Karaoke Forums

Am I crazy? In my show, I have 4 wireless mics, one of them is on the DJ channel on my mixer, and I almost never let it out for use. I have not had a cold or been sick for 2 years.

At my saturday show, my two worst customers, my mom and brother, made sure customers who wanted to sing in a group of 4 knew that I had a 4th mic. Like an idiot, I gave in and handed out my mic. I have been sick in the worst way since Sunday, thus the multiple postings here the last two days.

Am I crazy in thinking I caught it, because I let my mic be used for the first time in two years? My policy has always been in the past, that if there are more than 3 singers, they can share the mics. I try not to be the Karaoke Nazi, but I always did this to avoid getting sick. Let's face it, when people sing in a large group like that, it usually doesn't sound good anyways, so the extra mic isn't going to make them sound better.

Looking for feedback,
Felix the KJ

Not unlikely I guess. I have two wireless Mics I Lysol (yeah they smell a bit) and swap out with each singer during the cold season. Dunno if it helps but people think it does

OH I HATE THAT!! I get sick EVERY time I loan my mic out!!

I get a flu shot every year...and a pneumonia shot every five years. But still if let anyone use my mic I get sick. Just got over a horrible sinus infection from New Years Eve!

I've been thinking I should spend the money and buy a headset mic...then I won't be tempted to loan it out!

It is an urban karaoke myth. Flu and common cold virus are transmitted by airborne droplets from an infected person. Unless you sniff the mic, chances is you get the virus from the air when that person cough or snzzeeeee.

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

Yes, from droplets....ew.....and that is why one of the best ways to prevent colds is washing your hands! Every time someone sneezes into their hands, tiny (and NOT so tiny) droplets are deposited there....

Shake someones hand who has a cold and hasn't washed since they last touched their nose or mouth, or since they last sneezed, and they pass the droplets to your hand...you touch your nose or mouth and there ya go!!

Rhinoviruses can stay alive as droplets in the air or on surfaces for as long as 3 hours or more. If you touch your mouth or nose after touching someone or something that's been contaminated by one of these viruses, you'll probably catch a cold.

Pass a microphone to a person who is a 'carrier' and they pass it back... you've touched the same handle...then you touch your own nose or mouth and you're contaminated!

Actually kinda gross to think of some strangers 'droplets' entering my nose or mouth...EWWWW!

Some people rest the mic on their chin, I do with my announcement mic, and some folks just plain slobber all over them. Additionally it seems like as likely a vector as handling anything an infected person might have handled. I know some folks wash their hands just before and just after singing.

You are more likely to catch the flu by sitting and talking with an infected person face to face. Everybody in the room have a good chance of getting the flu or cold regardless of whether you are singing or not.

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

I dunno. I direct a QA department for a game company. When we would have shifts of testers come through we started seeing patterns on who would/would not get sick, people who never looked at each other as there was an hour between shifts. Seems like the same slots were getting sick and some machines were deemed sick machines. We solved the issue by assigning one controller to each tester and that was the only one they would use. The mass sickness days are now a thing of the past.

Flu and common cold are airborne disease. When a singer sing into the mic he will deposit the virus on to the mic surface and into the air. That virus need to enter your respiratory system for you to get infected. There are a few way this can happen, and the most likely way is through the air you breath. Other way is that the infected mic is in physical connect with your nose or mouth. More likely it is through the hand that handle the mic. but as long as that hand does touch the nose, you can't get infected.
Remember, the infected person will also be touching other object in the bar; door handle, railing, etc.

You can wash your hand but you cannot wash the air you breath.

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

There is also an incubation time so unless you meant you got sick a week from when you loaned the mic, you probably didn't get it from that particular incident.

One of the things that Blows my mind are the KJs that use Spit Sponges (Windscreens) on their microphones and after a busy night you can actually wring them out from everybodys individual offering of saliva , But if you take them off they get upset with you! Did you ever sing into one of them and accidently touch it to your lips and then you feel like you have just French Kissed everybody in the Joint!

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Man Must Know His Limitations -Clint Eastwood

Yeah, those wind screens seem to me to be the most unsanitary things! I don't think I'd sing at a place that wouldn't take them off. I'm sure if I didn't touch it to my mouth it would be fine...it just seems gross and I don't wanna put it near my mouth!!

In the past couple of years I have gotten sick twice...and both times it was within about three days after a gig where I loaned my mic.

During a regular night I don't touch the mics that are used by the customers, I don't shake hands (just cause I am behind my equipment and it's long reach ) I am pretty much a homebody when I'm not working so by process of elimination I believe that I get the 'bug' from the mic handle when I loan my mic.

I did a little research and it is true...touch a surface that a infected person has touched, shake their hand...then inadvertently touch your own mouth or nose and you most likely will catch their cold, sinus infection, or flu.

My hubby doesn't get sick until after I do...poor guy...I bring home all the 'crud' as he calls it!

So it's airborne and you have to breathe it in?

Seems like you do a lot of breathing when your nose is an inch away from your mouth speaking or singing into a mic. By handling the same mic you are more directly breathng it in than from 2 plus feet away in conversation.

Let alone the touching what they touched, or those windscreens. What was that word again, EWWWWWWWWW?

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YUP that's it....EWWWWWWWW!!!

Don't know if I agree with you, here is an article from a sound magazine - it applies to live bands that share stages, but can be applied just as easily to karaoke singers who share stages:
Microphones are breeding grounds for germs. Rappers and singers sing and yell. Mouths and throats are opened. Saliva is sprayed and spread. Spit flies—right onto the mic. And there it festers. There it meets spit from the eight people who were on the mic before you. During your set, you unknowingly touch your very own mouth to that mic.

Meet Rick. Rick was on the mic before you and was coughing up a lung. Rick is the bass player for a Southern metal rock band called “Crowbar.” Rick enjoys methamphetamines, Budweiser, and nude women. Crowbar has been on the road for six weeks and Rick’s not too prone to wash his hands, or himself. In a gas station bathroom on the way to the show, Rick peed, flushed, and picked his crotch. He bought Goobers and Doritos and after he ate them, he licked his fingers. Then he spat all over the mic that you touched your mouth to.

On a microscopic level, microphones are like the beaches in Brazil where it’s legal to have sex at night. Anything goes. Your mouth and Rick’s cells, all over each other.

A Dr. Smith at Swedish Medical Center spoke:

Cold and flu viruses can survive outside the body for up to 48 hours, depending on the specific virus and surface type. They survive longer on nonporous surfaces such as plastic and metal.How can you guard against mic germs? You can bring your own mic or use a foam mic cover (for your personal use only). But will you have time to hook your mic up? Will you remember it in the frenzy of breakdown? There are also sanitizer sprays, but I can’t see sound engineers being too happy about having their mics sprayed.

Singer / songwriter, Daniel G. Harmann says:

My mouth always touches the mic. I don’t like to think about the germs. I just think of it as a brotherhood of saliva. I try to eat right, take vitamins, and have a strong immune system. Those spray sanitizers make the mic taste terrible. It’s like drinking air freshener. I’d almost rather have the germs.SaniGuard Sanitizer Spray says:


The next time some slobbering drunk, or sick person hands you back the microphone, spray on SaniGuard and kill those harmful germs within 45 seconds, leaving your mic germ free and keeping you healthy for your next gig!

SaniGuard ® is a dry on contact sanitizer spray perfect for: telephones, remote controls, toilet handles, light switches, door knobs, refrigerator handles, food preparation surfaces, keyboards, microphones and thousands of other contact areas where germs and airborne disease may spread by contact from person to person.

Happy cold and flu season. It’s a fight—your immune system vs. Rick’s germs. He’s not going to wash his hands, so you should get your own mic.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

It's kinda like being a kindergarten teacher, huh? I know we've got a couple of renowned "spitters" at our bar - I always take note of which mic they use and avoid it (literally) like the plague.

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See/hear the serial version of Michael's karaoke novel, "Outro," at outronovel.blogspot.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_vira ... ommon_cold)
Look under transmission. Can catch from a contaminated surface. Someone has a cold, wipes their nose with their hand, then goes up & touches the mic. You touch the mic, the maybe rub your eye, not knowing the last person did that.

BRING WIPES at the very minimum!

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Some KJ's seem to be annoyed when you hand them a CD. I can't imagine their reactions were people to start coming in with their own microphones. Some customer walks in with a brand new high priced mic and the KJ feels that the customer is trying to show him or her up by bringing in better equipment than the KJ uses. It's not much different than the KJs that are threatened by people who bring in their Sound Choice discs because they don't like the versions on SGB or Backstage discs.

Getting back to the microphone thing.....how long would it be before someone asks if they can use your GOOD GERM FREE mic on their turn and that person happens to be thE person with the flu?

Thanks Lonman, I will try some of the sani-guard on my mic, and it will never get used by anyone again. I do sing with the mic very close to my mouth. The mic manufacturer recomends for best results hold from right next to your mouth, to no more than 3 inches for best results.

As I stated earlier, I haven't lent out my mic in two years, haven't been sick in two years. Lent my mic out twice Saturday, sick as a dog for 4 days. I am finally good today, thursday.

As a courtesy for my singers, I will use sani-guard, at least before every show. I have a head set that I can use, it uses the same channel as my mic, the DJ channel, but I don't like wearing it, especially if it is hot in the establishment.

Thanks for all the input everyone. It seems that I may be crazy, but not about this.

Felix the KJ

Ok Now I AM THOROUGHLY GROSSED OUT!!! AND I WILL NEVER EVER EVER LOAN MY MIC OUT AGAIN....


Am going to get a really good headset ...screw 'em ...they can't use it!!!