I have been involved in a second group situation as you described
where an established group allowed our new group use of their sound
system.  Initially it was free of charge, but eventually the
established group requested a yearly donation of $150 to help with
upkeep.

Since our group's focus shifted to music workshops and open bands, we
ended up acquiring a sound system that could be used by groups that
included numerous new participants.  That meant lots of mics and a
feedback suppressor that could help with having a large number of mics
open and musicians with emerging mic technique.

Have you noticed any commonalities of which nights have good sound vs.
which nights don't?  When I have run sound, the biggest problems have
resulted from musicians bringing their own gear.  For example, a
guitarist insisting on using an omnidirectional mic that caused
feedback when used with stage monitors / a multi-instrumentalist
wanting to use a switch to connect two instruments that required very
different gain settings resulting in immediate feedback when the
hotter instrument was selected.

I have found it somewhat rare to encounter contra dance sound systems
using ducking and compression and wouldn't consider them a must-have.
The primary use I have seen with compression is on the caller channel
because sometimes a caller will get excited and yell at volumes that
are far too loud for anyone's enjoyment.  I have seen bands resent the
use of compression, since it prevents use of dynamics as a musical
technique.

Peter

On Wed, Aug 19, 2015 at 1:16 PM, Dana Dwinell-Yardley via Organizers
<organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Hi smart organizers,
>
> I wish I had some good suggestions to contribute to the conversation about
> callers, but I don't think I can say anything better than has already been
> said. Instead, I'll pose a new question!
>
> We are considering getting a sound system for our Grange hall. Right now,
> bands either bring their own sound, or we hire a local sound person to bring
> their system for the evening. Sometimes our sound is excellent, other times
> less so. We'd like to make it more consistently excellent, making the dance
> less stressful and more fun for everyone.
>
> Our main questions right now are about ownership and responsibility. There
> is one dance series at our hall now, but a second series is being organized
> to start this winter, and other groups use the Grange as well. Who should
> own the sound system? Who will be responsible for caring for it? Who makes
> decisions about it? What about insurance and storage and use by several
> different groups?
>
> Also, the idea is to own a sound board, speakers/monitors, and a mic for the
> caller, but ask bands to bring their own mics/stands/cables. Bands could
> either run our system themselves, or we could hire someone for the evening.
>
> For those of you who have sound systems, how to you handle these things? Any
> insights are welcome.
>
> Thanks,
> Dana
>
> --
> Dana Dwinell-Yardley
> graphic design & layout
> Montpelier, Vermont
> 802-505-6639
> danadwya@gmail.com
>

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