Acoustic and Voice mic setup sound help

[tennesseeboy]

Hi, two of the people on our bluegrass band have an SM57 for their instrument mic and an SM58 for singing both on the same stand. Does this cause more potential for feedback or “phasing”
Issues? The mics are only about 12-16” from each other. We’re having sound issues and are trying to mail them down. Thanks for the help!

[Mbroady]

Are you recording or playing a live gig. The SM57 has good off access rejection. The 58 not as much. But there are way too many unknown variables in the equation to nail it down. Some include room size and position in the room, is there any sound absorption, What direction the mics are facing, etc

[YamaYairi]

If you are playing in a live situation, with microphones and monitor speakers this opens you up to feedback problems. In my opinion, if you have no drummer you don't need monitor speakers. You can stand close to each other and hear each other just fine. In the old days (and even today) some people just gather around a single mic.

[tennesseeboy]

We are playing live. The mandolin and guitar sound so much better mic’d, but it’s causing more feedback problems [emoji3525].

[guitarman68]

IMO the close distance between mics will not so much reason for feedback issues as the proper placement of speakers and floor wedges and the overall stage volume. So staying behind the FOH speaker line as far as possible and bringing down monitor volume will be the most important things to keep in mind. Proper high pass filtering of the instrument mics will help also.

[Robin, Wales]

That looks like a really awkward place to play in terms of feedback. The venue looks as if it could be very "live". And that hard reflective surface right behind the band isn't helping. I expect that the sound is bouncing all over the place in that barn. The problem is quite probably your space, not your kit. So look at doing something with the space if you can for the solution.

You could start by taking some of the guitar and mandolin out of the monitor feed so they are not coming off the back wall so strongly. But ideally you want to kill that back wall.....or use it as part of your natural sound reinforcement and just turn everything on the p.a. down a touch.

Something like the lightweight classroom separators/space dividers you often see at conferences would work behind the band to kill that wall. I expect that you could get a set second hand for not much cash. With some thought, I'm sure that you could come up with a solution.

I think that I'd be inclined to bring the speaker stands off the stage and put them further forward.

It is the sort of venue where I would get the band to sing and play on the stage before setting up the p.a. while I walked around and listened to what was happening. Then made my decisions on what needed doing after that. It would be all to easy to over amplify the band for the size and type of space - and then you would be fighting feedback unecessarily.

[Eastbound]

Use pickups in the guitar and mando. Get the volume and meat of the sound from the pick up (no feedback). You can also use a mic with the pick up for air and ambiance. I would just lean into the mic when taking a break.

Actually if you have a decent pick up, you dont need a mic, and no one will know the difference

You'll likely never get enough volume from an SM57 on the guitar. Look at some of the pro guys playin on stage (Billy Strings, Larry keel) They dont use mics anymore because there is too much feedback. I saw Tony rice play live once with mic only...looked to be an SM81 condenser. He did well with this but it was a quiet stage and pro set up with excellent sound guy.

[L20A]

My band played an outdoor gig with 1600 people in the park.
The sound company used Shure SM-57 and 58 mics on all 5 vocals and instruments.
The sound we great!
This was an acoustic show with guitar, mandolin banjo and upright bass.

You can get good sound and plenty of volume if you eq the sound correctly.
I don't agree that you need to plug in.

[Mobilemike]

Originally Posted by L20A

The sound company

Originally Posted by L20A

You can get good sound and plenty of volume if you eq the sound correctly.

This is the key. You need somebody with experience who knows what they are doing running sound in order to get a good sound. If you don’t have somebody to do that, plugging in as many instruments as possible can help to remove possible sources of feedback and let you have an easier job doing it by yourself.

-Mike

[YamaYairi]

Those speakers need to be in front of the band. That's why you have feedback.

[Chriscom]

Originally Posted by YamaYairi

Those speakers need to be in front of the band. That's why you have feedback.

I sure wouldn't put them back there but I've seen it work back & high--with no more than three musicians on stage and none of the guitars mic'd up, and eating the vocal mics. In fact I'm pretty sure the guitars were electric, which also helped.

That many acoustic instruments, that many performers, PAs behind, surrounded by hard surfaces including the one remarked upon right behind them.... I'd play in terror the whole time lol

[Eastbound]

Originally Posted by L20A

My band played an outdoor gig with 1600 people in the park.
The sound company used Shure SM-57 and 58 mics on all 5 vocals and instruments.
The sound we great!
This was an acoustic show with guitar, mandolin banjo and upright bass.

You can get good sound and plenty of volume if you eq the sound correctly.
I don't agree that you need to plug in.

Yes it can be done and has. At the same time, more difficult to get the mix right. There are many, many pro players using only a pic up and it sounds great. Its way easier to get more volume before feedback with a pick up. Thats said, I didn't realize the OP had the mains behind the band. They were prolly just tryin to hear themselves better!