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[zhaddeus richardson]

i am a sound technician {amateur} at my local church. For the last past 4 years the director of the media ministry has included compressors on our sound system. Since the day of introducing this equipment to our system in my opinion has been a nightmare. I have a very good ear for music and sound and it seems that when this equipment was added that we lost control of the wireless mic volume and clarity. there is always feedback and it just sounds bad. my question is : Is it necessary to include this hardware to a church sound system and if it is necessary to have it then is it necessary to have the wireless microphones(senheiser)linked to the compressors. thanks for your help .i want to be perfectly clear for you so when i pass this info along i will have all the right answers. basicly before we had this hardware there was little to no feed back . now there is constant feedback. before ... using the gain control and sliders on the board u could control the volume perfectly. now with the sliders all the way up and basicly turning up the gain control there is a little increase in sound but no control.the only time that the mics sound good is when they are being used one at a time.otherwise i cant make out any one separate person. we have six worship leaders and you can never distinguish each individuals voice over the other and they always are complaining that they cant hear themselves.before the compressors were added the mics were crystal clear and loud. now the mics sound muffled often like the person is in a hole. i just know that before this hardware was installed the sound was great.there is CONSTANT FEEDBACK. i want our system to sound good. our church cost over a million dollars and our system sounds like it cost 200.00. i know that is has to be the compressors because when a c.d. is played the sound is perfect. your feedback will be greatly appreciated because it will confirm my suspicions about the mics being routed through the compressors and then through the system. i just wonder if you need to have the mics on the compressor. im really frustrated  so please help all you can



ZHADDEUS RICHARDSON
CITADEL OF HOPE MINISTRIES
LEESBURG FLORIDA
WWW.CITADELOFHOPE.COM

[Tom Young]

Welcome !

You need to edit your profile and use your real, full name when posting here. That's one of the rules.

Thanks.

[zhaddeus richardson]

i apologize. i wasnt aware that my name wasnt showing.i did also include it at the bottom of my message. i think that i edited my profile correctly but its still showing tairiek

[Aaron McQueen]

How are the compressor connected?  What board are you using? What compressors are you using and how many channels of compression do you have?

I think you are probably over compressing the signal. Compressors correctly used can help to control the loudness of a source.  Over compressing will take all the dynamics out of the source.  Over compressing can also cause feedback.  It also not generally a good idea to have the monitors compressed.  If you using the compressors inserted into the specific channels, then there is a good chance you are.

I had a lengthy explanation here, but I couldn't say it as clearly as I wanted, so hopefully someone else will come by to explain exactly why compression can cause feedback and why it's not good to have it on the monitors.

[Ira White]

Aaron is right, it sounds like you're simply overcompressing. I use compression on my E6s and Microsets to help sustain a more consistent level for voices, especially the pastor who can go from an intimate whisper to commanding yell, but it only needs to top off the peaks.

Mine is set at a moderate 4:1 or 5:1 ratio setting, and a soft knee setting if you have it. I would then adjust any compressor input and output levels to unity so that with the compressor temporarily set at a 1:1 ratio, you will hear no change in level when you BYPASS the compressor (OUT on units labeled In/Out).

Then with the Ratio reset and the compressor cut IN, you can lower the Threshold setting from the Unity ("0") point until you see the gain reduction meter start compressing the louder levels to a point you desire. This all will avoid loss of level or the compressor squashing the lower levels causing you to increase mic levels and cause the feedback.

Hope this makes sense and helps.

[Tom Young]

Nope. We're OK now.

Thanks.

[Bill Taylor]

Ira hit it on the head.  What I have done to avoid compressing monitors is I run my compressor to Sub Group 1, which is my vocal sub group.

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