23 Jan
2013
23 Jan
'13
11:30 a.m.
Regarding microphones for use by the Caller (not by the band), do you have a particular
brand and model that you think is superior for use by a caller?
Our group (Queen City Contras, Burlington, Vermont) does not own sound equipment, so we
are at the mercy of the the equipment provided by the band (or sometimes a small-time,
local provider). Often it is quite difficult to hear the caller during a dance, and I
have experienced the same problem in many other halls, with many other sound systems (even
some very expensive systems). The calling needs to be intelligible, not acoustically
accurate. I know that there are many contributing factors, but I suspect that often the
microphone is a big part of the problem.
Do you supply a microphone for the caller? Do you have a particular brand and model that
you think is superior for use by a dance caller?
Thanks,
-Brian Appleberry
Queen City Contras
Frozen in Vermont
23 Jan
23 Jan
12:11 p.m.
Try joining the contrasf yahoo group. They have several posts on this
topic in the archives, and a quick search will reveal quite a few opinions
on the matter.
On Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 12:30 PM, Brian Appleberry <
brianappleberry(a)yahoo.com> wrote:
Regarding microphones for use by the Caller (not by
the band), do you have
a particular brand and model that you think is superior for use by a caller?
Our group (Queen City Contras, Burlington, Vermont) does not own sound
equipment, so we are at the mercy of the the equipment provided by the band
(or sometimes a small-time, local provider). Often it is quite difficult
to hear the caller during a dance, and I have experienced the same problem
in many other halls, with many other sound systems (even some very
expensive systems). The calling needs to be intelligible, not acoustically
accurate. I know that there are many contributing factors, but I suspect
that often the microphone is a big part of the problem.
Do you supply a microphone for the caller? Do you have a particular brand
and model that you think is superior for use by a dance caller?
Thanks,
-Brian Appleberry
Queen City Contras
Frozen in Vermont
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David Casserly
(cell) 781 258-2761
12:26 p.m.
Brian,
I can't recommend a specific model, but aside from a single quality
rating, microphones differ in their pattern, sensitivity, and noise
cancelling characteristics. Those differences change the best
position of the mic in relation to the caller's mouth. A mic the
caller isn't used to may not help. As a general suggestion, a
somewhat directional pattern like cardioid and noise cancelling will
cut instruments and speaker feedback.
Common problems with intelligibility are level relative to the music,
and room resonances. I've heard some pretty high pitched women's
voices come across as boomy (and thus hard to understand) because of
room response. The place to fix that is with equalization at the
mixer board.
There are microphones with narrow frequency response specifically for
speech communication (as opposed to singing). I don't think I've seen
one at a dance, and I think they use different connectors (adaptable
though) than the usual XLR you see in stage equipment, and again, the
same effect could be made at the mixing board.
-Don
On Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 12:30 PM, Brian Appleberry
<brianappleberry(a)yahoo.com> wrote:
Regarding microphones for use by the Caller (not by
the band), do you have a particular brand and model that you think is superior for use by
a caller?
Our group (Queen City Contras, Burlington, Vermont) does not own sound equipment, so we
are at the mercy of the the equipment provided by the band (or sometimes a small-time,
local provider). Often it is quite difficult to hear the caller during a dance, and I
have experienced the same problem in many other halls, with many other sound systems (even
some very expensive systems). The calling needs to be intelligible, not acoustically
accurate. I know that there are many contributing factors, but I suspect that often the
microphone is a big part of the problem.
Do you supply a microphone for the caller? Do you have a particular brand and model that
you think is superior for use by a dance caller?
Thanks,
-Brian Appleberry
Queen City Contras
Frozen in Vermont
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Organizers mailing list
Organizers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/organizers
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2 comments
3 participants
participants (3)
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Brian Appleberry -
Dave Casserly -
Donald Perley