Karaoke Forums

In the past month I've had to replace two radio microphones, one was stolen and the other tonight was dropped head first into a pint of beer. Frustratingly being a mid-range dual microphone set the morons have now left me with two units which power one mircophone each.

I really want to write a stern laminated poster, instructing people to respect the equipment: Not only for my pocket but also for the other singers. However, posters are never read and I doubt the customers involved would bother to read or take notice of them, so I come here to borrow your great minds and see if you have any humourous/polite ways to covey to people (before they sing) to act like adults.

I don't want to be the host, who hands over a microphone with a list of stipulations of how to use it and it's cost, because I'm punishing the 99.5% for the 0.5%

So as a KJ, what's your way of dealing with this and as a customer what can I do to avoid making you feel like I assume you are a going to be an idiot.

In both circumstances there was no indication it would happen - The microphone was stolen whilst I dealt with a customer who collasped, I have now made them less accessable but to be fair someone would still be able to steal it if I was away from my desk for an extended period like waiting for an ambulance to be called and Mr "lets put it in my beer" sang for about 30 seconds and then just flipped the microphone in his hand and put it straight down in his beer and pulled it out again and licked it

The venue in question has no stage area, only a makeshift patch where singers stand and my equipment is placed against a wall (in house speakers). I regularly have to tell customers not to lean on the mixing desk and I also find myself having to preempt several accidents waiting to happen, like the gentleman tonight who thought swinging his coat around his head would be a good idea (he got one arm out of his jacket before I shouted "oi").

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'A genius is one who can do anything except make a living'. Joey Adams.

For your equipment, I would suggest a facade made of carpeted plywood. Make sure it is tall enough to cover the "desk" so that if people lean it's on that instead of your stuff. The mics, easy, use cheaper mics. I would never let customers use cordless mics, EVER. I bought a set of Behringer cartioid mics. They work fine, and they were $33 for three of them, from Amazon. In the karaoke business, I believe the mics are consumables. There is no sense in spending $100 per mic just to have it dropped, stolen, beaten, slammed, and drooled in.

One guy on here, has a list of Karaoke Etiquette rules in his books. That may help you with your rowdy crowd.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

That is the reason I would spend $100 on a mic- because all that could happen. I had 2 SM58's in service 7 nights a week since 94 and they still worked fine until I replaced them with 2 new ones a couple months ago. They were heavily abused throughout their lives.
Wireless mics are a different story, I also had 1 walk out the door a long time ago, I no longer use them for the general singer.

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

Those berhinger mics are almost indestructible!! I've had a set of three for at least 5 years.. been dropped, thrown and spilled on.. still sound good and look good too. If you find a set of 3 for $60 or so, grab 'em up... I'm pretty sure they're not being made any longer. I did switch to wireless because of the cord hazard at the smaller venues that don't have a stage. I use the VocoPro 8505 rechargeable. I have had a couple of small problems with them, but VocoPro has been great with their service. The mics sound good too. AND feedback is way less a problem with them than a lot of other wireless I've used before.

As for posters etc. I announce proper mic etiquette at my shows fairly frequently. Make it short and light. I've also been known to embarrass and idiot that ignores the etiquette Always have to keep an eye out for the drunk that thinks he's cool 'cause he's got a microphone! My people are allowed to walk around and sing.. but fooling around with the mic causes the volume to go off!

A facade is a perfect idea... you've got to protect your equipment.

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!

#1) Wired mics can't walk off, so I use wired mics
#2) I have a designated place for the singers to put their drinks while they sing. If they don't put their drinks there, I kindly but sternly tell them to.
#3) If my singers start swinging the mic around or otherwise engaging in behavior detrimental to my equipment, I kindly but firmly go tell them to stop.

The key to pretty much all of your problems is you have to be in charge of the show. Don't let the inmates rule the asylum. You have to lay down the law! If someone breaks your equipment or puts it in beer, get in their face and let them know they're paying for it, and get your management involved. Chances are the venue has the guy's credit card, my bar would seriously tack it onto the tab, if he refuses to pay, we would call the police.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Thanks for the advice so far, sadly wired microphones aren't an option, the makeshift stage is also at various stages throughout the night a thoroughfare, a dance floor and wheelchair access. There is a small raised area behind the projector screen which is well lit, but people still fall over it (about two per night). I also, last night due to my mircophone being dunked in beer, gave over my wired microphone and continually had to remind customers to be careful as the lead trailed back and forth as they danced and sang along.

I will be stopping people holding both a microphone and a beer and consider getting a board to protect the desk.

I already call the venue "the baby sitters club" because I am continually reminding them of basic karaoke etiquette (there's a queue, don't bang the microphones, don't join in unnannounced etc), the difficulty I have is stepping up that management to requesting people to not be a moron.

I understand some hosts maybe able to square up to a customer, but as a female who still forms a fist with her thumb inside , and knowing that even if the doorstaff are watching the right area it's 30seconds before they get to me, I'm going nowhere near a bloke who thinks putting a microphone in beer is acceptable. At the end of the day, it's a microphone.

I did tell the doorstaff at the time of the drowning and they evicted the customer, most of the customers pay in cash and are passing through.

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'A genius is one who can do anything except make a living'. Joey Adams.

Invariably, someone at sometime will abuse the equipment.

First of all, drinks and food are NOT allowed ON-STAGE at any time. Singers MUST put their drinks down and the drinks MUST stay down for the duration of their performance.

If they yell into the Mic, I turn up the compressor to accommodate their Loudest vocal...if they can't hear themselves when they go back to Singing...oh well. Then, at the end of the song, I announce that YELLING is NOT SINGING.

If any Singer Drops my MIC...from that point on they can Sing but they can NEVER use a MIC at my show again.

I use one wired MIC for those that I don't know and that I think, based on the song, that they are likely to fling the Mic out of their hand. Then, and this is important, I extend enough cord so that the Singer may reach the edge of the stage and I wrap the other end of the cord around my hand so that the Singer can NOT leave the stage or twirl the MIC by the cord. If they attempt to do either, I yank the MIC back and out of their hand...you should see their faces....

If anyone breaks a MIC on purpose, I ask them to pay for it. If they refuse, I call the police to get their names and addresses for a small claims lawsuit. All the clubs that I work at have in-house cameras who would give me a copy of the incident, if needed.

Make no mistake about it...this is your business and you MUST be in control at all times.

I have been know to stop a song at any point to control the staging area. People that think they can walk up and grab the Mic from the Singer or try to join in unannounced or argue with me about how the show is run has got another thing coming. If I can't get the troublemaker to comply within 30 seconds, the show gets SHUT DOWN until the problem is resolved.

As the owner, I reserve the right to refuse anyone access to my equipment...for any reason...and I use 6 wireless Mics. (2 Audio-Technicas @ $499 ea. and Four Carvins @ $200 ea. and there are NO PARTS for the Carvins. If either the TXMTR or RECVR gets broke, I have to replace the complete system!)

When there is some drunk idiot that I have to warn, they sometimes respond with; "Don't worry, if I break it I'll pay for it."

At which time I inform them that they don't have enough money... because it's not "just the microphone" they'll be paying for... It will be the time and labor to get another one within 24 hours and build it into my system.... and they could NEVER afford that.

When they bang on the top of the mic, I immediately shut it off to protect the speakers and I ask them point blank; "Why are you pounding on my $300 radio transmitter like a ketchup bottle?"

I'm very quick to put them in their place -- either they respect the thousands of dollars of equipment I'm allowing them to use -- or I simply don't allow them to use it. My equipment is not their PlaySkool toy to abuse. I have plenty of other singers that respect the equipment and appreciate that they have such a nice-sounding system to use.

Call me crabby if you like but when it comes to my equipment, this is not a democracy, it really is "my way, or the highway."

I use a Shure 55SH Which is attached to the stand, for mike number one. so it's hard for them to walk off with it or drop it.

Mic Number 2 is an SM58. Almost Indestructible.

My SM58 Wireless is only for regulars that I know will be respectful to the equipment.

Anyone Caught Twirling the mic on the cord or tossing my wireless gets warned once and then banned from singing the rest of the night if it continues or it they respond to me in a derogatory manner. This is my standard way of handling this. although for a regular that might get a bit carried away with their song, I will usually give a little more leeway.

Bottom line is that you have to judge each singer and situation as it comes to you. you can have a basic set of rules but they wont always apply Equally.

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Sal "Kjmann" Esquivel
Karaoke With Sal - Website

This is True.



I Agree With this and I do The same at my show.



Adjusting for some singers that don't have any mic technique is your job as a KJ. most singers you can set the volume on their mic and walk away. some you need to constantly adjust. announcing on the mic "YELLING is NOT SINGING" and embarrassing your singer is not appropriate and will likely cause you to lose more than just that singer as a customer. You are the KJ and are supposed to be the diplomatic one. Being mean and cruel is like getting pissed at a 4 week old puppy for peeing on the floor. It's going to take a while for them to learn, you just have to be patient. The only exception to this is if they are yelling/screaming just to be an (@$%&#!). then you take appropriate action.



Get used to it. Even Good Singers lose it sometimes and drop the mic. Accidents happen. it's part of the Job. if you can't handle this then you're in the wrong line of work and you should consider forming a band so that you and only you will use the equipment and only you will be responsible.



Wont that damage your cord eventually? You seem to make a habit of wanting to embarrass your singers if you don't like what they do on stage. Equipment is going to get beat up in this line of work. It's the nature of the beast. Your dealing with amateurs. eventually you will just anger all your customers and only the really bad customers will be left.



This Makes sense although I hope you're not Stopping your show to do this.



Yes But not to the point of being the Bad Guy. You are the Provider of the Entertainment. You are supposed to be the guy that everyone likes. Not hated because of the way you treat people.



This is the worse thing that any KJ can Do. Stopping the show for any reason unless someone has died is a BIG Negative. That turns everyone's attention to the incident rather than keeping the incident as low key as possible. Fade in a dance song, shut off the mic and handle the situation privately with the singer and stage intruder.



This is your Prerogative. we are all financially responsible for our systems.

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Sal "Kjmann" Esquivel
Karaoke With Sal - Website

As far as people stealing microphones, maybe you could purchase a system that keeps track of the mics using GPS or an RF tag.

http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/gps-cargo-asset-tracking.html

I don't have any real knowledge in this area--but thought it may be a good suggestion. If you want quality mics and equipment but are concerned about theft, it may be a good idea to find out how you can keep track of them even to the point of locating mics, etc. if they should leave the building.

Thanks for posting ALL of your post. I've quoted the parts of most relevance. I'm asking for a better way of dealing with the one in a hundred, without punishing the ones who are perfectly well behaved. Of which most of my regulars are above and beyond respectful, many many more make novice mistakes which can easily be forgiven - up until recently I was seriously considering buying decent radio mics because in ten years I've never had a problem. It's all very well coming down really hard on the few but how to do this in a low key way and maintain the joyful nature of my show is where I'm finding the difficulty.

I'd have to shut the show to chase someone up for money, which in all likelyhood would get me nowhere. As for calling the police, venues have enough problems without me making it known for trouble - I would lose my job so quicky if I did that.

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'A genius is one who can do anything except make a living'. Joey Adams.

I've never had anyone get even close to walking off with my wireless... that's just strange. As for the drowning of the mic, I would have told him that he just ruined 'X' amount of dollars and "how are you going to reimburse me?" Tell him you take credit cards!
I've had a lot of nuts over the years and in some pretty rough places but never had someone dunk the mic. (though my boss dropped his cell phone in his beer one night at home!! ).

I am the babysitter as a KJ, when some singer is noticeably drunk I keep a very close eye on them... if he got close to drinks on a table, I would have gone over there and moved the drinks.. telling the people at the table why I was moving them.

I wouldn't ever stop a show.. but I have turned off the mic and stopped the song.. fading into dj music. call up the next singer AND announce "I'm sorry Joe doesn't get to finish his song. My equipment costs as much as a new car and I can't allow it to be damaged" or something to that effect. Does it embarrass the offending singer.. yes, that's my intention. Ninety-nine percent of the time I get an apology and that person has learned a good lesson. I am woman too.. but some big guy looks like he's gonna do something to me and he'll have 50 other guys to deal with first!

It's my show and I'm in charge.

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SoundChoice Certification coming soon!

i have never had anything walk out either, that would set me off.
as for damage, buy quality equipment and it wont happen. my Sennheisers still have the original grilles after 5 years, dropped, thrown (that one was ugly) and only a bit of the black paint is scraped off the grilles, no dents even.

thankfully the out of hands characters are the minority or we would all be in the loony bin. i think a lot can be avoided just by being there and interactive. some will think they are gods gift to the bar and have the LSD to go along with it, but i like turning off the mic and moving on to the next singer. they get the point, usually after going to the owner and trying to complain.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

Marble, I have a page on karaoke etiquette in the front of my song books as well as on my web site. You may use it if you'd like:

http://www.firelightkaraoke.com/etiquette.html

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Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

Adjusting for some singers that don't have any mic technique is your job as a KJ. most singers you can set the volume on their mic and walk away. some you need to constantly adjust. announcing on the mic "YELLING is NOT SINGING" and embarrassing your singer is not appropriate and will likely cause you to lose more than just that singer as a customer. You are the KJ and are supposed to be the diplomatic one. Being mean and cruel is like getting tinkled at a 4 week old puppy for peeing on the floor. It's going to take a while for them to learn, you just have to be patient. The only exception to this is if they are yelling/screaming just to be an <span style=font-size:10px><i>(@$%&#!)</i></span>. then you take appropriate action.








This is the worse thing that any KJ can Do. Stopping the show for any reason unless someone has died is a BIG Negative. That turns everyone's attention to the incident rather than keeping the incident as low key as possible. Fade in a dance song, shut off the mic and handle the situation privately with the singer and stage intruder.

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I've stopped my song a couple times for this. Not to embarrass the singer but to teach a valuable lesson. Not just for the singer but for everyone, being a personable host is one thing but there are times when a small lesson can go a long way towards respect for your equipment and rules. So I don't think it is the worst thing a KH can do. Yelling is also no fun for the audience. The first time I shut the song off (and muted the transition music for dead air effect) the singer apologized to me and was respectful from then on. Second time it happened (different night, singer and venue) the singer was not very happy with me and didn't request to sing any more. That was his prerogative. Oh well, the night went on and was a happy one from then on. In both cases, I didn't have to say a word, everyone got the message and lesson.

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

I have cut people off for repeatidly swearing over the mic after being warned not to. Only happend maybe 5 times in 20 years, most people respect the rule.
If they try to get up on stage with another, I go and politely ask them to get down.

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

everyone handles it different, myself like others i have no problem letting people know how to properly us the mic's. i have on several occasions turned mic's off for foul words and screaming into them......

i've even pulled a mic out of someone's hand turned off the music!

i don't have a problem with asking someone to leave, and i've thrown a couple people out the door. and nothing negative has ever happened, mostly praise from the singers for getting the (@$%&#!) out of the bar...

it's my system i own it, MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY!!!!

I'm too old to put up with BULLCRAP from punks, and I won't!!

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It's all good!

I have never had any of my wireless Shures walk away or get dropped into beers/fishtanks, etc. But if I worked a club where that was even a remote possibility, I would simply switch to wired mics at that venue and be done with it. I never let my mics out of my sight either.

I would also have seriously considered calling the police on the person that did it, if they refused to pay for the damage (and you saw it happen). If they ripped a toilet off the wall in the bathroom, you can bet the bar would have no problem doing so.

At my bars, if someone did that my "fans" would be all over them. In the two times someone has gotten in my face, I had three regulars there escorting the jerk out within 2 minutes.

I have only had to cut the music once. A very drunk guy picked up my lyric monitor and acted like he was going to swing it around. I just cut the music, got on the mic and in my best "Dad" voice said "STOP. NOW. JUST STOP". It worked.

At the clubs we do, we have an agreement with the owners that we can refuse service (singing) to whom ever we want and they back us. Trust me you need to make that clear to owners when starting a new gig... So if you want to be irresponsible and not respect our equipment, your welcome to watch others sing that are...

Jon