Karaoke Forums

I guess Earl does a better job of biting his tongue than I do.

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

Smart thinker, Cue. There is a local long-time bar/restaurant ( Bruce, did your place have the initials H.P.?) that was well run for many years. Then came a partial change in management, and they started doing as described by Bruce. It took awhile, but eventually everyone started catching on, and Karma is catching up to them.

I never could understand why they would trade long-term solid income for a short tern blip....

Anyway, Cue has the right idea. If not sure of the place, cash per round is the way to go. It also allows for exit at will.

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

neither has to be a D--K as you call it, could be he has no clue as to what he's doing...we must have over 20 k j's around here and i promise you all but maybe 3 r 4 have a clue...how do i know this? because i knew them before they got into the business...they just loved karaoke and figured what the heck we may as well make a little money doing what we love...soooooo they go out spend a few hundred buck's ew as in 200 r 300.00...on a p a..buy them a harddrive full of songs and go cut someone elses price..around here ur very lucky if you last 2 month beore someone else decides to do what they love to do and takes your job...none had any clue before they bought there equip..as to how it all works...
and you want to blame that on the singer because he has the nerve to just ask, could you please turn up my mic..?

learn your trade and then you will get far less complaints..other then drunks and no it all's...

i went to an elks club sat. night. i know the guy and he has awesome equip.. E V ZX4 with EV monitors...3 QVC 2400 amps...but the room is designed so that all you can really do is stack the 2 speakers right next to each other in a corner and just do the best you can...not his fault...even with all that his sound wasn't that great BUT i could hear myself very well and with almost each singer he would walk out into the room and check the sound...if you wanted something he was more then willing to give you what you asked for...how hard is that? the man is doing his job, he's not standing there thinking, welllll this is MY equip i'll do what I want when I want...and he's always packed...thats because he cares what WE the singer thinks and wants...no attitude...i told him once...no way could i be a k j, to many people trying to tell you what to do and how to do it, just like i do..i do the same thing, he said well thats what i have to do, it's just part of my job. and it's true. i wish everyone felt that way

Max, I hear what you are saying.

A good host will go to great lengths to make sure that each singer sounds great. A good host will have great equipment and know how to use it.

In my opinion, running a mixer is not "set it and forget it". Since every singer is different, I will optimize and tailor the sound for each and every customer. I will continuously go out into the audience to hear how everything is sounding. The ratio between the music and the vocals must always be achieved. In doing so, your audience will hear a professionally balanced mix. Not where one overpowers the other.

This is what I strive to do and I know that most of us here also do this. But I do realize that there are KJ's that don't have a clue. Or don't really care. They just want to make a fast buck. They're the ones who ruin a venue and give karaoke a bad name. And they're not always pirates, either.

So Max, if you come across one of these jerks, don't patronize the establishment that hired him (or her). Walk out. Others will soon follow and eventually his KJ career will be over.

Next point--Turn it Up! If you ask your KJ to turn up your mic volume, several things might happen...

1. He (or she) may take it as an insult. (How dare you tell me how to run my sound.)
2. He (or she) may not like listening to you sing so he's (or she's) going to keep your mic volume down.
3. He (or she) may believe the sound levels are perfect and think you don't know what you're talking about, are just looking for attention, or are drunk.

But since I wasn't there the night that you're speaking of, I can't really take sides either way. But I do consider the points you have made as well as how you felt.

Keep singing and have fun.

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

I've been to afew places that the kj pretty much doesn't have a clue how nor wants/willing to be told how to run sound or even being asked for a simple adjustment. One place I sang had the reverb so high up it sounded like singing in a cavern. I asked the kj to back the reverb off, she flat out said, that is HER preference and will be adjusted accordingly. Our group left after the last singer in our group sang because of HER preference, had she just turned the reverb down a little, the bar would have made quite a bit of money as we ended up hitting a club about 2 blocks away, had well over a $500 tab between us.
When i'm running a show, I am acting as sound engineer as well, majority the way I mix is good enough for the masses, but get a few that either want more/less vocals/music in their monitors, or more effect or special echo. I am more than willing to adjust the sound for those that ask - many songs I know that have some kind of special effect I will try to duplicate (except for anything with an Autotune - refuse to use them & think they should be banned from the music world in general ). Usually you will get a nice balanced sound, vocals just a tad over the music with the underlying effects where you can't really 'hear' them but would know if they weren't there - unless of course the song commands a noticeable effect - like Prince's 7 or something.
Part of being a 'good host' IMO is working with your singers, if they want more or less of this or that and not being one that just blows them off & does it their way anyway.

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

well no autotune? you just killed my chance at making it big...big in the vfw hall anyway......i agree i don't useum either when recording altho i'm getting to the point where i may start having to...sad but thats life..when i can't sing without going flat somewhere i'lll quit singing...not far from it now..

i like the LIKE button feature on here..

Lol, I'll take it.


First of all, that you think all he has to do is turn a knob to increase your mic volume shows the absolute depths of your ignorance to how a sound system works. I'm more than willing to happily try to accommodate a singer's adjustments, BUT, if a KJ doesn't, it MAY be due to one or more of the following:

Second, not every singer that takes the mic can push it the same way. This is a singer's mic presence. Many amateur singers have little or no mic presence, which means that the mic needs to be REALLY hot for them to be heard. This means that the music can only be turned up so much. If its turned up too much feedback, or.... the singer's voice will be almost non existent .... or too much... they are overbearing the mic and refuse to pull it back even a little... practically sucking the thing down... or their mic handling is goofy... i.e. they cup the mic and try to sing into the little hole they make with their hand... which forces the KJ to turn back the mid and the sweep to keep from getting feedback, but also makes it harder for the singer to be heard and project themselves... OR, they hold the mic far away from their mouth, end every time you turn up the gain, the singer pulls it even farther back when they hear themselves (and then complain that they can't hear themselves!))and so on. If you are asking the KJ to turn up your monitor and they roll their eyes, see the above... its probably one of these, or something similar.

Third, its not the KJ's job to do what you tell them. Sorry... bub. Its his job to make each singer sound as good as they can, and try to make each performance as entertaining for EVERYONE as is possible. Feedback isn't entertaining for anyone.

Forth: The next time you can't hear yourself on the mic ask yourself a few things... Am i holding the mic close enough to my mouth? Am I holding the mic properly?(i.e. in the middle and not touching the metal), am i projecting my voice? Are other singers having this same problem or is it only me?

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

In Koyote's example, yes i've had singers that flat out do not hold the mic properly - too far away from mouth, off to the side of their mouth, holding the mic straight up & singing 'over' it rather than 'into' it, they have no perceived volume/presence in their voice - in these cases there isn't much that can be done - even the best sound engineers can't help. The singers DO have some responsibility in these respects - especially with proper mic technique. I'll try to show someone where they should hold the mic, but in these particular instances, it doesn't help and the only thing I can do is turn the music down so low JUST to get the singer even over the music - usually to the point the crowd noise is louder - doesn't make for a pleasant experience for anyone. But luckily this is a rare occasion in my experience.
Then you get those mic cuppers (holding their hand over the entire ball of the mic) which turns it into a really great AM radio sound. Only thing I can do there is cut almost ALL the mids at 1k frequency & boost the lows & highs a tad to compensate.

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

I have a couple of "regulars" who tended to cup the microphone... One in particular had been asked not to do so a number of times, and shown the proper technique more than once. The last time he did it, I simply hit "pause" and killed the music. He realized that he'd pushed his luck a little too far, and now he's good as gold.

I will normally avoid embarrasing a singer at all costs, but I suppose there are times when all else fails, you do what you gotta do.

The other was a much easier fix. He now uses the Super 55 mic on the stand. I told him he sounds soooooo much better than with the hand-held, which isn't entirely untrue.

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Earl
(BS, PHD & Certified CurmuDJeon)

[font=Times New Roman]"Growing Old may be mandatory... but growing UP is still optional."[/font]

Pretty much nailed it. Thank you.


And after all this, throw in being polite, not demanding. I spent a lot of money on my equipment, probably even more than 90% of the hosts here and bought all this to get that "live" sound and be able to make singers sound as good as possible. Again, I will decide what buttons to push to get you what you want.

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

I couldn't have said it better myself. I agree with all of the above! My sentiments, exactly!

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

Being a tad sarcastic aren't we, are did i touch a nerve? first of all if you read my post you will see that i say PLEASE everytime i ASK the k j to turn up the mic r music...maybe just maybe YOUR the one that should realize that you don't know it all..ur calling me names for saying, just turn up the cotton pickin mic. and trying to make me and others believe that there are 14 other things you have to do to get my vocals above the music in the monitor...i hope you were kidding...if my mic is plugged into channel 1 on the mixer what ur saying is if you take ur finger and move the slide/knob upwards it will NOT increase my mic. volume...i will bet everything i own that your wrong...could you do more? sure you could but who is to say you will, who can even say you know what else you can do?
i sang in a group for 15 yrs i have a few songs posted on the showcase, judge for urself...let's here YOUR singing are do you even sing at all? i know how to use/work a mic i know how to hold a mic... i know how to project my voice do you? talk is cheap? how long have you sang in a group? we were voted best band on the coast for 2 yrs straight and i promise you it wasn't inspite of me knowing how to setup a p a are hold a mic...YOU and other's like you are the very reason i started this thread...you come off as knowing everything there is to know about music and equip. and also how to sing...so lets hear you, i'll back my singing up YOU back up what you say...are maybe you just see a post and hit search for the best answer to the question...am i all that? heck no and there are plenty so called karaoke singers that blow me away thats why i hate that term....so don't sit there and tell me that turning 1 knob won't increase the mic volume..
get off your high horse there just may be someone out there that has done it and just not talked about it...Lonman i respect, but who are you? can't wait to hear your song..
and my name is NOT bub... i so want to hear YOUR voice being PROJECTED.. ..if your going to teach it you should atleast know how to do it right? are did you just read about it on the net?
there's a reason why some singer's are called amateurs...because they don't know how to properly hold a mic are to sing are to project, but i'm guessing by the way you talk your great at each and every one and in fact can/and do give lessons every time someone gets up to sing...
please tell me again how turning 1 cotton pickin knob won't raise mic volume please...

(First of all, that you think all he has to do is turn a knob to increase your mic volume shows the absolute depths of your ignorance to how a sound system works.)

sorry still laughing over that 1...please tell me what else YOU have to do to raise my mic volume...PLEASE ...

Hope the sarcasm wasn't directed at me. I didn't call you Bub??? And agree that a kj should adjust IF a singer asks. But who I am? Hmm, i'm me. I've played and sang in bands since 86. I've ran sound for local bar/club bands and major national event venues since 86 - not so much anymore as I don't have the time. I have worked in and owned a recording studio for many years in which i've personally recorded and engineered several bands. I have been in the karaoke industry since 1989, been working at the club i'm in now 7 nights a week since 1992, my sound system is better than most kj's in this area since much of it was what I used to run sound for bands as well. I have taken numerous sound engineering courses over the years.

Most people know how to hold a mic, but there are those that don't and YES I do show them how to hold it when they are holding it wrong. If they don't take the advise & wonder why they cannot hear themselves - then sorry, there is nothing more I can do.

I never claimed it wouldn't. And again, I agree a good host should adjust for their singers - especially if they ask and it isn't detrimental to the overall sound. 99% of the time anyone asks me, I will adjust their monitors only as it is usually more or less music they want and keep the main mix intact.

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

Max, as you have said the reason you want your monitor volume up is that you are hard of hearing, if you would just explain that to the host ahead of time I am betting they would be willing to accommodate you. Otherwise, as it sounds correct to their ears, they aren't going to understand why you aren't hearing what they do.

Nice job, Max! Sounds great!

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

no lonaman it wasn't drected at you at all..i know you have there...but there are plenty that pretend to be much more then they are..

i'm really waiting for ripman to sub a song...talk is cheap