Bad wedding music sound system

[jhollander]

My ears might still be ringing. The DJ system consisted of 2 Pevey boxes on 6 poles in a room with 175 people. He used the same system for all the announcements, I couldn’t understand a word. We finally had to leave as it hurt our ears.

This is the third wedding like this I’ve been to.

What’s the right way to do this without kill everyone within 20 feet of the speakers? More speakers spread thought out the dance floor? Use a EQ on the announcement mic?

[billfitzmaurice]

Re: Bad wedding music sound system

What’s the right way to do this without kill everyone within 20 feet of the speakers?

The speakers must be above head height.

Use a EQ on the announcement mic?

EQ is not optional equipment.

[jcpahman77]

Re: Bad wedding music sound system

EQ is not optional equipment.

QFT. Avoid near wall placements like the plague and use the minimum amount of volume as absolutely possible to be heard in the back; it's a wedding, not a heavy metal concert.

[Sydney]

Re: Bad wedding music sound system

My ears might still be ringing. The DJ system consisted of 2 Pevey boxes on 6 poles in a room with 175 people. He used the same system for all the announcements, I couldn’t understand a word. We finally had to leave as it hurt our ears.

This is the third wedding like this I’ve been to.

What’s the right way to do this without kill everyone within 20 feet of the speakers? More speakers spread thought out the dance floor? Use a EQ on the announcement mic?

It's unfortunate that DJ's know nothing about room acoustics. I've yet to hear one ask for opinion on their sound.
As noted the equipment is poorly placed ( though to be fair the rooms often have bad acoustics ) and they consider SPL level more important than anything else at the expense of everything else.
IME Not everyone want to be exposed to the same SPL level as the dance floor ( to allow for conversation off a dance area for one reason ) so sound should be focused to a defined area.

[msibilia]

Re: Bad wedding music sound system

I did the sound for my wedding 20 years ago. My father hates loud music at weddings. I built 8 small 2-way speakers (A 6.5" woofer in about 1ft^3 ported with a 1" dome tweeter). I put them on short stands (~12") and surrounded the dance floor in the center of the room with them. On the dance floor, maybe 25' x 25', the sound was great and the music was loud enough to get everybody dancing and having a good time, but outside the dance floor, it was reasonable enough to be able to talk across the table. It was a large room, maybe 80' x 80' x 20', which probably helped. I did wind up softening the voice coil on one of the woofers, but no one, including me, noticed before I brought them home.

[billfitzmaurice]

Re: Bad wedding music sound system

I built 8 small 2-way speakers (A 6.5" woofer in about 1ft^3 ported with a 1" dome tweeter). I put them on short stands (~12") and surrounded the dance floor in the center of the room with them. On the dance floor, maybe 25' x 25', the sound was great and the music was loud enough to get everybody dancing and having a good time, but outside the dance floor, it was reasonable enough to be able to talk across the table.

That's a distributed system, and works well for the purpose, but eight speakers, stands and the associated wiring won't pass muster with wedding planners, who prefer gear that is heard but not seen.

[Paul O]

Re: Bad wedding music sound system

My ears might still be ringing. The DJ system consisted of 2 Peavey boxes on 6' poles in a room with 175 people. I couldn’t understand a word. What’s the right way to do this without kill everyone within 20 feet of the speakers?

Having a basic understanding of sound equipment operation would be a good start, sadly most wedding DJs don't even have that. There is no reason a small system like this should not have delivered intelligible spoken word and reasonably loud and clear music on the dance floor so my guess is this is a case of operator error and/or very poor quality equipment behind the speakers. As with most things you get what you pay for so if this guy is a $150 wedding DJ then you really shouldn't be surprised at the results, if I were doing an event this size the equipment rental alone would cost more than that.

[Sydney]

Re: Bad wedding music sound system

Yeah Paul - Poor understanding and poor equipment.
In 40 years of attending weddings and Djed events the gear is almost always the entry level stuff. I figure there will always be a large market for entry level "Pro Sound" because of this.

[Randy L]

Re: Bad wedding music sound system

My ears might still be ringing. The DJ system consisted of 2 Pevey boxes on 6 poles in a room with 175 people. He used the same system for all the announcements, I couldn’t understand a word.

Bit confused by your description. He had 2 Peavey speakers PER pole, with 6 poles? That would be 12 speakers. Is that correct? What model Peavey speakers were they? Some are very good, others not so much.

Agreed that the majority of DJs simply are not well educated in proper PA setup and gain structure. But then again, isn't that the same for live bands? At a local sports bar, they have bands every weekend. Can't say how many of them only care about sheer volume, while the clarity is absolutely crap.

[jhollander]

Re: Bad wedding music sound system

There were 2 Pevey cabinets, one on each 6 foot pole. Two speakers for a huge room.

IMO bands seem to have a clue, as if they sound good they'll be invited back.

[Randy L]

Re: Bad wedding music sound system

Ah, OK. One thing I see many DJs do is eat the mic. Really makes for a muffled sound. ugh.
On the note about bands, there's a local 80's tribute band here that has a pretty good following. They are frequent returns to several venues. Went and saw them one night and they were one of the worst "sounding" bands I've heard in many years. Their mains were a pair of Behringer 2 ways, on top of 15" subs (Peavey if I recall). Vocals were so harsh and distorted. Looked like a Yammie powered mixer, off to one side of the stage. No sound man (typical for smaller bands). Took all I had NOT to go over and adjust their settings. They really were a pretty good band, but their equipment was horrible!
I've seen this quite often, and it seems to me that bar patrons don't care as much about exceptional sound, and like a band for their stage show, songs, energy, and musical talent.
I would even argue this to be true for DJs too. After all, one of the most well recieved speakers by wedding guests and clients are the Bose L1 speakers. You'd be surprised by the number of customers that will choose a DJ because they use the L1's. They really love the slim appearance AND the sound. What? When I hear the L1's with 2 of their B1 bass modules per side, they have NO highs and little deep bass, AND they can't get to a decent SPL for larger venues/parties. But guests LOVE them! Could they be the same that swear that the Bose Home Theater systems are the best sounding?

[Sydney]

Re: Bad wedding music sound system

IMO bands seem to have a clue, as if they sound good they'll be invited back.

The weddings I enjoyed the most were the ones that had live bands.

[Paul O]

Re: Bad wedding music sound system

one of the most well recieved speakers by wedding guests and clients are the Bose L1 speakers. They really love the slim appearance AND the sound. NO highs and little deep bass, AND they can't get to a decent SPL for larger venues/parties. But guests LOVE them!

Well... that right there may be the main reason anything Bose is well liked, when 98 out of 100 PA systems sound so bad all you got to do is provide less of everything and you're a winner. Plus there's all that marketing... Bose has been telling everybody for decades that they're the best, so it must be true... right?

[Randy L]

Re: Bad wedding music sound system

Bose has been telling everybody for decades that they're the best, so it must be true... right?

Yes, it is true! And now Bose has just come out with a new version of the L1 bass module called the B2. It now has 2 10" woofers and is supposed to have double the bass output of the old bass modules that used 5" woofers. Judging by the pictures, it is not a fancy cabinet design as the drivers are front-firing. I think the old bass modules were rated at 110db SPL max. This will definately shake up the DJ industry.
(Hmm. where is the smirk smilie?)

I laugh every time my friends who have the Bose HT systems tries to show it off. hahahaha....

[kblackmore]

Re: Bad wedding music sound system

Bose has been and always will be marketing hype, a bad DJ system is due to the fact most DJ's today have no clue what a system is supposed to do and are succombbing to the "Just Enough" theme. I started DJ'ing in 1986 when you had to bring a show the same as if you were a band; meaning large speaker systems and accompanying light shows. I still foster that belief. If someone is going to pay you comparable to what a band makes, you should be able to compete. Todays DJ's have not "paid their dues" by accompanying accomplished DJ's to their shows and witness how it should be done. This includes controlling your system (restraint on the volume), learning the proper way of using a mic and how to work an audience. It is far too easy nowadays to take your computer with a simple music program and a cheap set of speakers to start booking gigs as a DJ. I believe the author of this thread has fell victim to an inexperienced DJ that thought his system was "just enough". These inexperienced DJ's are giving the ones who have been there for years a serious black eye and the overall opinion of DJ's a bad name.