Podium Mic Help!

[kbass20]

Hey everyone!

Got a small question for you all! The pastor at my church doesn't like to use the lapel mic and will NOT wear a headset! I've been looking around at all the podium mics but what the issue is that he and other guests like to move about, alot! So on average he moves atleast 5 feet to each side of the podium. We are a small church so I have to crunch the dollar to get a decent setup, so noting over $150. Please help! and Thank you!

Noah

[NorseHorse]

If it's a small church, does he really need a microphone?

As much as I love audio, I hate it when people insist on using microphones when they aren't necessary. If you are a speaker, learn to speak.

RANT OVER

If I were in your position, I'd tell him tough luck. He can't have it both ways.

[locutus]

You didn't specify if this is for amplification, or recording only. If this is for recording only, you may have some options, albeit with different limitations and perhaps a different sound than you would like.

If this is for amplification, then Norse may be largely right. You can't have it both ways. You (or he) may be out of luck then.

[locutus]

How about you get yourself a fishpole and a shotgun. I'm sure he wouldn't notice a boom mic operator chasing him around.

[bishopthomas]

He's being ridiculous. What does he not like about a lav mic? He either uses the podium and stops moving or he can wander and hand gesture all he wants while wearing a lav mic. Explain nicely that those are the two options (well, the third is not having a mic at all). I'm sure he just doesn't understand (like most people) that microphones are not magical devices.

[kbass20]

Ya we've had a few talks about the lav mics but I think he has seen the bathroom scene on The Naked Gun one too many times!

It will be mostly for recording but from time to time there will be times that we will use the system for special events or guest preachers (that are quite)

At one church that I know of they have a really really old RCA ribbon and some old solid state amp and without compression or anything of sort, it doesn't sound that bad. So I was looking at the cheaper ribbon mics and wondered if it would work and then I saw that you can mod them to make them alittle hotter.

also we have a low ceiling and I was thinking about boundary mics like the Shure MX395AL. If I understand the way a boundary mic works if it was to be mounted over the Podium the reflection of the sound coming off of the podium should pickup. Or I'm just a moron that is talking out my backside

For certain reasons I would like to stay away from a goose neck. don't ask.

Thanks Guys and Gals!

[bishopthomas]

You are correct about the way a PZM works. If you're worried about aesthetics a PZM is a good alternative. The only problem is you have to be careful not to place things on it. So no bibles, papers, etc. Also, if you have a fist pounder or nervous podium tapper that will give you problems too.

[iluvatar]

Hand him an SM-58 - it's cheap, and if he holds onto it, it'll always pick up his voice.

When he balks, hit him with a quote for a Microtech Gefell KEM-970 which has a very wide horizontal coverage area pattern and very narrow vertical coverage. He won't like that, because it's $12,000.

Then tell him that's why God made lav mics. If he says stuff that he doesn't want heard, edit it out in post.

Though I do like the idea of having a boom mic operator. That'd be pretty awesome.

-Dan.

[Don S]

Originally Posted by bishopthomas

You are correct about the way a PZM works. If you're worried about aesthetics a PZM is a good alternative. The only problem is you have to be careful not to place things on it. So no bibles, papers, etc. Also, if you have a fist pounder or nervous podium tapper that will give you problems too.

I've almost always gotten burned by this. It looks great in theory. But, if it's a shallow desk, they cover the mic completely!

[Jim vanBergen]

Well, a lectern mic (like a 58 on a gooseneck) should be ideal, as would be a regular podium mic. And a wired lav makes PERFECT sense.

Your pastor is 1) problematic, 2) unrealistic.

You can't break the laws of physics. Neither can he.

So...a PZM is ultimately a half-hemisphere, but if you WANTED to go boundary, you could look at the Crown PCC (Phase-coherent cardioid) or Shure SM91 (boundary cardioid) but these are severely limited in terms of what you can really do based on contact noise, ambient noise, having a clean, flat surface, etc.

Have the guy hold a wired mic in his hand, or learn to project. If you don't have a budget, option #2 makes the most sense.

I have also found that having congregants complain to the pastor specifically about their poor public speaking or lousy mic technique will light a fire under them to actually LISTEN to what you have to say.

Good luck-

[kbass20]

Let me throw out a idea out on the table real quick just to get your opinions

I was suggesting a Shure MX395AL because it was a flushmount pzm for like a table top mic. So what I was thinking was mount it in the ceiling over the podium. I would venture a guess to say that from the top of the podium to the ceiling is 5.5'. That would be a very large flat surface.

Now if that isn't a good idea the podium has deep sides on it so the only be mounted on top which would fail to have a flat surface.

as for carrying a mic..... yea.

I'm just going to install a old school mic on the podium and a strobe light in the back and when he starts to walk away I will turn the strobe light on untill he walks back.. Hey there might be somthing to that! I can turn it on when he starts to talk too long!

Noah

[chris319]

I was suggesting a Shure MX395AL because it was a flushmount pzm for like a table top mic. So what I was thinking was mount it in the ceiling over the podium. I would venture a guess to say that from the top of the podium to the ceiling is 5.5'. That would be a very large flat surface.

I don't think you'll be happy with the results. The further the mic from the talker, the more room you'll pick up. 5 1/2 feet is pretty far away and you're talking about reflected pickup, not direct pickup. Also, as he strays from the lectern your not going to have it as a source of reflected sound.

I'm just going to install a old school mic on the podium

Do that and get him to hear himself with the lav and himself with the podium mic and try to get him to hear how much better the lav sounds.

Here's a really crazy idea: get three Behringer XM8500s and set them up on floor stands, one at the lectern and one 2 - 3 feet off to each side. It might work or it might turn into a failed experiment. Be sure to follow the 3:1 rule.

Buy Behringer XM8500 Microphone 3-Pack | Live Microphone Packages | Musician's Friend

Glossary: 3:1 Rule of Microphone Placement | Sweetwater.com

[chris319]

Now for an even crazier idea. Hang a model railroad track from the ceiling with the rails facing up, and figure out a way to suspend a mic from a model railroad car. During the sermon, you sit at the controls and move the train from side to side as he wanders from the lectern. All you have to do is make this rig run silently.

Well, maybe not literally model railroad track but some kind of track and motor system from which the mic would hang.

Oh, you said $150!

[hbphotoav]

Originally Posted by kbass20

Let me throw out a idea out on the table real quick just to get your opinions

I was suggesting a Shure MX395AL because it was a flushmount pzm for like a table top mic. So what I was thinking was mount it in the ceiling over the podium. I would venture a guess to say that from the top of the podium to the ceiling is 5.5'. That would be a very large flat surface.
...
Now if that isn't a good idea the podium has deep sides on it so the only be mounted on top which would fail to have a flat surface.

Noah

What about a PZM attached vertically to the front edge of the lectern... so the hemisphere is directed at the pastor rather than the ceiling (if it's flush to the top of the lectern) or the floor (if it's mounted on the ceiling). IIRC, the Crown "SoundGrabber" (Review: Crown Sound Grabber II PZM Condenser Microphone) is a PZM element on a plastic plate about 4" square. Shouldn't cause sightline issues, and gives the guy plenty of room to move. Couple of small holes (or gaff tape for a test)... mount it sideways, run the 1/4" connector to an impedance matching transformer (Shure Inc Line Matching Transformer Low Impedance Male XLR to High Impedance MC1M Impedance Matching Transformer at Markertek.com), and you're at about $120.

Or... get him over his fear of lavalieres.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by kbass20

Hey everyone!

Got a small question for you all! The pastor at my church doesn't like to use the lapel mic and will NOT wear a headset! I've been looking around at all the podium mics but what the issue is that he and other guests like to move about, alot! So on average he moves atleast 5 feet to each side of the podium. We are a small church so I have to crunch the dollar to get a decent setup, so noting over $150. Please help! and Thank you!

Noah

Ask the pastor what his job is.

The answer is to preach the word of God.

If wearing a radiomic and tie mic. means that it enables him to preach the word effectively - who is he to refuse to use the equipment that enables him to do his job as God would wish.

[Remoteness]

Well said!

Originally Posted by John Willett

Ask the pastor what his job is.

The answer is to preach the word of God.

If wearing a radiomic and tie mic. means that it enables him to preach the word effectively - who is he to refuse to use the equipment that enables him to do his job as God would wish.

[Bflat]

Considering the situation:

1) Guy is running all over the place
2) Won't do lav
3) Needs to be inexpensive


Why not try a Nady handheld? They're not high end mics one bit, but they reject feedback better than a SM58 (speaker system close to the podium, or is the church very live sounding?) plus it will cost less than $50.

I work for a school where announcements are done in an exrtemely live gym, and the Nady ended up being chosen over a few much more expensive mics.

[chris319]

I work for a school where announcements are done in an exrtemely live gym, and the Nady ended up being chosen over a few much more expensive mics.

A mic so bad, it's good!

If Reverend dislikes his lav so much, why do you think he would warm up to a handheld?

[Bflat]

Originally Posted by chris319

A mic so bad, it's good!

If Reverend dislikes his lav so much, why do you think he would warm up to a handheld?

Maybe he just wants more control over the mic? A handheld would let him decide when he wants to be heard.