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Hello KJ's,

I've been using vocal mic compressors for awhile now, but I've have recently started experimenting with my noise gates too.

Wow! What a difference it makes in the vocals!

No more stage noise and main speaker bleed into the mics!...Huge reduction in mic handleing noise too....Hardly any chance of feedback from the stage monitors either.

For those of you who wonder what a noise gate is, it's really simple....A noise gate is an open/shut device that either opens and allows sound thru or shuts it out. It patches inline on the mic cable before the mixer. You simply adjust at what level it opens.....You can also adjust how fast it reacts both opening and shutting. It has easy to read LEDs that indicate when the gate opens and shuts so it's easy to set up during sound check.

What this means is your mics don't pic up any noise from the background like the music being played back or other noise you hear on stage. The mics only reproduce what the singer is adding to the mix providing the singer uses proper mic tech.

If you want to try one I suggest the Alesis 3630 compressor/gate for the first time user.  You can get one for $99 and it is two channel, so it will support 2 mics.

This unit has both a compressor and noise gate for each of the two channels. Both are fully adjustable and easy to figure out.

On the 3630's i pretty well had it figured out even had the fumbling with the mic gated out and some singers saying the mics cutting out  It eliminates feedback when the singers are next to a hard wall with a high threshold. When the second mic is limiting and and all it's  getting is the reflections off the back wall it is possible to gate this out.

Right now I'm using the Dbx 266xl  where are you people running the threshold on the gate?  I put one of the old 3630 on the stage monitor  and it does not pick up anything but the singers.

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Careful not to set the threshold too high or some singers may not be loud enough to open it up or they will be in the middle of singing & get to a passage that is JUST under the threshold setting & BANG!< the gate closes, you can't hear the singer & if it's set too low, it doesn't close which makes it useless in the first place.  Noise gates are designed more for instruments overall, but can work right on vocals provided the signals are pretty consistant.  Karaoke singers are too inconsitant & you end up adjusting the gate more & more every song.
Best thing for mics that aren't being used - the mute button.

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Oh, I agree that a little can be too much.....And I also agree that excessive gating can cause problems with weak singers if the threshold is set too high. But any KJ who sets up night after night in a different place should should have them to help correct for those unexpected conditions.

I've also noticed that a properly tweeked compressor/gate allows me to run my mics hotter going into the mixer channel strip which gives my vocals added punch and clarity.

As a KJ, I would not even consider a mixer that didn't have individual mic mute buttons and also low cuts on each strip. But if I was stuck with an otherwise great mixer and wanted to invest in  vocal compressors, then I would buy one that included the gates and adjust them as best I could to serve as an auto-mute if nothing else.

One of the things I really like about my new Behringer 1224 fx-pro is it also has a voice cancel switch and in addition to separate channel mutes, it has a one-button-mute-all mics for when you pop in some hot DJ dance music.....AND the built in EQ has a feedback locating feature!

Folks need to remember that each unused/unmuted mic robs up to 6db headroom!  If your mixer doen't provide mic mutes, then fersure consider using a compressor/gate.

P.S.

Another feature you may really like about the Alesis 3630 is you can use it to "duck" the mains.

What that means if if you connect it to just your mic, whenever you make an announcement, the music playing over the mains will duck out and your voice will come thru loud and clear, the the music will pop back up as soon as you stop speaking.  I have one mic mounted on a goosneck right next to my mixer. I don't sing thru it but use it only for calling the next singer or making announcements.....it's really cool the way it will duck out the mains automatically without me touching the board sliders.

Hey everyone,
Thanks for bringing this topic up!  I've never used a noise gate, but this sparked my interest.  I'm looking to eliminate microphone feedback and still try to run hot enough for my low-powered, and sometimes inexperienced singers.  I'm tiring of teaching microphone holding technique, etc.....(don't want to be the party-pooper all the time).  Anyhoo, I was researching a feedback suppressor (I've read about the behringer inline shark and similar items), but would like to know if a noise gate would be a better option.  
I'd like something automatic and dummy-proof so the girlfriend or others could set up if needed.
Oh, I'm running a Mackie 406m PA(it has a compressor), Audiostream AS890(AS898???) wireless mics, and a Sennheiser 835(not all at the same time).  I'm also hoping a feedback suppressor/gate would allow me to run my cheaper mics in the rougher places without feedback....
As always, thanks for all of the expert advice, It helps me, but also helps improve the quality of Karaoke as a whole.  thanks again!
Jimmy

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Best feedback suppression is proper speaker placement & proper mic control not to mention how a kj runs the board as well.  True placement is not always possible in some of the clubs we do.  Mics & speaker brands also can play a major factor in feedback.
A gate will not aid in feedback suppression, it just "closes" the signal when it gets under a certain setting - designated by you.  
Feedback processors such as the Behringer don't work very well.  Take a look at the Peavey Feedback Ferret or the dbx AFS224 (this one works very well).  Sabine FBX1200 or FBX2400 are probably the best in the industry, but you will pay for this kind of quality.

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And........Don't forget a quality 31 band EQ like my Peavey Q231FLS....It has LEDs that identify freqs as they feed back allowing you to cut just that narrow freq enuff to stop the problem. Precise and narrow cuts don't hurt your mix in the least. But not so when using a 7-9 band EQ where you cut a much broader chunk of the program. If you only have one 31 band EQ, place it on the monitors, not the mains. If you have a dual channel 31 band EQ and you run mono on the mains, then place one channel of the EQ on the monitors and the other on the mains.

In a perfect stage setup, you place your monitors directly in front of your mic stands and pointing up at the singer's head. Of course you also provide a decent mic with a polar pattern that excludes all in front of it(Like a Shure SM58) Then you hope the singer will leave the mic in the stand and not dance around the stage with it(yeah, Right!).

Place your mains out front and to each side of your singers, not behind them to where the mic hears them.

During sound check, first dial in your monitors with no sound from the mains. Bring up the monitors to where the singers can hear themselves just well enuff to aid their performance.....If possible mix just a little of the music into the monitors. The idea is to reduce stage noise as much as possible to prevent feedback but still let the singers hear what they are doing. If you have a 31 band eq, then use it to isolate any freqs that feedback on the monitors at higher than normal levels, then reduce the monitor levels back to normal.

That done, cut the monitors and bring up the mains and start over. Adjust the EQ for best sound thru the mains and then bring up the mains to higher than normal listening levels while you listen for feed back....Cut the offending freqs as required, then drop the mains to normal level and bring the monitors back up to normal levels....You then should have no feed back, but if so, it's most likey in the monitors and a little tweeking on the EQ will fix it.

That's in a perfect world where there are no odd ball sound reflecting barriers, low ceilings, close back walls or other problems to deal with.....I know that sometimes the bar owner expects you to set up in some tight corner and still have perfect sound....Well, that's when you need to resort to a few other tricks.....Compressors, limiters and gates are all useful as long as you understand that they too have their limits.

Another thing that can really muddy up your mix is subsonic feedback from your subwoofers(If you use subwoofers)  Subsonic feedback is below the level of human hearing but not that of your sound equipment......When the subs start to feed back, your bass gets loose and it drains your bass amps of power. If bad enuff, subsonic bass feedback can actually damage your subs from amp clipping and overheating the voice coils in the subs. Because deep bass freqs are not directional like that in your monitors and mains, then it doesn't matter which mic you use and where the subs are located. The best way to prevent subwoofer feed back is to employ low cut filters on the mixer's mic input channel (if provided) and also on the amps or EQ if available.  

My EQ has 40Hz high pass filters and my mixer has low cuts that filter anything below 75Hz.  All music played thru my EQ gets filtered below 40Hz and all coming in thu the mics at 75Hz ......Therefore, my bass is really punchy and tight with lots of amp headroom left and no subsonic feedback is possible.

Once again, thanks for the info guys!
Jimmy!

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