When Sound Engineering Meets Accidental Artistry
The Beautiful Accident Nobody Planned
Every audio engineer who has worked with JBL VTX Series or L-Acoustics K2 systems knows the terror of feedback. That piercing squeal that sends audiences covering their ears and sound technicians diving for the Yamaha CL5 console. But what happens when feedback stops being a problem and starts becoming part of the performance? Welcome to the strange world where PA systems decided to write their own music.
The history of musical feedback dates back to 1964 when The Who’s Pete Townshend accidentally discovered that holding his guitar near his amplifier created something otherworldly. But in the world of large-scale live sound production, feedback has traditionally been the enemy. System technicians spend countless hours tuning d&b audiotechnik arrays and running Smaart analysis software specifically to eliminate these unwanted frequencies. The irony? Sometimes the systems fight back.
When d&b Audiotechnik Systems Developed Opinions
During a 2019 festival in Belgium, a d&b audiotechnik SL-Series line array began producing what witnesses described as harmonic overtones that complemented the ambient electronic act performing on stage. The FOH engineer running the DiGiCo SD12 console initially panicked, reaching for the parametric EQ to notch out what he assumed was a problem frequency. But the audience reaction stopped him cold. They were swaying, entranced by what had become an unplanned duet between the artist and the PA tower.
The technical explanation involves standing waves and room modes interacting with the specific frequency response of the SL-GSub subwoofers. When certain bass frequencies hit the venue’s concrete walls at precise angles, they created resonant feedback loops that happened to fall within musically pleasing intervals. The ArrayCalc simulation software certainly hadn’t predicted this outcome.
The Meyer Sound Incident of Coachella 2018
Meyer Sound LEO systems are renowned for their precision and control. Their Galileo Galaxy processing platform gives engineers unprecedented command over every aspect of the audio signal. Yet during a late-night set at Coachella, something extraordinary occurred. A combination of desert wind, temperature variations, and the positioning of the delay towers created a feedback phenomenon that lasted exactly sixteen bars before disappearing entirely.
The artist, known for experimental electronic music, incorporated these sixteen bars into subsequent live performances. He worked with Meyer Sound engineers to recreate the conditions using their Compass prediction software, but the magic proved impossible to replicate. Sometimes the universe simply writes better music than any of us can plan.
This incident sparked conversations throughout the professional audio industry about whether feedback suppression technology had become too effective. Were we engineering the soul out of live sound?
Technical Deep Dive: Why Feedback Becomes Musical
Understanding why feedback occasionally sounds musical requires diving into acoustical physics and psychoacoustics. When a microphone captures sound from a loudspeaker and that sound is amplified again, the resulting loop emphasizes frequencies where the system has the most gain before feedback. These frequencies are determined by microphone polar patterns, speaker positioning, and room acoustics.
The Shure PSM 1000 in-ear monitoring systems and Sennheiser 6000 Series wireless setups have reduced on-stage monitor levels significantly, theoretically reducing feedback risk. But when feedback does occur with modern line array systems like the Martin Audio MLA, the resulting frequencies often align with musical harmonics due to the precision engineering of contemporary transducers.
Lake processing and BSS Soundweb platforms offer dozens of tools for feedback elimination, from automatic feedback destroyers to real-time FFT analysis. Yet veteran engineers know that sometimes the best response is to ride the fader and let the moment breathe.
The Human Element in System Behavior
Sound system technicians develop almost supernatural relationships with their rigs over time. Anyone who has toured with the same Adamson E-Series system for years will tell you these arrays develop personalities. They respond differently in humidity, they have preferred gain structures, and occasionally, they surprise you.
The great live sound engineers throughout history understood this intimacy. Mixing on an Avid VENUE S6L or SSL Live console requires technical mastery, but it also requires intuition. When feedback threatens, experienced engineers often hear it coming before any RTA display shows movement. This sixth sense comes from thousands of hours building trust with systems that, despite their silicon hearts, seem almost alive.
Perhaps the strangest feedback moments occur during soundchecks, when the venue sits empty and the acoustics differ dramatically from show conditions. System engineers tuning JBL VTX A12 arrays have reported feedback that sounds almost conversational, as if the system is asking questions about its environment.
Embracing the Unexpected
Modern PA system design prioritizes predictability. EASE Focus simulations, MAPP 3D predictions, and ArraySight measurements all aim to eliminate variables. The audio engineering profession has become extraordinarily scientific, with system optimization protocols that would satisfy any laboratory.
Yet the magic of live sound lies precisely in its unpredictability. When a d&b Y-Series decides to sing along, when a L-Acoustics Kara develops an opinion about the mix, when feedback becomes music rather than noise, we’re reminded why we fell in love with this industry in the first place. The machines haven’t replaced the humans. They’ve become our most unpredictable collaborators.
The next time your PA system starts making unplanned contributions, consider waiting a beat before reaching for that feedback destroyer. You might be witnessing the birth of something beautiful.
