A sound limiter is an electrical device which senses how much noise the guests and DJ are making and, if it goes over a certain decibel level, it will automatically cut the electric, leaving your hall in silence.
Unless you have actually been to an event at the hall you are considering and know for a fact that it is set at a reasonable level, you should strongly consider choosing another venue - Sound limiters can be a complete nightmare !!!
A Stargazer DJ had a classic example only last night of how bad things can get. The venue was Murray Hall in Loughton.
As the guests entered the newly built very smart hall, everyone was gushing with praise about how nice it was - They were singing a completely different tune by the end of the evening.
The father of the bride greeted the DJ and said - We thought we would set you up in that corner, as it's the only one near the plug sockets.
He continued Oh, by the way, the caretaker said something about a sound limiter. The DJ groaned and explained that sometimes they can be a real problem but set up as instructed. Shortly afterwards the guests flooded in.
It was a hot, humid, summer night but thank God they had air conditioning in the hall. Just as well really because plastered on every door to the beautifully manicured garden and veranda was a note saying that if the door was left open for more than 30 seconds, the electricity supply inside the hall would be cut.
Everyone tucked into the buffet and soon afterwards it was time for dancing - The DJ asked the father of the bride if the lights could be dimmed and off he went off to find the switches - 2 minutes later the hall was plunged into total darkness - The choice apparently was either all the lights on, or all the lights off - Not an ideal situation when you have elderly guests.
Shortly after that the DJ and everyone else noticed that it was suddenly getting very warm - Whoever designed the hall built in a wonderful energy saving device which automatically turned off the aircon when the lights were turned off. Of course nobody would ever want to dim the lights at a party venue, would they !
Not a problem if you could open the doors and windows but there were no windows and we already know what happens if you open the doors. The lights were switched back on and the room lit up brighter than an operating theatre.
Fortunately, this particular set of guests were very good hearted and determined to enjoy themselves no matter what. However, any professional DJ will tell you that not being able to dim the lights usually means that far less people will come and dance.
Everything was going well when suddenly the wretched sound limiter kicked in and all went quiet. The guests returned to their seats while the father of the bride frantically pressed the reset switch on the limiter.
Success !!!
The electricity came back on. However, the DJ's laptop still needed to reboot and then he needed to re-selected a new song, so several minutes went by before everything got going again.
Fortunately, on this occasion he had a sympathetic crowd and soon everybody was dancing, singing and cheering again. Then, you guessed it, the sound limiter kicked in once more. Groans all around and more frantic pressing of the re-set switch. However, no matter how hard they tried, no amound of pressing or banging would restore the power - It was off for good !
The groom searched the building and outside for the caretaker but she was nowhere to be found. He rang her mobile - It was switched off.
The DJ tried every socket in the hall to no avail. Eventually he discovered a working one behind the fridge in a kitchen next door. Unfortunately, it was miles away from where he had been forced to set up.
He explained the situation to the groom and everybody rallied around and helped reposition the disco. 10 minutes later he was up and running again.
Quick-thinking by the Stargazer DJ and a helpful attitude from the guests avoided what otherwise could have been a complete disaster.
So, some words of advice when you are chosing your venue.
Ask if there is a sound limiter at each venue you visit but please do not for one second think that the person showing you the hall will honestly tell you how bad it can be.
It's a bit like expecting a rottweiler owner to warn you that their dog will probably bite you.
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In fairness to the hall, I should add that all the previous comments regarding cleanliness and good facilities are completely accurate.
The caretaker said that the reason for the total lack of power was not the sound limiter but that the door to the garden was not 100% closed.
It certainly looked closed to me. People were going in and out to the garden all evening and everyone shut the door after themselves.
So whether the problem was a faulty re-set switch on the sound limiter or a faulty sensor on the door is kind of irrelevant - It was the hall's fault and the read more
