Things Wot I Have Learned (The Hard Way) - Part One

Electrical equipment, in this context, simply means: power, microphone, amplification, speaker and to some degree, music.
The first point to make is, there is a huge difference between electricians and electrical technicians. I say this merely to differentiate between those people who wire houses and those people who will open up an amplifier to fix it. The skills are different and you shouldn’t confuse one for the other.
Common or garden electricians are two a penny (although they’ll try and kid you that they are worth £40 an hour [and in fairness, some are] and technicians (of the sort identified above) are a rare breed and will probably cost you more. Never undervalue knowledge, experience, education and advice, although there aren’t many sound engineer / technicians ‘out-there’ who are experienced in our line of work!
I was once asked by the father of a fledgling Punch Professor (who later went on to become a proper Billy Elliot) where he could buy a sound system for his son. I sent him into Laskeys (the then leading electrical suppliers) with the suggestion that he buys ‘Punch & Judy Man’s ‘kit’ Number Two’). Subsequently, I did put him wise but it did tickle me that he thought the 300 Punch and Judy workers obtained their sound systems that way.
I cobbled together my very first sound system using a Tandy (two brick sized) amp and two metal 6-inch horn speakers. Mounted on my, hands over head booth, it made the booth very front heavy and consequently unstable. I truly learnt the disadvantage of this approach when I first attended the PJF October Punch & Judy Festival. After building my booth and having installed the ‘electrics’ I turned the sound on, only to ‘hear’ silence. I couldn’t raise a whisper. The wires forming the loop connection, resting on the booth lid and which were wired through screw-in connector blocks had, during the course of erection, become detached. There was nothing to do, other than to dismantle everything, fix it and rebuild my set-up.
If you come to wire-up a system, the fewer joints the better and if necessary, solder them together (the wires, that is).
The Tandy system, by comparison to other systems then available, was ‘cheap’. It was all my wife and I could afford but as it was provided in lieu of a wedding ring, I was happy enough. This was the gift that kept on giving, as in the early years of our marriage, we had little spare money and Mr. Punch kept our heads above the tide of rising interest rates and low salaries.
In later years, when I came to fill my cupboards with all the old (still working and perfectly good but now redundant) equipment, the suppliers with whom I forged a relationship, advised that the ‘cheap’ system was probably sturdier and better-built than most systems in the then ‘today’s’ market.
‘You pays ya money and ya makes your choice’.
If starting out, buy the best you can afford but don’t think that because a magician is using it, that it must be good. They don’t swazzle or play much music. Those that do, create (generally) a truly awful ‘hard’ sound which should be avoided at all costs. You are building a bespoke P.A. system. One for a variety of sounds, each with a different sound wave, timbre and acoustic resonance (I’m trying to blind you with science!).
Take advice and if you hear one ‘system’ that you like, track one down and buy that. Second hand may be an option. I’m about to dispose of a perfectly good amplifier but it is too big for sensible use and in purchasing it, I should have known better. Just because it says ‘Bose’ on it doesn’t mean it is best for us.
Peter Stedman’s video / DVD of what makes a sound system came along a little too late for me and although he advocated the use of an ‘all-in-one’ Coomber system, the video was still educational.
The first thing to say is, not all microphones are the same. Some are designed to pick-up sound all around them. These are termed ‘omni-directional’ microphones and for Punch’s purposes, are of little use. When you see a microphone on a stand and someone is talking or singing into it, then they are using a ‘uni-directional’ microphone. That’s what you use. I’ve seen Punchmen, who should have known better, put a stand in front of their booth and point the microphone under the play-board drop-cloth and perform though that. Every time they spung around or moved away from the microphone, unsurprisingly, the volume dipped. You don’t want to do that either.
Bryan Clarke, working while ‘sitting’ on a mono-pod golfing umbrella style of chair, advises the use of a stick mic (as just described). He mounts his on a 4 x 6-inch board, slung around the neck, restrained by curtain wire. And he does so very successfully. The problem here is, that ‘it’ is picking up your noise, while also getting the ambient noise (to a degree). You have to speak up which makes the use of an amplifier ‘interesting’. He says: ‘use a cheap one’, drop it, stand on it, kick it around, break it, what does it matter? Not only that, it will work best when ‘you’ talk directly into it, which mitigates the capability of the cheap mic to register the ambient noise it may otherwise pick-up (i.e. if you sneeze, cough or spit out your swazzle).
You could try this, I suggest you don’t, but it all depends on how you want to do it (and by that, I mean, hands overhead, hands in front, etc., etc.,).
Microphones that clip over the ears and that plug directly into the amplifier, are probably best. Buy the mic support etc., as lightweight as you can because, some-what counter intuitively, this will mean the mic ‘bar’ will not move and you won’t be constantly adjusting it as you work. A good comprise is to use a non-wired mic, but be warned, they are not built for rough Punch and Judy folk and while they can work admirably well in picking up your voice but cough, sneeze or swear at some unruly child and you can do nothing to stop the mic from hearing what you said.
I used to like performing a breathing routine into my ‘slung’ around my neck mic; the mic pointed at my mouth. But the mic hit the back-cloth and was an audible distraction. In paying £120 for a Stagg mic, I’ve lost that ability and it’s something I miss and I will have to achieve another way. Life! It’s all about compromise.
You may be beginning to understand why I have four boxes of ‘electrics’ when I actually only need one!
Or do I? What happens if you are set to perform 3 shows and your electrics die before show two? Do you carry a spare system? Think about it.
I think I’ve exhausted microphones, the only thing to say is, there is a profession called: Sound Engineers and they know all about balancing sound, removing feedback and providing sweet ‘noise’.
By the way, the definition of noise is unwanted sound – bet you’re glad you asked!
Power to the people.
Your equipment doesn’t require PAT testing, don’t be fooled into thinking it does. Best not to advertise how you amplify your voice and keep it out of the way of officialdom, if they turn up on the day of the show trying to be a bloody nuisance. I’ve turned up at shows only to be quizzed as to whether I was going to make any noise? I have offered to strip everything back and to perform the show without amplification, puppets or theatre, or even naked, provided they pay me first—
I used to have a floor mounted, small, rechargeable battery, system. This powered a car amp and a pair of speakers and a tape recorder or two. I got a lot out of it and in my dotage, I will look to replicate it. I know of one lady supplier (to the trade) who can replicate it, today. However, I want to pump out 30 watts of power and provide a ‘big’ sound. I’m lumbered with an all-in speaker amp that the military employ for make-believe battles. It’s heavy, the weight provided by a security system’s battery but If I go to a place, like Southend Pier, where I cannot drive a stake into the ground, the additional weight does serve to anchor the booth down. Battery technology develops and in time, the size and weight of your battery shouldn’t be a problem. There’s been much in the news about ‘cheap’ motorcycle batteries bursting into flames but I know of one professional entertainer, who uses the new-fangled batteries, safely and intelligently. He treats it with respect – you should too.