In all my years of DJ'ing and dealing with people who are making announcements or toasts that stand right next to or in front of a speaker, it never dawned on me until this weekend to "pan" the sound to the speaker they're not standing by.

If you have the option on your mixing board to pan or switch the audio to one speaker or the other (depending where they're standing), you'll avoid feedback in a big way...and still be able to turn the sound up loud enough for everyone to hear the announcement or toast. Give it a try.

BTW, where did the idea of "if you're talking into a microphone and you hear a loud squeek/squeal, you're holding the microphone 'to close' to your mouth...so hold the microphone lower?" Or, "just having the microphone in your hand will pick up your voice reguardless how close it is to your mouth?" Haha. I know we've all had our share of this. Then, there's the classic...someone's making a speach and you've got the microphone cranked up as loud as possible without causing feedback and you can hear people in the crowd saying "what? we can't hear you," then the person giving the speach tells you to turn their microphone up...or they all think 'it's the DJ's fault.'

Out of all the dances I have done, and assemblies I did at my old high school, I can tell you, you are dead on.

Mostly no one knows how to properly use a microphone. Here's some of the people I've encountered;

"The Gobbler" - A very common thing, this person feels they need to have the mic halfway down their throat in order for it to work.

"The Screamer" - This person feels they need to talk 20dB higher then they normally do while using a mic.

"The Waver" - This person loves to flail the mic around while taking, giving inconsistent sound, and the feel of them spinning around the room.

"The Whisperer" - They feel like the mic will do wonders for their voice, and talk as softly as can be.

Any other types of mic users you've encountered?


Chris

How about, "The Moron"? Keeps the mic as far away from their mouth as possible, talks softly, and after several corrections, continues to walk in front of the speakers. And these people demand to use the mic....

This happened at a party recently. The woman running it was 'microphone-impared'. Two times I told her 'hold the mic close, stay between the speakers, and project your voice'. I forgot I was in Bizzaro world, cause she was doing the exact opposite. Finally, for the third (and following) announcement I said, "My wireless is getting static, please use the corded mic", which forced her to stay close to the booth.

And yes, I hate that when someone is talking, makes a squeal, and eveyone looks at you (the DJ) like you did something wrong. Grrrr...

Good tip on the panning idea, Adapter!

O Im sure alot of people have dealt with the people who think they are sports comintators and like to get louder and louder as they build up to their point. Ya thats annoying

You're welcome Billabong (and anyone else this has helped or will help)! It worked GREAT this weekend for me.

Chris...Other types of microphone people (I've had all these):

THE HIDER: The one that's too afraid to be giving the speach, doesn't know what to say, etc. so they think that if they talk quieter and hold the mic farther away nobody will notice or see them.

THE BACKFIRING COMEDIAN: The person that thinks they're funny and has something to tell the crowd and NEEDS to use your microphone. They talk to the crowd, say their bad joke, nobody laughs...and then they get ticked off and throw your microphone onto your table.

THE SINGER: Ahh yes, they've had a few too many to drink and want you to switch into karaoke mode. Well, you tell them you don't have/do karaoke so they want to sing along with a song instead. Sometimes this is fun/funny, othertimes it's not...especially when they're right next to you spilling beer all over the floor and your equipment.

Just about all of the maladies diagnosed here by the good Doctor DJ's can be cured with an ounce of prevention.

Just a few words of encouragement to the the speaker should keep a lot of the bad mic habits from happening before they start. I tell them that the accoustics in the hall are a little funky, and that they'll need to speak up to be heard. I also tell them we are running behind, so if they could keep it under 5 minutes, we can keep the chicken from drying out. The bottom line is, stay ahead of the game.

Also, anybody that wants the mic "for a sec" has to answer one important question" "What for?" After which, I tell them that I have express instructions to keep control of the mic. (I really do, I have a section in my planner about toasts.)If they persist, they get referred to the bride, or whoever handed me the check. If it's OK with them, it's OK with me.

But back to feedback: Try the EQ. Feedback is usually one particular frequency in the high's or mids- it's pitch should give you a hint where it's at. Notch it out, and you can bring overall volume back up.

Ron