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Re: Wireless Microphone (Lewis Land) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2011 09:02:09 -0700 (PDT) From: Laur <lcpgr(a)yahoo.com> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Subject: Re: [Callers] searching archive? Message-ID: <1310918529.92855.YahooMailNeo(a)web121714.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 ? Thanks Chris - I kept defaulting to the info page and getting to the archives. ~ ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2011 09:09:47 -0700 From: Greg McKenzie <grekenzie(a)gmail.com> To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Subject: Re: [Callers] Wireless Microphone Message-ID: <CAFqkWLvJKv24mvh_cL=F3mP2P-ej3iN8yQReqm0kxt27Sy+Qow(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 I used a wireless headset mike for a short time. I found it cumbersome and limiting. In addition to losing the ability to control my own volume by moving away from the mike I don't do a lot of floor demonstration so it was really only a "hands free" device I used on stage. I like shifting to an off-mike mode while on the floor. It is an attention-getting technique when the caller steps down and speaks without amplification. I know lots of folks on this list do gigs with much more teaching and demonstrating than I do when calling at open public contra dances. The wireless route might be good for that kind of event. But I would caution the wireless mike users to consider the effects on dancers when they look up on stage and see the caller missing. It can be unnerving to hear a headless voice speaking over the PA system. (This is why they invented follow-spots for theater performances. The audience always knows where to look.) I like to keep the dancers in control and to never make them feel foolish...even for a moment. I suggest that head-mike callers lead the audience with a prompt whenever they step down from the stage as in: "Ladies and Gentlemen: Please direct your attention to the center of the hall," as the caller steps down. This will avoid the feeling that someone with a live mike is "stalking" around the hall floor. Keeping the audience oriented will help them to feel relaxed and confident. The worst offense of a wireless mike user is to walk down on the floor, without prompting, and to begin giving instructions to a single dancer or a small group that is confused. The presence of the caller--speaking to them over the PA system--can make newcomers very uncomfortable and distracted, and undermine any assistance the caller is attempting to offer. When on-mike, the caller should always speak only to the entire hall. Directed comments should always be off-mike. -Greg McKenzie ************* On Sun, Jul 17, 2011 at 2:03 AM, Colin Hume <colin(a)colinhume.com> wrote: ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2011 12:31:44 -0400 From: Mark Widmer <mark(a)harbormist.com> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net Subject: Re: [Callers] searching archive? Message-ID: <4E230E70.8030805(a)harbormist.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed There's always google. Just include site:www.sharedweight.net among your search terms. For example: http://www.google.com/ #sclient=psy&hl=en&safe=off&source=hp&q=wireless +site:www.sharedweight.net&pbx=1&oq=wireless +site:www.sharedweight.net&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=1937l8842l0l9 249l34l26l0l3l3l0l305l3446l5.14.3.1l23&bav=on. 2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=86582d5fedad0c80&biw=1280&bih=587 -- Mark Widmer ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2011 12:44:43 -0400 From: Will Loving <will(a)dedicationtechnologies.com> To: "Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>" <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Subject: Re: [Callers] microphones Message-ID: <CA4889BB.44A2F%will(a)dedicationtechnologies.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" This may be changing. On my new cell phone, an LG Cosmos, I can hear myself in the speaker when I talk. It was a little disconcerting at first because I was so used to NOT hearing myself and it doesn't exactly sound like and old wired phone, but it may be that manufacturers are starting to add this feature in. on 7/16/11 11:09 PM, Amy Cann at acann(a)putneyschool.org wrote: -- William M. Loving Dedication Technologies, Inc. 7 Coach Lane Amherst, MA 01002-3304 USA will(a)dedicationtechnologies.com Tel: +1 413 253-7223 (GMT ?5) Fax: +1 206 202-0476 ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2011 12:53:49 -0400 From: Will Loving <will(a)dedicationtechnologies.com> To: "Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>" <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Subject: Re: [Callers] microphones Message-ID: <CA488BDD.44A33%will(a)dedicationtechnologies.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" This is a note I wrote and posted a while back on my experience with my headset: As far as I?m concerned, if you can afford it, the way to go is with a Countryman E6, and specifically the E6i which is the directional model vs the omni-directional one. The E6 is not cheap, generally $300-350 for the mike and a spare cable, you still have to buy the body pack and transceiver (I got a used Shure PGX with carrying case on ebay). These are the same mikes that are used in Broadway shows and by many performers, church pastors and choir soloists, etc. One or two people I?ve seen use the big Shure headsets that come with the PGX kits, and I?m sure they are adequate, but I like the fact that the Countryman is almost invisible and the quality is such that people have literally said to me ?it?s like you are standing right next to me?. I purchased mine from CCI Solutions (http://ccisolutions.com ? Jeff Brown was my rep) a place that supplies lots of churches. Their prices on Countryman mikes are about $50 less than anyone else because they were the very first Countryman dealer. They also include an extra cable which is normally $50 extra. I tried both an the Omni (E6) and directional (E6i) versions before going with the latter. Jeff at CCI told me that they sell 100 omnis for each direction they sell, but that he agreed with my reasoning and experience that because as caller I would be standing very close to (or sometimes in front of) the mains that the directional would be better than the omni. And, in fact, experience has found that to be true. I can be almost directly in front of the mains doing a demo and get no feedback unless I turn at precisely the wrong angle. With an omni, the chances of getting feedback from multiple angles is MUCH higher. The caveat is that placement of the directional mike at the corner of your mouth is critical. You need to follow the detailed directions so the clip fits your ear well - both snug and comfortable - and so that the pickup is right at the corner of your mouth and not wiggling around. Not hard to do and once you've got it set it should stay that way. Will on 7/16/11 5:30 PM, JoLaine Jones-Pokorney at jolaine(a)gmail.com wrote: -- William M. Loving Dedication Technologies, Inc. 7 Coach Lane Amherst, MA 01002-3304 USA will(a)dedicationtechnologies.com Tel: +1 413 253-7223 (GMT ?5) Fax: +1 206 202-0476 ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2011 12:58:48 -0700 (PDT) From: Laur <lcpgr(a)yahoo.com> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Subject: Re: [Callers] searching archive? Message-ID: <1310932728.49656.YahooMailNeo(a)web121710.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 ? I love it!? thanks Mark. ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2011 14:08:04 -0700 From: Greg McKenzie <grekenzie(a)gmail.com> To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Subject: Re: [Callers] searching archive? Message-ID: <CAFqkWLvdV3qvwss+mTJ2rMccap6xSRmtSGiK9Ty0HzHyqJJG0A(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Mark, This is a great tip! I am viewing the list through the google web interface. I see no "search archive" options anywhere. Google works well. - Greg McKenzie ********** On Sun, Jul 17, 2011 at 9:31 AM, Mark Widmer <mark(a)harbormist.com> wrote: ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:59:52 -0600 From: Lewis Land <lewisland(a)windstream.net> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net Subject: Re: [Callers] Wireless Microphone Message-ID: <4E244A68.5020309(a)windstream.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed I have only occasionally used a cordless headset mike, but I found it to be quite liberating. I really enjoyed the opportunity to step down from the stage and walk between the lines of dancers. Apart from participating more directly in the excitement of the dance, it gave me a chance to see if there were any problems in one of the lines that required me to continue calling a couple more sets. I'm sure we have all had that experience of one line "getting the dance" very quickly while another line, usually populated by novices dancing with each other, is on the verge of falling apart. Very often that second line is the one farther from me on the stage and more difficult to observe. If I have a headset mike I will wait until the dance gets going before I venture out onto the floor, at a point where I don't feel the need to call specific moves very much. I honestly don't think the dancers would find it that unnerving to hear calls over the PA system when the caller isn't visible on the stage, unless they are very old and haven't had any experience with modern public address systems in other venues. And I think it would be extremely distracting to specifically advise the dancers to direct their attention to the floor when the caller is out there. I mean, the whole point is to get the dancers to focus on each other and forget that the caller is even present, so why go out of your way to remind them? Last weekend I called a dance where I was offered a handheld cordless mike, and it worked wonderfully. I was later told that several dancers enjoyed seeing me on the floor while they were dancing. Certainly no one suggested that I was stalking them. Finally, even though I have a voice that carries pretty well, I find it physically very stressful to call without a mike unless I'm calling in a very small room to a very small group. Calling without amplification just leads to shouting at the dancers, something I believe they would find far more irritating and distracting than listening to amplified calls while the caller is absent from the stage. Again, I have to say that our main purpose is to cause the dancers to lose themselves in the moment and forget that the caller is there. I admit that it's possible that Greg is used to calling at a very different, and perhaps smaller venue than I'm used to. Finally, I certainly agree that we should avoid giving specific instructions to a single dancer or small group during the dance, regardless of the kind of amplification available. I will occasionally do this during the walk-through, but by the time the dance has started I deal with problems like that by trying to call more clearly and consistently. -Lewis Land On 7/17/2011 10:09 AM, Greg McKenzie wrote: ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers End of Callers Digest, Vol 83, Issue 16 ***************************************