Operator’s Guide
10
Ideally, your sound system, room acoustics, and the way mics are used,
all allow you to provide plenty of sound without ringing. Extra available gain is
logically called,
gain before feedback
. Having extra gain before feedback
insures that you won’t have to compromise between quantity and quality of
sound. Your audience will benefit, and all will appreciate the results. If you
find it difficult to make your sound loud enough without ringing, you need
more gain before feedback. Here’s some simple ways to get it:
•
Train participants and stage handlers
so that everyone speaks between
4" and 6" from their microphones. Aim boom mics so they point toward
the speaker’s chin
when the speaker is looking straight out at the
audience
. Proper miking lets everyone be heard with lower gain,
resulting in sufficient sound without feedback problems.
•
The
VGM-1041's
sound gating
automatically increases your available
gain before feedback, by muting unused microphones. Unneeded mics
receive no useful sound -- only feedback and noise. You win about 30%
more gain before feedback for each mic gated off.
•
Don’t use excessive compression
. If any mic input is causing the
COMPRESS
LED to glow
red
, lower that input’s control. Compression
actually
reduces
gain before feedback by encouraging more gain with
quieter inputs – so allow the compressor to activate only for unusually
loud sounds.
•
Anything you can do to provide a
quiet auditorium
directly adds to your
available gain before feedback. For example, keep auditorium doors
closed during the program, to deflect lobby noise. If your hall’s HVAC
system makes excessive noise, see if anything can be done to quiet it.