Karaoke Forums

Some people ask for the volume to be turned up before they sing because they are afraid someone will hear them. I'll turn their monitor louder so they feel more comfortable, but what's the point in singing at all if you can't hear the person.

On Wednesday nights I sometimes have to play the volume game. The manager bartender always wants karaoke as soft as possible. She has ONE customer that will leave if it's to loud. He goes to the beer garden in back. He doesn't sing, but is a big tipper. When I turn the volume way low the karaoke customers complain they want it louder. So I start out the first round low and slowly bring up the volume as it gets busier. The last time she complained I had to explain I'm trying to accomodate everyone. I'm trying to find a happy medium for everyone and that sometimes is hard. 90% of our patrons sing, but of course are only going to complain to me if the volume is low. I've seemed to figure out how to make everyone happy, but it was getting silly there for a while.

At one point I had to tell her it is a PA system not a radio. I can only make it so soft. She is a really nice gal just a little naive about volume. She was more worried about her $50 tipper that doesn't want to listen to karaoke at all than the over all group. When I found out it was just one person she was worried about I stopped worrying so much. I know if I'm able to carry on a conversation it isn't to loud.

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Obviously, the vocals need to be "in front" of the music just slightly otherwise, the singer is "buried in the music" as it were.

We set levels so that there is plenty of sound for the singer and for a distance of about 15 feet in front of them.... other than that, it doesn't matter. This gives those that want to talk a place to go.... farther away from the speakers.

I don't see the point in making it as loud at the back of a club as it is in the front.

I tried to use headphones to mix music and vocals for a while, but my headphones gave me a different mix than the actual front-of-house sound. (or was that just a short between the headsets? ) Anyway, it ended up that a good house sound was muddy and slightly muffled in the headset. So I gave up on those. But I'm thinking that maybe a better headset might work. I've seen headsets used years ago when I was on the road and they seemed to end up with a good front of house sound. Does anyone use headphones to mix the singer/music?

I do believe as do the rest of you that the singer should be slightly up-front.

One of my pet peeves as a singer is the KJ who abandons his/her post. They don't bother tweaking. They don't even set an initial mix for the singer. All mixes are the same for everyone who sings. It's like they don't realize that each disc as well as each singer is different. When you change from a mix using a Sound Choice disc to a Party Time disc, you’re going to get startled. Party Time's are recorded twice as hot as most of the others.

I call them "Ron Popeel" (sp?). Why? Because they just "Set It and Forget It".

I've seen them actually receive a call on their cell and leave the room to take it. What's up with that?

Personnally I just can't be comfortable if I'm not on top of the mix 100% of the time.

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EveningStar Entertainment & Events
JR & Michele LaPorte
Peoria, AZ

Even small bars can be setup for "quiet" areas. You do this with the cabinet drops above the bar and half bars. These baffle the sound for those sitting at the bar or other areas. I try not to aim speakers directly at the bar or have a quiet corner. They learn this and migrate over there. It's amazing what you can do with baffles.

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