Speaker placement

[Deedler]

Starting a regular gig shortly. The hall is approximately 60 yards long by 25 yards wide. Ceiling height is 12 feet. Small stage 15 X 15 ft is in the top (North) left hand corner and most of the tables are directly south of the stage. Directly to the left and adjacent to the stage is the dance floor approx. 30X 30 ft. The bar runs down the left side looking south of the dance floor. DJ v Karaoke will be 80/20 DJ. Question is , where would you place the speakers. I have Eurolive powered speakers.

[RIKKI TIKKI]

Your directions of the layout are a little confusing... if I were to guess, I would say the stage & dance floor would be on the longest wall (North?), with a few tables and seating somewhere south of the stage, and maybe contacting the dance floor somewhere closer to where the bar sits on the other ( South? ) wall... Not knowing which model Eurolive speaker you are using ( or any other amplification available ) you are needing to get closest to dance floor for sound and bass control for the dancers, as well as having some sort of speaker/monitor for Singer's on stage, so that they & you can hear what the mix sounds like to enhance the sound for Karaoke... again, just guessing, until the other details are clarified!

[Deedler]

Ok let me clarify. The hall is rectangular so you walk in the bottom end and look up the "length" of the hall and at the other end is the stage (on your left) and beside it (on the right) the dance floor. Stage and dance floor take up all of the back wall. When you are on the stage looking down the length of the hall the dance area is directly beside you on the left, then the bar is basically down the rest of the left wall.
All the seating is directly in front of the small stage.
So, would the speakers be better front of the stage facing the seating or on the dance floor or some other arrangement?
Speakers are Behringer Eurolive B215s with an Allen & Heath Zed 10 FX mixer.

[KenKelley]

Your description of the venue is confusing.

Is there any way you can draw a floor plan and upload as a .jpg?

Do you have 4 speakers and a sub woofer to use in the venue?

[RIKKI TIKKI]

Deedler,

OK, I've got a better idea of the layout of your venue... now tell us how many people you can put inside? Maximum occupancy (Fire Code) as well as seating capacity? You call it a hall... is it used for multi-purpose, such as a VFW hall (installations, weddings, bingo, etc.)? What kind of patronage do you expect to attract? Also, are the walls bare, or covered with anything that will absorb or deaden the sound that comes from the stage/dancing area? Sounds like you are using just one pair of powered speakers and a mixer... does the Hall have any other speaker system that you could splice into?

[Deedler]

Seating capacity is 120 with approx 150 max. One wall, mostly windows has curtains. Other walls have nothing. This is a semi private club with usually a 50/50 membership/guest ratio of customers of varying ages but mostly older. Not a Legion but similar. I have played this venue before for a Karaoke night with success. I had the speakers (2) out front just on either side of the stage. (more confusion I fear)
Now I will be expected to DJ therefore the dance floor will be used to a much greater extent. So, do I need more than 2 powered speakers etc. Should one be placed on one corner of the dance floor away from the stage? There is no other system in place.

[RIKKI TIKKI]

I would think that most of your attention should be directed to the Karaoke (80%), and then try to enhance the music coming to the dance floor (20%)... Using only the two speakers that you now have, something will have to be sacrificed in the way the sound is projected to both areas... in relation to the stage and dancefloor, where are you planning to set-up your Karaoke station?
Try putting one speaker ( you have stands I presume ) in left corner behind the stage / left, and the other behind the dance floor / right corner... do a sound check with a friend that can give you a second opinion on the mix... luckily with a somewhat older crowd you won't have to pump out any extra bass on the dance floor... or I would recommend another woofer in the center or stage / right... if you can afford an extra speaker, consider using one (Monitor) in front of singer for their benefit...

Good Luck and Have Fun! Your enthusiasm will come through, and make your show a success!

[Deedler]

Thanks, Rikki, Karaoke set up is OK but the mix will now be 80% DJ/Dancing. I am contemplating adding another speaker to place high up in the corner of the dance floor and yes I do have speaker stands.
What is the feeling of others regarding the use of monitors.

[bryant]

Originally Posted by Deedler

Thanks, Rikki, Karaoke set up is OK but the mix will now be 80% DJ/Dancing. I am contemplating adding another speaker to place high up in the corner of the dance floor and yes I do have speaker stands.
What is the feeling of others regarding the use of monitors.

I don't use them. Usually you can get one of the main speakers to point close enough to the direction of the singer's ear so they hardly ever mention it. I have had only one guy that played in a professional band mention monitors once to me, and I pointed one of the speakers toward him just a little more and he stated,
"That's fine now."
I play in 5 different venues 6 to 8 times a week, and like I said, no complaints. The only place I, myself, have been to and complained was when both speakers were well in front of me pointed directly away from me towards the audience, I had to have the guy turn the music up so high so I could hear it but then the audience complained they could not hear me very well.

[KenKelley]

Several of my singers want me to turn it up when they come up to sing, however being in a restrauant does not allow for that without getting many complaints to turn it down...

My solution was to place an audio monitor on the floor beside the singers video monitor and turn it up when needed. I can makes the music loud in the singers location without blowing everyone else out of the restrauant.

Now both singers and patrons are happy!

[Musicman51]

I'm using 4 mains, 2 on each speaker stand. I have a 2way, and a 3way speaker on each stand. Two subs, and two floor monitors all running off 1 carvin 4 channel power amp....smoooooooooth. I would put your mains on the stands, get'em up, keep your subs low, and if you can in your situation use monitors. Yeah your set up there is kinda confusing.

[Deedler]

Only confusing to you lot
Look at it this way. You are looking down the hall towards the seated audience (who are directly in front of you) but the dancefloor is adjacent to you on your left. Therefore you have to provide sound not only to the seats directly in front of you but also to the dancers directly on your left hand side. This is my last stab at describing the set up