So you didn't think your sound system had any problems, huh? Well, we're going to discuss a few problems that you may have decided to live with, simply because you didn't think there was a solution.

We've all experienced it. Mrs. Oh-Too-Sweet-To-Shout has just finished presenting a curriculum report to the school's faculty. The custodian had adjusted the volume on her microphone so everyone could hear her, and was immediately called away to an "emergency." Up steps Mr. I've-Got-A-Point-To-Make to talk about the lack of hall control during the passing period. You know what happens next. In fact, as you're reading this you're probably beginning to tense up in anticipation of the assault on your ears.

What I've just described is a problem all too common to many sound systems. There is a solution for this headache. In recent years, not only has the technology become available to improve this situation, but this technology has been improved and become affordable. This type of device is known by several names such as a compressor, compressor/limiter, or leveler.

These units perform several important tasks. Most importantly, they control how much a voice varies in loudness from an average target level. If the sound level begins to increase beyond a preset limit, the leveler will begin to reduce the level (Figure 1). The amount of sound level reduction is dependent on how loud the voice gets. If the talker's level begins to drop below the target level, the unit will automatically increase the level to compensate.

Figure 1
A Leveler automatically adjusts the volume to your preset target level.

As you might conclude, these devices are extremely valuable in sound systems that do not have an operator continually monitoring and adjusting volume controls. But don't make the assumption that levelers do not have their place in systems with full-time operators.

Compressor/limiter/leveler devices are also very useful in maintaining consistent levels on tape recordings, both audio and video. Another use is with systems that must operate over high levels of noise, such as the sports announcement system. A compressor can help improve the intelligibility of the announcements by keeping the volume high enough to hear above the background noise. The compressor also keeps the system from distorting when the announcer really gets excited.

One aspect of this type of component is extremely important for you to remember. Knowing where to plug these units into your system and knowing how to adjust the controls is vital to the success of using these devices. Let us help you. Simply call us and ask us for recommendations that make sense for your specific circumstances.

The lavalier (neck) microphone should be considered an important tool in your quest to provide good sound. Putting a lavalier microphone on the guest lecturer instead of using a podium microphone can produce more consistent sound levels. It also allows the talker total freedom of movement!

Unfortunately, the lavalier microphone is also a difficult microphone to use. It often seems to sound unnatural, and getting enough volume without the annoying sound of feedback may be hard to achieve.

There are methods to improve this situation. First, consider a new lavalier microphone. The new models are vastly superior in sound quality. This improvement also helps the feedback situation.

In order to really make this microphone sound good, an equalizer (tone control) just for the lavalier should be considered. And not just any equalizer. Depending on specific needs, either a one-third octave band or parametric equalizer should be considered. These equalizers are used to fine tune the microphone to produce the best, most natural sound. They can also help get the most volume possible before feedback occurs.

Adjusting the main system equalizer for the lavalier microphone will degrade the sound quality of any other microphones, instruments, or recorded music. The optimum choice is to use an additional equalizer on just the lavalier channel.

Don't assume the channel tone controls on your mixer will do the job. First, the channel tone controls are not appropriate for feedback control. Secondly, the tonal quality problems associated with lavalier microphones are usually difficult to fix with the type of tone controls found on most school mixers.

It may seem like there is a never-ending need for more "boxes" to add to the sound system. But the components we've discussed really do make a difference.