Problem with sound limit at venue...

Our venue has a sound limiter and I was a bit worried by this when I 1st read it but when we showed the paper work to the band we've hired they've said that'll be plenty loud enough so I doubt you should worry about it. Can you go along to a function of theirs to see how loud it might be?

Im going to find out where the controller is in the room...its a long room and the dj would be in the middle. Its a popular wedding venue, so I would find it odd if the dj couldnt be at a reasonable level.

I'm sure it'll be fine then. Its just their way of staying control & not getting a fine I guess. Do they have a DJ to suggest to you or are you bringing someone in?

Unfortunately it's never straight forward where Sound Limiters are concerned.

For starters 95db is not too bad, your DJ should be able to provide a good night without tripping it.

However..

Crowd noise can be a major problem, if your guests start whistling, clapping too loudly or cheering for example after your First Dance, then this could trip the limiter.

The limiter will use a remote microphone and the placement of this can make a BIG difference.

When the DJ set's up careful placement and alignment of his speakers can also help to combat the Limiter.

The other problem I have found is the Limiter itself might not be set correctly.
Inside they have a switch which allows them to use A-weighting or C-weighting.

A-weighting works like the Human ear and should be used on Sound Limiters for Music.
C-weighting works at the lower frequency end of the sound spectrum and only picks up the Bass from speaker and as a result will be tripped far faster than A-weighting.

I have found Limiters set using the C-weighting which although not breaking any rules is wrong for music and therefore can spoil the night's atmosphere.

Over the years I have blacklisted certain venues due to their limiter settings.
on one occasion the limiter tripped over 5 times during one reception, this was due to crowd noise as it was a noisy bunch, but they should not be penalised for enjoying themselves.

I have my own decibel meter and was monitoring the levels myself and my music for the most part was kept under 86db which is a low figure, the venue was set at 89db, but anytime they got too clappy or cheered, POP went the power.

At other venues I have had to announce the noise levels from guests be kept to a minimum in order to prevent a power-out.

In my view venues should not really promote themselves for Evening receptions if they have to keep the noise really low, I mean how can 100 - 300 people have fun in almost silence especially with a DJ or Band playing music? Some venues never tell the clients until I tell them about it and 99% of them reply, "they never told us about that", which to me is rather naughty.

So in summary 95db should be ok, and the DJ should be able to see the limiter levels and work within their range.

Thank you so mych HWS that is some great info. I do hope that its not a ridiculous level. I have around 150 people for the evening and dont want it to be a boring party. They regulary host weddings there so i would have assumed DJs could have a decent level for their music.

The DJ we're getting is a friend of my sisters, who also DJd at her wedding, so he's giving us a discount. I will speak with the venue people about this on Saturday and to the DJ

Hi Chelle,

did you get any extra information from the Venue or DJ about your Limiter worries?

It will probably be a Sound Sentry or a Formula Sound unit.

There are ways around these units, however I am unsure if I should post such things on a forum

Hi ya

Turn's out they don't have a controller. Basically their saying that we need to have stopped all music by 1am, as their is a farmer living over the road. Think that is perfectly reasonable to me! So am very happy and will be booking my venue later today!!!!

Soundlimiters are, how can I say politely, a pain for DJs and other entertainers - but they are usually there for a reason - usually to avoid nuisance to neighbours. An experiance DJ could easily avoid limiters cutting off the power, however the venue management might not be too happy and you might not be too happy when the Environmental Health officer turns up to your celebration!