Karaoke Forums

So on Saturday a friend of mine was hosting at his usual gig. He had things set pretty "bright" from a sound stand point, sounded great to me.

So later on in the evening the new bartender, who has been there for two weeks complained that it was "bassy" and the vocals were flat. I thought my friend was going to come completely unglued. He was livid. There were two other hosts there and we both thought it sounded good - it sure wasn't bassy and/or washed out.

Look, I won't tell you how to pour drinks - you don't tell me how to run the board. Seems pretty fair to me. IMHO she was completely offbase - if it had sounded bad or if it was too loud, that's another story, but bassy? She was out of her mind.

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Despite the internet rumor, Karaoke is not Japanese for "drunk buffoon with microphone."  However, "rotation," is Japanese for wait your damn turn!

Bloody cheek. Tell 'new' bartender to get shifts that don't include Karaoke night !!!!!!

I hear ya. Why is it that some bar owners and in this case bartenders become music producers and/or directors just because they've hired karaoke in the joint............ the mind boggles

Lady Di

DID the host try to go back where the bartender was when he heard it.

Bass reverberates through everything, where the midrange and tweeter range don't "penetrate"... so behind a bar, which usually has obstructions, such as overhead storage or bottles, etc., the sound COULD have been bassy to them.

Before stuff happens, try to see their side of the story first.

Completely agree. There is one corner of the bar in my club that sounds like nothing but bass & there is absolutley nothing that can be done about it, aside of completely moving & or adding speakers. Not going to happen. The rest of the room sounds fine & the only time anyone is even in that corner is to go to the ATM.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

My concern is with the KJ who was livid and "almost lost it". If they're going to get that upset over a comment about the sound, maybe they're in the wrong business. As for the qualification of the bartender to have an opinion on the sound? She has two ears and I assume not deaf and like everyone else has her opinion about sound, right or wrong. It is her ears.

In most cases like this, if I like my sound, I make it appear I'm changing settings and say how's that and most times the person will say it's good, even though I actually didn't change a thing.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

! Clever Timber!!

That works when engineering bands as well. Singing wants more vocal in the monitor, act like you're turning it up & then look at singer for approval. 9 out of 10 times he'll give approval.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

My friend is an outstanding host and always does a sound check, walk around etc. etc. Where the bartender is not only does it not sound bassy, but I've always thought it sounds pretty darn tinny in that corner. The only adjustment he made was moving the angle of one the speakers about one inch.

I will agree his reaction was a bit extreme, but his ire wasn't someone criticized the sound, the bartender was framing this as if she was a, ehem, expert in these matters. Again, there were two other sound people in the room who thought it sounded good - and I did a walk around myself - I felt it was bright from the word go, it wasn't in any way shape or form bassy - certainly not compared to how I run sound.

It's good discussion - I see both sides.

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Despite the internet rumor, Karaoke is not Japanese for "drunk buffoon with microphone."  However, "rotation," is Japanese for wait your damn turn!

Remember that as people come into the room you'll loose the high end. What sounds great, or even bright, in an empty room can turn 'bassy' once it fills up. If at all possible I try to do a walk around the room a couple times during the night to see how it sounds. I'll adjust to fit the room as it fills up.

Remember that as you experience hearing loss you loose the high end first. Extreme hearing loss can cause a room to sound 'bassy' even if it's pretty bright.

Don't forget as well that differant people have differant tastes in how they like to hear things. Some people like alot of bass and some think any is to much. You will, as you already know, never please everyone. Some will think it's to loud, some to flat, some to bassy, some to tinny and so on.
We have a KJ that uses home stereo speakers and has no bass to speak of in their sound, very tinny. When I first set up my system they complained to me that it was to bassy, most everyone else thinks it is the best sounding system in the area. A few weeks ago I was at this same KJ's show (at the same location that I have heard them play many times) and my wife and I noticed that they had turned their bass up quite a bit with the same speakers and it was the best I've ever heard them sound. I wonder if after going to a few of my shows they decided to up their own bass.
I had someone come up to me at a show a week or so ago and ask if I would turn it down abit as she said it was way too loud.( the show had been going on for 2 1/2 hours already and she had just walked in within the last 30 min.) I asked her where she was seated and she told me she was sitting down front by the speakers and it was just too loud down there. (YA-Think) I told her I would see what I could do, but I also told her that if she was sound sensitive that she should probably take one of the tables up back, away from the speakers. I did turn it down some, but frankly I think she should have moved so we wouldn't have to turn it down and infringe upon the others that thought it was fine. I will set up closer to the front next time I am in the same room, maybe half way, because after I turned it down I had a hard time hearing if I had the mix right.
The lady that hired me for the party she was throwing for her husband had no problem with the sound.

What did the new bartender look like ...Maybe she was trying a new pick up line on your friend