O
ver the next few issues of Vanish I’m going to tackle a subject that I have yet to see written about in any major magic magazine (and please correct me if you have found any articles to the contrary).Sound. More importantly great sound. Your voice, your music and the combination thereof.
Why these articles? Well, quite frankly, sadly, I think it’s needed.
As magicians our performances are made up of two sepa-rate elements: the visual and the audio and I believe each of these elements is exactly one half of the complete magical performance.
The visual side of our performances are the sleights, moves and choreography of our illusions and tricks.
The audio side is our voice, our music, or a combination of both. (Since, I hope, none of you are performing totally as a mime – with apologies to Jeff Sheridan who is a great mime/magician).
The unfortunate truth with most beginning magicians (and even some full-time pros) is that they concentrate too much on the visual and not enough on the audio. Once you put your magic in front of an audience BOTH ARE EQUALLY AS IMPORTANT! The entertainment value on your audience will suffer if you do not give each part the same weight.
In writing this article, I am making a few assumptions:
• You already have a show – a good, complete perfor-mance piece – not just one routine. If you don’t, put your efforts there. You don’t need sound equipment yet.
• You are prepared to invest a reasonable amount of money towards achieving good sound. Don’t worry, it won’t break the bank but it will cost the same as a small to medium-sized illusion.
• You will use your sound equipment whenever pos-sible, even in smaller shows. It really does elevate your performance to the next level!
• This booklet is written for the solo performer in mind (or the magician/assistant performer combination). If your show is any larger then you are probably already out-sourcing or hiring in your sound (but there are some techniques discussed that are good for every performer.
WHO AM I & WHY SHOULD YOU LISTEN TO ME?
I have been a professional performing magician for over forty years, having done everything from a full illusion show to strolling sleight of hand.
In the mid 1980’s I cut my teeth touring with a Vegas-like hypnosis show as its Producer, Announcer and Technical Director in charge of all lighting, sound and show produc-tion. After that I helped found the largest children’s theatre company in Canada and became its Technical Director, Set Designer and Props Master. Among other duties I purchased and set up all sound and lighting in a 100 seat theatre for close to twenty different productions per season as well as for numerous touring shows.
I now devote all of my time to performing and have made my performance related ‘hobby’ that of getting the best sound and the best music I can in my show. I NEVER go to a show without a sound system. (Except to the restaurants, although I have used sound effects through a tiny system I carried with me!)
LESSONS LEARNED
1. One of the first sound disasters I remember was VERY early in my career when I was asked to perform at my local community college. This gig was through another magi-cian in my area who, I found out later, didn’t want the job.
I soon learned why!
He told me all about the venue – it was a cafeteria – and that I was to perform during the lunch period. He also arranged to have a sound system with a mic available on the stage.
I wrongly assumed it to be a half-decent one, after all this was a college that has one of the leading college programs in music and concert production.
When I arrived, the really, REALLY small stage had a sound system and a mic alright – it was a wedge-style podium sound system with the speaker on its front and the mic on a gooseneck clip attached to the podium! The cord was barely five feet long and the podium was on the floor! I couldn’t put it on a table as there wasn’t enough room on the stage for my show plus the table.
I don’t remember how I played my background music, if at all, however the most embarrassing thing that I had to do was to ask someone from the audience to hold the mic so I could talk and perform at the same time!
Lesson Learned: The next day I went out and bought a mic stand.
2. Another time I was booked for a gig in a rural community centre and my agent told me there was be a sound system on site I could use. (Note: At this stage in my career I was with that hypnosis show and didn’t do many outside book-ings, so I didn’t see a need for a sound system and my mic stand was back at home)
When I arrived and began to set-up, the client said he was told by my agent that I needed a mic, which he handed to me. He then asked if I needed a stand. I bit my tongue and politely said yes, thank you.
He then proceeded to screw two pieces of pipe together and then screw them to the base. When the mic was in its clip, it pointed at my forehead! Plus, since it was two pipes screwed together, there was no vertical adjustment. I could not lower the mic to my mouth!
But that’s not all! Once on the stage, when the mic was plugged into the amp (which, BTW, was in a hole in the wall behind me), the cord was too short and never touched the ground. I had to step over it like a skipping rope to cross from side to side.
And to top it all off the speakers were all the way on the other side of the room (about 150 feet) and about 25 feet in the air (attached to the ceiling) and POINTING AT ME! Every time I spoke into the mic, my voice came from behind the audience two seconds later!
Lesson Learned: I bought my first sound system.
WHERE TO BEGIN
You will need, at the very least:
• A microphone - hand-held or hand-worn
• A Mic Stand
• An mixer/amplifier - combined or separate
• Two speakers
• Cables
• 25’ mic cable
• 2 - 50’ speaker cables
There are hundreds of options and combinations available as well as some ‘all in one’ packages. I’ll leave the choice up to you, however when you begin your shopping, keep in mind the following suggestions:
Make sure you buy your audio equipment from a company that specializes in sound systems for musicians!
I know this may annoy a lot of people reading this, and with all due respect to the many fine magic dealers out there
(some of whom sell custom sound systems), you wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) buy your magic supplies from any other place except a professional magic supply house, so why would you not purchase your sound equipment the same way? Most, if not all of the employees in music stores are professional musicians who are experts in quality sound.
Get to know them. They will not steer you wrong.
MICS AND STANDS
The first place to start when purchase any sound is with the choice & use of microphones and as I wrote earlier, the first purchase I made was buying a stand.
It should be the first purchase you make.
As a stand-up performer we need a stand to hold our mic so that we can manipulate our props. It sounds like com-mon sense, doesn’t it? However on more than one occa-sion I have arrived at a gig that has a mic but not a stand.
Or, the mic is attached to a short, flexible stand that, in turn, is screwed to a table or podium.
Or, as is most often the case when working corporate din-ner/dances, the DJ has a mic and is willing to let you use it but has no stand – because he/she doesn’t need one.
Again, no good for us!
Plus, as you progress into obtaining your own equipment, the stand will be needed to hold your back-up corded mic, in case your wireless system crashes! Which it WILL! With your own stand you can hold virtually any mic in place and be able to do your act.
There a basically two types of mic stands to choose from and both are essentially the same. There is the round base
style or the tripod style. Either will work. The tripod style is lighter and a bit more stable. The round base style is generally a bit cheaper. While you are at the store buying the stand, make sure you also purchase a spring mic clip.
This will ensure that you have a clip for virtually all mics out there.
MICS
The selection of mics available to you is about as diverse as the number of ways to produce a rabbit! It can be broken down, however, into two main categories: corded and wireless.
CORDED MICS
The industry standard/workhorse microphone is the Shure SM58. It has a good vocal response, is rugged enough to handle almost every situation and many companies make similar mics. You should not spend more than $100 to $150.
Any mic you purchase should come supplied with its own mic clip, packing bag and cord. Please make sure that the ends of the cord are ‘XLR’ with one end male and the other end female.
WIRELESS MICS
In this group, there are 3 main choices for you. You can choose:
Let me begin this topic by eliminating the Lavaliere (or lapel) mic right off the top. Lapel mics are not, I repeat NOT for stage use! They sound tinny and generally have to be turned up so high to get a good volume that they feed-back. That being said, I know there are excellent lavaliere style mics available, typically used in theatre applications, but for our use, they are too expensive, are designed to be worn hidden and need a sound technician with a rack full of EQ and compression to make them sound good. This is not practical for our purposes.
This leaves us with handheld and headset (or headworn) and you can spend anywhere from a few hundred to a couple of thousand dollars. I have used both.
HANDHELD
For the first few years of wireless I used only a handheld unit.
When I first began using one, I loved the freedom I had to move around the audience and on stage. It was a tremen-dous feeling of power to know that I was not restricted to where I could go.
The only restriction I had was the need to place the mic in a stand in order to manipulate the props. This can be a great advantage at times in your show as it focuses attention in one spot – you, centre stage and it allows for additional comedy and choreography with the stand and mic - if you are so inclined.
If you choose to go with a handheld mic, proper usage is vital. There is a proper way to hold the mic. Do not put the mic in front of your face. The audience should be able to see your mouth while you speak. Hold it straight out from your chin about two inches with the body of the mic point-ing down at about a 30 degree angle. The easiest way to do this is to make like you are about to suck your thumb except put the end of your thumb on your chin. The mic will be your curled fingers.
Stick with an SM58 (you can get them wireless as well) or similar brand mic. Plus, try to get a “UHF double diversity”
system (it has two antennae). Your coverage will be much greater and you will have less problems with ‘dead areas’.
HEADWORN
About ten years ago I tried a headset style wireless mic and I have never looked back! It has all of the advantages of a handheld mic with one great big bonus - it provides me with the flexibility of wireless without tying me down to a stand. I could move anywhere and interact with anyone.
The ONLY disadvantage I have encountered was that I could not carry on an exchange with a volunteer and have them be heard as well. To solve this problem, I plugged in my handheld corded mic and I was back in business. Now I direct the corded mic to the volunteer and I stick with the headset mic.
Your choice of headset mics here is a bit more complicated.
There are advantages and disadvantages to the various models out there. Some are more rugged than others.
Others are similar to the ones singers use and yet others are almost invisible when they are worn. And yet others fit around the head and rest over both ears while some fit over only one ear. The best thing to do is to go to your sup-plier and test drive a few models to find out what you like.
When you start picking out styles, you will find two basic kinds – what I will call visible and invisible.
A ‘visible’ headset mic is the kind worn by fitness instructors or modern pop stars. The units can easily be seen on the head of the wearer and are generally heavier and bulkier.
For esthetic reason, some performers don’t like these but the big advantage of this style over the ‘invisible’ kind it that the mic itself is cardioid – meaning it picks up the sound only from one direction, the front. These are less susceptible to feedback and because the design of the mic allows you to get it closer to your mouth, the sound is much richer.
‘Invisible’ or as they are sometimes called, ‘hairline mics’ are much smaller and much lighter. You see these all the time in Broadway shows, on television and at keynote addresses.
While they look great and almost disappear against the skin of the wearer, the mics themselves are all ‘omnidirectional’
which means the sound is collected from all directions.
This makes them harder to eliminate feedback at higher volumes but it also means that they can pick up volunteer’s comments without the use of an additional mic.
In the next issue I’ll discuss selecting and using speakers and mixers for your show and for the particular types of venues you’ll be playing.
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to get a hold me anytime at [email protected].
BTW – Just so you know, I do not get any remuneration for any of the brand names I discuss in this column. I only offer them as a place to start your research. Ultimately the choice is up to you which brand a retailer you decide to patronize.