He made it very clear he isn't in the market for suggestions other than the compressor settings.
I would play around with them until I got the result I wanted. You can't hurt anything, because the 950 won't remember them anyway without saving it in a couple of places.
If I still had one, I'd try to help. Wasn't necessary when I had mine, because I always used it with the two Bose Compacts.
Diki is absolutely correct with what he said about projecting. "Ejecting from the Diagram".
You have to do it like you are making an announcement and trying to get everyone's attention.

Larry, I used to have the same problem, but that only happened when I was using a conventional sound system. Since switching to the Bose L1 Compact, the problem no longer exists. The Crown CM-311A is an excellent mic for both singing and speaking, but the coverage from a conventional sound system is such that speaking, even from a good, handheld, super-cardiod mic, usually isn't the quality it should be.

One think I've learned over these many years is that many of those in the audiences wear hearing aids, which are not conducive to proper amplification and clarity of low frequency sounds. I should know, I have a hearing aid. They cost a bundle, and all it really does is allow me to hear women's voices better, but does nothing for male voices when I'm in a loud crowd situation.

When you switch to the talk mode, be sure that you have the Pitch Detect settings set to Mid, Thru, and (4) Normal. This can make a big difference.

As for the three band EQ at the top of the mic setting page, I set the low EQ at 250 @C 0 db, Mid @ 315 @ -6 db and high at 1.4 @ -2 db. These settings work very well for my bull frog voice.

When I was using the Barbetta Sona 32SCs and Peavey SP5Gs, on poles, announcements always sounded muddy, regardless of which mic I used. My current handhelds include: Samson Q7 and Sennheiser E855. When I ran and posted a comparison test on the Synthzone many years ago, most everyone thought the $300 Sennheiser and Crown CM311A were the same quality and clarity.

Now, keep in mind that I spent several years as a newscaster for Radio and did voice-overs for car commercials in radio and TV. I try to utilize those same voice inflections when I make announcements at the various venues - and it really does make a huge difference as well. Listen to the voice inflections and quality of the TV guys and gals doing the evening news and try to mimic that - it's a real eye opener when you record yourself doing this and play it back. It took me years to achieve that voice quality, so it's not something that just comes naturally. But, once you get the hang of it, it will make life a lot easier while on stage.

Good luck,

Gary

I know, I can play around with the compressor settings, but I can hear myself easily, and half of what I hear of myself is not going through the mic. It would help if I had an elderly person with bad hearing sitting where the audience would be to tell me if I'm getting clearer or not.

That's why I am asking for some settings that might get me in the ballpark of what I want to do.

Thanks Gary! I'll check out those eq settings. The Bose sounds like the way to go. The FBT's are IMO the very best 10" monitors out there. I very rarely get seniors telling me I'm too loud because these speakers sound so good.

I'd like to ask some of these dudes who demo for Yamaha at large venues what talk settings they use. Does anyone know who I can ask? Maybe Ian has some tips. Ian, are you there?

I won't be springing for the Bose soon because I spent a lot of money (for me at least) over Xmas for myself on Ivory II virtual American Steinway D, then all the stuff with it: Ilok, Sound Blaster Titanium HD sound card, mixer, near field reference monitors, a studio subwoofer. I'm using my Casio PX-350 as a controller, and it sounds fantastic!

... compressor settings will surely help, and EQ the mids up a bit in the talk-back section. This will punch the vocals up in the spoken range of most voices. The real trick is projection - speak to the back of the room.

I was giving a speech once and asked if everyone could hear me. One guy way in the back raised his hand and said he couldn't hear me...and everybody got up and moved back to where he was.
A$$holes!

chas

Larry, here's a quick recording of what my voice sounds like with the settings I posted. I recorded it directly from the line out of the Bose L1, so this is what the audience hears.

Announcement

Gary

Take a look at your speaker system's spec sheet... take a look at the angle of horn coverage. Now, imagine that the horn projects light instead of sound. Where are the dark areas in the room? Will people be sitting there? There will be an area in the middle where BOTH horns can be seen well, and many others where only one will. If you set up so that the 'sweet spot' in the middle is great sound, those that only get to hear one of the horns (if that!) are going to get poor vocal intelligibility. Not so much when you are singing, but a lot more when you are talking.

Add to that, those in the 'cheap seats' can't see your mouth as well (it's amazing what the mind can 'hear' when it 'sees' your mouth move!) and quite a bit of understanding about why the people in front can somehow hear you but many can't becomes apparent.

But, short of a better PA, the main thing that will help you be understood between songs is projecting well. Even though you have a PA, you aren't chatting over your kitchen table... you are STILL addressing a room full of people! Talk clearly, don't mumble, make your jokes count, don't toss them off, you'll find your audience understanding you a LOT better...

When in doubt, tape your show with a mike out in the room (not direct from the board). Listen for yourself to what your audience has to deal with!

Great advice, Diki - well said.

Thanks so much Dave, Diki, Gary, others. I will listen to the announcement ASAP. I got the sound card unplugged. Happy New Year.

I'm starting to experiment with the compressor, and I think it's going to help.

Larry