at least one sin that can be mitigated with a well-sculpted midrange notch. Some of those sins can cause feedback.

 

[pauly]

Hi,

Yes the feedback destroyer would help, however I cant stop thinking that something else is going on.. like your eq on the channels that are feeding back or something? Are they all flat?

Thanks
Pauly

Yeah! Do you think a feedback destroyer would do the job? Or any other tips for battling feedback?

 

[Savrot]

Hi,

Yes the feedback destroyer would help, however I cant stop thinking that something else is going on.. like your eq on the channels that are feeding back or something? Are they all flat?

Thanks
Pauly

Well here is my complete gear:
Subwoofer: Yamaha DSR118W
Speaker: Yamaha DXR12
Mixer: Yamaha MG10 XU

I have the DXR highpass filter on 100. And i have a highpass filter on the vocals aswell on the mixer. We cut a little bit of low end, around 11. And we boosted the high to around 1. So they are not all flat.

The mics are really prone to feedback it seems. And i'm really unsure why, maybe we can go through it all step by step?
Starting with, how to i set the gain on a mixer that has no PFL? How much of the inbuilt compressor do i use?

 

[Savrot]

Get a mixer with sweepable mids on each channel. Every feed has at least on sin that can be mitigated with a well-sculpted midrange notch. Some of those sins can cause feedback.

Yeah, i'm really displeased in hindsight with this mixer. I really miss having a gain switch and middle knobs on all channels.

 

[barhrecords]

It starts with microphone and speaker placement.

The Shure Beta58A is supercardiod. That means it rejects bleed the most at 120 degrees NOT directly behind the mic like a conventional dynamic cardiod mic.

http://cdn.shure.com/specification_sheet/upload/123/beta58a-specification-sheet-english.pdf

Place the mic stands where any foldback wedges are 120 degrees to the mic.

Make sure the FOH speakers are as high up on stands as you can get them. I play in a group with 2-way speakers like these, we hoist them up on stands where the bottom of the speaker is above our head level. Distance between open microphones and speakers is good

 

[Rex]

How much of the inbuilt compressor do i use?

As little as possible. Compression promotes feedback.

 

[Savrot]

As little as possible. Compression promotes feedback.

Thank you! I think we never really exercised proper mic control and used the compressor to boost and lower the dB.

 

[Savrot]

It starts with microphone and speaker placement.

The Shure Beta58A is supercardiod. That means it rejects bleed the most at 120 degrees NOT directly behind the mic like a conventional dynamic cardiod mic.

http://cdn.shure.com/specification_sheet/upload/123/beta58a-specification-sheet-english.pdf

Place the mic stands where any foldback wedges are 120 degrees to the mic.

Make sure the FOH speakers are as high up on stands as you can get them. I play in a group with 2-way speakers like these, we hoist them up on stands where the bottom of the speaker is above our head level. Distance between open microphones and speakers is good

So this mic bleeds more than a dynamic cardiod mic? This might be a problem then since we play loud and in a small room, and the venues are usually in a small space aswell.


I'm sorry, i do not understand what foldback wedges mean?

I will try to put the FOH speaker higher as you say. Thank you for your input !!!

 

[Rex]

So this mic bleeds more than a dynamic cardiod mic?

No, it just rejects bleed at different angles. A cardioid mic has maximum rejection directly behind it. But a supercardioid has maximum rejection 60 degrees off of directly behind.

I'm sorry, i do not understand what foldback wedges mean?

Floor monitors.

 

[Savrot]

I took pictures of my rehearsal room so that you could all see it. As you can see, we have quite few options for positioning.
I've started reading the manual which have quite a few tips but i'm still curious of what you all think now that you see the space that i'm working with!

 

[Savrot]

No, it just rejects bleed at different angles. A cardioid mic has maximum rejection directly behind it. But a supercardioid has maximum rejection 60 degrees off of directly behind.



Floor monitors.

Yeah i saw the pattern now in the manual. It's quite hard then to find a good spot since we are stuck up against the wall (as you can see on the picture). Maybe we should just get a cardioid mic that don't pick up sound from behind. Or does the sound bounce on the wall behind us and into the mic?

Well the floor monitors wont be a problem since we're just rolling with FOH

 

[Rex]

Or does the sound bounce on the wall behind us and into the mic?

In a small room, reflected sound can be a real problem.

 

[Rex]

...'m still curious of what you all think now that you see the space that i'm working with!

I think you have too much power in that small space. Just a little bit would make it very loud.

I also think that such a small space will have big problems with reflected sound. There will be feedback, and the room itself will strongly EQ your sound.

And where can you fit a drummer in there?

 

[yek]

I took pictures of my rehearsal room so that you could all see it. As you can see, we have quite few options for positioning!

I'll put it bluntly:

If you guys play so loud that the mics cause uncontrollable feedback, in such a small room, you are all crazy and you're ruining your ears for the rest of your lives. Don't blame the equipment, don't buy (terrible) feedback destroyers, don't justify this stupid behavior. The solution is easy: dial back that volume. If not, you'll all soon have a ring in your ears that won't ever go away.

 

[Savrot]

I'll put it bluntly:

If you guys play so loud that the mics cause uncontrollable feedback, in such a small room, you are all crazy and you're ruining your ears for the rest of your lives. Don't blame the equipment, don't buy (terrible) feedback destroyers, don't justify this stupid behavior. The solution is easy: dial back that volume. If not, you'll all soon have a ring in your ears that won't ever go away.

Thank you for your input, and i'm sorry if it sounded like i'm blaming the equipment, i'm trying to learn and i'm unsure where the problems stems from.
We are protecting our ear with earplugs. I would like to turn down the volume as well but the thing is, we are creating backingtracks (drums and keyboards) and we wanted to mix and listen to the sounds through the PA that we are using. We tried to turn down the volume aswell but the thing is, it changes the sound. And the relation between the speakers and sub changes aswell.

What would you say is the best move considering the situation?