Do you always use a feedback buster in your acoustic guitar when playing live?

[JackB1]

never need em, but I rarely play live at a loud volume.

[Lost in Sound]

Thank you all! Looks like I'll start leaving it in the guitar case for now. I guess with solo it's more likely my mic that will feedback before the guitar......Have a great day, AGF!

[JackB1]

Yes, my mic will always feedback before the guitar does

Originally Posted by Lost in Sound

Thank you all! Looks like I'll start leaving it in the guitar case for now. I guess with solo it's more likely my mic that will feedback before the guitar......Have a great day, AGF!

[Mandobart]

Nope. Never. I play a lot of acoustic-electric instruments amplified at gigs. Most are not guitars or if they are they don't have standard round soundholes.

[leew3]

No, I use the notch filter and careful amp placement-yet as others have noted-I don't play at very high volumes.

[shufflebeat]

Looks like your question's been answered so I hope you don't mind if I drift off topic while you're all gathered -

I've sometimes considered trying a SBT of some kind, probably a K&K, but am put off by the potential feedback issues at some louder gigs. As a rough guide my current situation is that if I don't use a feedback buster on my UST equipped guitars I sometimes struggle at the bottom end. I like to keep the bass but lose the feedback so I use a SHP - issue solved.

For anyone who might have experience of using a SBT with a SHP, how effective is it?

[ghostnote]

Stage monitor in front, facing me: I use one.
Monitor behind me, I don't.
I usually run a guitar with Baggs M1 > pedals, if I'm using any that night > Marshall AS50D amp > out to PA. Unless it's a really low-volume situation, I use the Marshall as a guitar monitor.

[OneThing]

I always carry one. If I’m standing near a floor wedge, I’ll proactively put it in. If just using in-ears I don’t need it. I recommend always having one in your gig back. They’re cheap and effective. Just a good thing to have if you play live.

[Lost in Sound]

Gig went well last night. It was a quieter one than usual. I enjoyed playing without the feedback buster! Cheers guys.

Originally Posted by fazool

Something is wrong there.

"quack" is a (bad) sound description specifically emanating from piezo (and mostly (UST) elements. Mic's are always the cure for quack, never the cause.

Piezo is always the cause of quack, never the cure. Quack comes specifically from piezo.

Maybe the wrong word, but I have three Matons all set up to perfection and they all exhibit the same sound (which I detest) when the mic is cranked up. On the Matons the piezo only sound is brilliant — best I have ever heard and I’ve tried a lot — believe me. Obviously it’s subjective but the Maton pickup is superb. I don’t agree that mics are always the cure in the sense that they can be overdone. I’ve got a Fishman Rare Earth Blend in another guitar and that does the same if set too high. Every guitar I have had — except the Matons have had that awful quack and that’s when I gave up trying and just bought my first Maton and the rest is history.

Some people may like the microphone all the way up but it just sounds wrong to me. I get an amazing sound from my Matons with the mic down. I play through Schertler amps — happy as anything.

[jseth]

I have only used a "feedback buster"-gizmo 3 or 4 times in my 50 years of performing.

Back in the 70's, I saw James Taylor on a TV show and he had some "black thing" in the soundhole - I later learned that it was an inverted shallow plastic container that someone used a Sharpie marker to get the black... so I tried that in my Martin D-35. Worked "kind-of", but I only ever used it when our group was playing a small, tight area.

A buddy of mine got an endorsement deal with Lute-Hole, a manufacturer of very nice soundhole covers, and he gave me one that matches my spruce/maple Mark Angus F-40. I checked to see if it fit well, but other than that I have never used it.

Except for extreme circumstances, it's been my experience that my acoustics won't feedback, IF I'm using a good pickup and a good PA rig...

[The Kid!]

Depends on the room, monitor placement, and volume.

[phcorrigan]

I bought one, but I don't use it. Feedback hasn't been an issue for me.