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Following up on a question here where there has been a lot of activity, how can I achieve feedback with a smaller rig? I've read responses talk about doing it with a 100w Marshall.

I have a 5w Marshall and a 70's Ibanez Les Paul. I have a number of effects. I have tried to get it to sing before like this with no success.

I'm not sure if it's a matter of pure volume, wattage, or distance from the amp.

Thanks in advance.

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    Are you trying to get real feedback between amp/guitar rather than a pedal effect? like youtube.com/watch?v=F3gwsjEDbtg
    – Michael Curtis
    Jul 21, 2022 at 16:44
  • This was covered briefly in music.stackexchange.com/a/123872/12556 - just get near to it. Studio monitors you can do standing & holding up towards them. Teeny amp you'd have to elevate… or grovel ;) It really doesn't need all that much volume if you've got a fairly high-gain amp setup or a bit of comp in the signal chain. I do it quite easily on nearfield monitors, without bending the walls, even with the rest of the track playing through them too.
    – Tetsujin
    Jul 21, 2022 at 16:44
  • Not a pedal, @MichaelCurtis
    – Jason P Sallinger
    Jul 21, 2022 at 16:54
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    Thanks, @Tetsujin. So, you recommend me putting the amp on a stand, and getting the guitar close to the amp? At louder volumes? This amp has an attenuator. How does that come in play?
    – Jason P Sallinger
    Jul 21, 2022 at 16:56
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    tbh, just try it & see how it goes. It really doesn't take a lot of 'welly' to persuade it, if you've got enough gain [read: fuzzy compression, however achieved] in the amp.
    – Tetsujin
    Jul 21, 2022 at 17:03

2 Answers 2

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This doesn't take much at all - I have a 1W Marshall that can give me feedback at high gain when I get close.

On stage I tend to use one of my wedge monitors for feedback as needed, as it means I don't need to go back to my amp - I can stay facing the audience.

As comments have mentioned, key to feedback are:

  • high gain, ideally with some sort of compression to help control the feedback
  • speaker cabinet pointed at your guitar (at higher volume this becomes less of an issue)

For a smallish amp like yours, I'd pop it on a stool and angle it up to point at my guitar.

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You get pedals for that.

No reason to put your ears through all that trauma and risk any sort of hearing loss. These effect pedals can give the effect at all volume ranges. You don't actually even need an amp in the room.

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