Feedback as an sound source

[Commander15]

Decided to start this topic out of personal curiosity and interest. How do you view different kinds of feedback as sound sources in noise? Boring old trope or always relevant tool and technique? Amp / mic feedback vs feedback loop?

[Krigsverk]

For me it is the main source of noise and sound sculpting. With enough training you can get anything out of playing with feedback. The possibilities are endless of course, but IMHO it really can come alive if you put an EQ in the loop. To be able to increase or decrease some frequencies makes all the difference. The deep roars and howls you can get by boosting the bass is the sweetspot; if you add a resonant EQ it gets even more deep.

Is it a boring old trope? Yes, as is a guitar if you just play three chords. In the hands of the right persons it is the sound of GOD that manifests!

[Cementimental]

All electronic sound is feedback

[Commander15]

All electronic sound is feedback

Nice...

[HateSermon]

Big fan of it. Especially when its used in combination with more structured sound. Very few people can use it as sole source and be successful ... artists like XE, Snuff, and Concrete Mascara immediately come to mind. Maybe its because the sound matches the intent of such projects. To cause pain and hatred.

Just recently I was listening to the Unclean live tape and, while the entire set is amazing, the last track stands out the most. I think its because you have like 20 minutes of ripping synths and layered junk tracks then the last song you're hit over the head with the raw and stripped down cover of Final Solution where its just vocals (Hal) and feedback. You can almost sense the tension in that room. Would have been great to see! I think if every track was like that during that set it wouldn't be as impactful.

[Andrew McIntosh]

A bit bored with it, to be honest. Nothing against it per se of course, I just find higher pitched sounds more annoying in my old age.

[Commander15]

For me it is the main source of noise and sound sculpting. With enough training you can get anything out of playing with feedback. The possibilities are endless of course, but IMHO it really can come alive if you put an EQ in the loop. To be able to increase or decrease some frequencies makes all the difference. The deep roars and howls you can get by boosting the bass is the sweetspot; if you add a resonant EQ it gets even more deep.

Is it a boring old trope? Yes, as is a guitar if you just play three chords. In the hands of the right persons it is the sound of GOD that manifests!

Agreed. It is also my main sound source at the moment. Microphone feedback that is happening in a room with an amp have amazing expressive qualities right from the start, that is perfect for sound sculpting with effects, mixers etc. Moving the mic in relation to amp speaker changes the pitch, different kinds of microphones producing different kinds of feedback... Lots of possibilities and power within.

Big fan of it. Especially when its used in combination with more structured sound. Very few people can use it as sole source and be successful ... artists like XE, Snuff, and Concrete Mascara immediately come to mind. Maybe its because the sound matches the intent of such projects. To cause pain and hatred.

Just recently I was listening to the Unclean live tape and, while the entire set is amazing, the last track stands out the most. I think its because you have like 20 minutes of ripping synths and layered junk tracks then the last song you're hit over the head with the raw and stripped down cover of Final Solution where its just vocals (Hal) and feedback. You can almost sense the tension in that room. Would have been great to see! I think if every track was like that during that set it wouldn't be as impactful.

That Unclean tape sounds really interesting, got to get my hands on a copy ASAP.

As an sole source there is few "tricks" to expand the feedback sound beyond the basic whine and wheeze. Octaver is really handy to have because it expands the sound of basic feedback to almost synth realm. In general the pedals with blend knob tend to play along with feedback really nicely. Blend knobs in conjunction with gain knobs makes mic feedback pretty controllable and really versatile depending on the used blendable effect.

[Commander15]

Lately I've been experimenting with different feedback approaches and results are pretty interesting. For example, using and summing two different mic feedback sources in the same mixer really adds depth to the sound. Using high gain Dassum contact mic with phaser pedal combined with SM57 into same mixer and mono out into effects chain creates really interesting industrial sound scape with subtle rhythm created by phaser sweep.

[Phenol]

These days I have a fondness for the more laidback kind of feedback that creates atmosphere but does not take over the soundscape. I have used both amp, mic and no input mixing feedback in the past, looped as well as "live" recording session, but right now I prefer the softer feedback sounds I get out of synth which I can completely control. I use the screeching sound of dragging metal across metal and run it through distortion, reverb and sometimes delay for the harsher kinds of high end sounds. I usually cut up and rearrange the feedback/metal screech tracks to fit the structure of the music and send them through eq and sometimes comp to minimize low end distortion buzz and boost the high end. Presently I use high end noises fairly low in the mix so it cuts through but doesn't dominate.

[Commander15]

These days I have a fondness for the more laidback kind of feedback that creates atmosphere but does not take over the soundscape. I have used both amp, mic and no input mixing feedback in the past, looped as well as "live" recording session, but right now I prefer the softer feedback sounds I get out of synth which I can completely control. I use the screeching sound of dragging metal across metal and run it through distortion, reverb and sometimes delay for the harsher kinds of high end sounds. I usually cut up and rearrange the feedback/metal screech tracks to fit the structure of the music and send them through eq and sometimes comp to minimize low end distortion buzz and boost the high end. Presently I use high end noises fairly low in the mix so it cuts through but doesn't dominate.

By my experience it is possible to "tame" ordinary mic feedback pretty efficiently by for example using octaver with blend or overdrive pedal with decent eq.

[Phenol]

These days I have a fondness for the more laidback kind of feedback that creates atmosphere but does not take over the soundscape. I have used both amp, mic and no input mixing feedback in the past, looped as well as "live" recording session, but right now I prefer the softer feedback sounds I get out of synth which I can completely control. I use the screeching sound of dragging metal across metal and run it through distortion, reverb and sometimes delay for the harsher kinds of high end sounds. I usually cut up and rearrange the feedback/metal screech tracks to fit the structure of the music and send them through eq and sometimes comp to minimize low end distortion buzz and boost the high end. Presently I use high end noises fairly low in the mix so it cuts through but doesn't dominate.

By my experience it is possible to "tame" ordinary mic feedback pretty efficiently by for example using octaver with blend or overdrive pedal with decent eq.

I'm sure it is, I don't own an octaver or an overdrive pedal though. There are, however, od and pitch knobs on my ring mod which might be worth experimenting with on some feedback. My best results with mic feedback so far have been through amp and on to tape. This wasn't really controlled, but the tape recorder did something strange to the signal which ended up sounding really raw, broken and distressing + it blended perfectly where I wanted it. A happy accident that made it on the upcoming album without any editing.

[I. Rex]

Indeed, as mentioned here, feedback is a classic but still limitless source for inspiration and experiments. I like to mix different ways of creating a loop, whether it's a mic, or feedback inside a mixer, especially if it's a stereo signal - one mic against two speakers, or multiple loops inside a mixer sounding in different channels. It's always very exciting to control the sound by changing the mic in space, varying its character dramatically from a shrill shriek, to a deep drone. I, like many, am a big fan of using a flanger in this context, however I'm already somewhat bored with the standard sine modulation in this type of effect, although on vocals it always sounds amazing still.