Best means of reducing acoustic bass feedback?

[JohnDaBass]

Played a small garden BBQ and later a cafe gig (40ish) yesterday with my newly acquired Fender Kingman 2 SS bass.

Bass >Zoom B1FOUR (HPF@30hz)>Bam 200 combo 6ins speaker.

BBQ gig was fine but I suffered with significant acoustic feedback in the cafe.

Adjusted the Notch filter and the phase switch on the Fender badged Fishman pre but couldn't tame the feedback.

Do sound hole plugs really work?

Anyone with any solutions?

 

Edited June 22 by JohnDaBass

[JPJ]

Yes, sound hole plugs work. Take a leaf out of the double bass players book who use F hole blockers to reduce feedback on loud or difficult stages. Also, bring that HPF up to about 60hz. 
I played a gig yesterday with my acoustic double bass on a very resonant (I.e. empty wooden box) stage. The whole gig I was on the verge of run away feedback and playing open strings was an absolute no no. Sometimes you just have to modify your technique to suit the circumstances of the gig.

[ratman]

I have a Kingman too and I always use a soundhole plug. I agree with what @JPJ said, get your HPF higher, I start mine at 50hz minimum and increase it if needed. I normally run my Kingman EQ flat and do a 400hz cut on my MS60B, HX Stomp or mixer to get those nasal sounds out of my bass tone. 
Does your Zoom pedal have a parametric EQ? If so, to tackle feedback,  you can do an EQ cut and sweep the frequency control around to find where the feedback stops. 

 

 

[JohnDaBass]

@ratman could you share which sound hole plug you use or recommend?

[ratman]

I've been looking at Ebay where I got mine and that particular one isn't there any more. When I was trying to find mine I bought 3 before I got one that fitted perfectly. It's not like you can go to a shop and try a few out.

But I have found you one that might do the job although the item ships from China. I measured my Kingman sound hole diameter at 97mm (please check yours to comfirm this) and this Ebay ad has some, one at 96mm and one at 98mm. I would say go for the 98mm for a tight fit. Just be aware that sometimes their stated mesurements aren't always that accurate, so you might end up trying a 100mm plug, it's a case of trial and error to see what fits the best.

 

Feel free to search around for one that's in stock closer to home, this is just the first one I found that had them around the right size.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/146662999184?_skw=Silicone+Acoustic+Sound+Hole+Cover&itmmeta=01JZ5ADH4JEB47HJTJVX560JPY&hash=item2225cbc490%3Ag%3A3SIAAeSwp8JoVbV9&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAABAFkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1fC8enOVQK1nNa20HRGGuWXX%2FHGAmFz5cfu9c2okvYXWfzXHbHPWBbB2oK8ZMX6TxJLhHs9PjyWKD%2BBd9Y1v7Eno7SPHHQm5IYcmpqiRRADYiz9wTQyPVs4krx6qPhRppKP5Bb7kn7JGNmIXst76xvoe2AAZjNQXyJBCV6uMSE24HteWhSUyizSlGHmj1zuTd%2B9WFqmtwyBKGt9oxrT%2Fkz3P%2BqOXdHuAw0Tk16JPtXzrgDaITUp2Xahv1DvZXsIovWtpm5VMplSr%2B2ZsxYXJxK2M0Wkwa8icXuJZON0udAI3%2FPlhfI4Vti1G3osLy%2BLi7E%3D|tkp%3ABFBMtJK2qvll&var=445329099935

 

Edited July 2 by ratman

[casapete]

I also have a Kingman V2 bass, and have just got a sound hole plug off eBay.

I measured the sound hole to be 96 mm, and could only find anyone selling this size

on eBay and the few I found who did were all based in China. Still, ordered one

and it arrived a couple of weeks later. Around £7 & fits perfectly, but only used it on one gig

so far where it seemed to do a good job of reducing the likelihood of feedback.

 

I play my Kingman into a Rumble 100 combo often with little distance between them

so am hoping this helps. I did notice the lack of acoustic noise at first, but a small

price to pay for the cut in feedback. 

[snorkie635]

It's sometimes a hit or miss playing an amplified ABG indoors. I've done gigs with no problem and three weeks later in the same venue, it's like a banshee has moved in. Sometimes, the banshee appears in the middle of a song and never returns?

I play an Ovation Elite V and always use multiple plugs - the bass has about a million sound-holes of differing sizes and to be honest, I'm not too sure they make all that much difference in the end.

Anyhow, best of luck in your quest.

[JohnDaBass]

Finally sorted.

Bought a 98 mm one from the source suggested by @ratman.

Purchased the large one because having no experience of how rigid they were I thought that a slightly over size would provide a nice snug fit.

When it arrived I was impressed how stiff it was and sadly didn't fit properly. Bought a second from the same supplier at 96 mm for a sound hole of 95 mm.

Problem solved! Nice snug fit and seems to do the trick by preventing the feedback.

I have also created a new patch on the Zoom B1FOUR with HPF at 50 hz.

Happy Days.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Edited yesterday at 18:56 by JohnDaBass
Grammar

[ratman]

Nice one. I'm glad you got it sorted.