Have To Share It
 

Thurs Night doing a show in maryland.
singer comes up to put in song, tells me i need more bass in music.
i put my hands on mixing board, and look at him, he says thats much better.
i never touched a thing.
he comes back to put in second song, says now they will realy here somthing.
oh and i need more treble and reverb on mic, I was on american idol tryouts.

I said so was William Hung, and he got a record deal, Guess you wer'nt as good as him.
He never came back.:g oh, and his buddy was standing right there.
probley told everyone.

I too have had a few tell me they needed some change either more Bass or Treble or volume/reverb on the microphone or more volume on the music. Every time I have reached up to the mixer and layed my hand on whatever control they asked for and not moved a thing for them to say that was better.
ANd even better story I heard (though not related to karaoke) was from a Radio maintenance troop in the Air Force. Seems they installed a red LED with a rotary switch next to it and a battery hidden underneath on the Tower operators console. When a Tower Operator would call up saying the radio signal was too weak he would ask him if the light was on or off. Whatever state it was in he would have the operator turn the knob until it changed. Then ask him to test the radio again. Sure enough it would be fine at that point.

Too Funny.

It's amazing how many people are in a band or used to be in a band or their brother is in a band or they used to do karaoke (worked for someone else), and so are an expert on sound.

If it's someone I know and whose opinion I respect I will give things a serious listen. For others I'll give it a quick listen (sometimes I do get distracted to the point that things can be amiss). If they are singing I'll change things anyway they like (within reason). If they aren't singing I tell I'll change it for them when they do sing.

I haven't had any veterans of AI tryouts yet - Thankfully.

That's on old sound engineer trick with live bands, they will give you a look as if something needed to be adjusted, you touch the board as if you are doing something intently, then look over for approval, 9 out of 10 times they give the nod of approval. Works with karaoke singers too.

Ever notice alot of the time when sombody says "I'm a great singer" that they obviously have never heard how they sound to everyone else. I have one guy that always wants me to turn him up even before he starts singing. He's just a big show off. There is a reason we are working the board and not the singer.:r

Normally if they want more volume I'll give it to them, music only.

Far as them singers who want you to turn it up so they can be heard? Sure why not? Turn the music down and let them see how good they are, singing mostly acapella. I have done all of the above with obnoxious drunks (non regulars) being a pain.

If they are regulars and only a pain now and then I cut them a break, tweak them properly, let their friends tell them how good they were :g

Most of my regular singers, I give them as many tweaks as I can to make them sound better. Double, Echo, Kick the bass back, crank the music.

I have or had been a professional musicion for 40 years. I ran the sound 90% of the time. Therefore, I AM the professional when it comes to how things sound at the karaoke show. And, I still get the obnoxious or know-everything singer , or their buddies. I also just touch the borad, and get the, Cool, that's great " look. I also get the concerned or dirty look, when I turned DOWN someone who obviously does NOT know mic technique. My muscician background has helped me give my singers the best possible sound I can give them. I tell them I want them to sound like they are singing with the band. And, I still get the occasional know it all who says.......well, that's not how so and so karaoke runs their show. Oh, and as a sidenote. When I WAS performing as a musician, I just loved the guy who would come up to the stage and say he was some "great" musician and wanted to sit in, to show off his talent. My response was" well, why is it that I'm working tonight, and you're not?!!!! Daryl.

There always seems to be someone in the crowd that can do it better than you(in their mind).
With all the people out there that know better than us, it is nice to know that they are willing to let us touch the knob without changing anything and saying it is ok now.( I think this is a thing we all do at some point)
I always try to make each singer sound the best that they can sound(but we can't perform miracles either).
They or their friend is always "the best singer ever" and they should be allowed to sing every second song.
Then you have the vain karaoke hosts who will try to make some singers sound bad if they think the singer might sound better than them. I have witnessed this many times.I am glad to have good singers at my show, and I know I'm not the best singer in the world, so if they're better than me, all the power to them.
I have a friend who has done sound for some Famous bands, and one night I had a family emergency and he was the only one who I could get hold of to run my show that night.
The next day, he told me that running that show was way harder than doing sound for a band in any venue due to the difference in all the singers abilities and mic control etc, along with the different recording levels of the different discs etc. He says that once you do a sound check with the band, all you should have to do during the show are minor adjustments throughout, not the major ones needed to do a karaoke show.
He said that he tips his hat to me and anybody who has the guts to do what I do, and he has been to many karaoke shows, not just mine and says that I am one who listens to each singer throughout the song and keeps the quality consistent. I take that as a great compliment for all of us who pay attention to their singers at all times.

Our singers "pay the bills", they deserver the best sound we can offer them. :w

Jim :g