The lab standard for flexible products is arguably the Swiss Army knife. It’s the one tool the inventive and resourceful TV secret agent MacGyver wouldn’t leave home without. In many churches, audio volunteers are often called to be MacGyvers, getting the most functionality out of every piece of gear that they own.
While somewhat unassuming, the microphone can be, and often is, a Swiss Army knife for house of worship sound techs. It just takes a need, or a little creativity, or both. Occasionally the application can get “outside the box” or in this case, inside the box as Ken Hom, volunteer audio lead at Hilltop Community Church in Richmond, Calif., relates, “We used an actual doorbell in our Christmas production since the timing of the rings had to be controlled by the performers. However, we record the production and the only way to pick up the sound of the doorbell was to mic it. We put the doorbell along with a lavalier mic in a foam-lined cardboard box and stashed it out of the way on the set. We fed the sound of the bell back through the monitors so the performers could hear it, as well as through the main PA system and to our record feed.”
We checked in with microphone manufacturers and sound techs to get some ideas on applications for microphones. We asked the manufacturers to recommend a mic from their line up and suggest possible alternate applications. Some examples you may have already thought of, and some might be new to you.
Brian Caringer, audio engineer at St. Matthew United Methodist Church in Belleville, Ill., offers this advice and shares his experience, “The most important thing in mic’ing is to listen. It doesn’t really matter what you use, just that the end result is pleasing. That being said, there are a lot of applications that don’t sound good. For the most part what others have used and found to work is generally what ends up working well. There are, however, several cases where an unconventional technique ends up working surprisingly well. One of the best that I have discovered is a Shure SM57 or 58 on bottom snare. Conventional, I realize, except for the placement. Instead of the conventional point-the- diaphragm-at-the-drum method, I put the mic at a 90-degree angle fairly close to the snares. When coupled with a top snare mic, the result is extraordinarily pleasing.”
Some specific examples …
The Astatic 1700VP from CAD is a low-profile boom microphone (56-inch) designed for mounting on a standard microphone stand. It will extend up and over the choir to place the microphone element equidistance from all choir members. The microphone features Remote Variable Pattern Control, which allows the adjustment of the size and shape of the microphone’s pick-up pattern. Additionally, the 1700VP can be connected to select DSP units and the polar pattern can be controlled within the software.
An alternate use is for speech on a nontraditional podium, particularly those who are addressing an audience in a wheelchair. The long boom allows for extension over any hardware the person may be using and is seamless, helping to provide a clear view of the presenter.
AKG’s WMS450 choir system offers a large, floor-mounted gooseneck microphone with a range of available microphone capsules that provides different pick-up patterns and tonal characteristics. But the unique benefit this system offers to churches, especially portable churches, is that it’s wireless. Available only in the United States, the WMS450 choir system could be ideal for churches with flexible stage designs, for youth productions, or even as a portable audience mic for recording purposes.
Steve Savanyu, Audio-Technica’s director of educational services, suggests the dualelement AE2500, which incorporates a condenser capsule and a dynamic capsule and was originally designed for use in kick drums. “I was doing a mic seminar, and we decided to use my mics for the evening contemporary worship service. It was a new facility and they were short a few mic stands and cables. We only had a single microphone stand with a boom and no more cables and still needed to mic the piano. I remembered the AE2500, which includes a cable, and decided to give it a try. I positioned the microphone horizontally in the piano at about middle C facing the tail (rear) of the piano. The connector end of the microphone was just in front of the hammers, and the mic was positioned evenly between the lid set on short stick and strings. I verified which side of the mic was the dynamic capsule and oriented it toward the low strings. The result was a big, full and open-sounding piano, which required minimal equalization.”
Cliff Castle with Audix Corp. recommends the MB5050 or MB5055 MicroBoom choir mic’ing system, intended for choirs, plays, and overhead use. The same mic element can be used on a gooseneck or pedestal stand for speech at a podium, or mic’ing any number of acoustic instruments including acoustic guitar and even piano.
Behringer’s C-4 Single Diaphragm Condenser mics come packaged as a matched stereo set that can be used for picking up a choir or acoustic piano. Other uses can include overheads for drums or the pickup of other acoustic instruments.
Chris Countryman, president of Countryman Associates, share this: “We definitely hear from lots of houses of worship who push the idea of versatility to the absolute limit.” He suggests, “The Countryman B2D directional lavalier—it’s extremely tiny and well-suited to tucking out of sight on a lapel, especially as more and more churches are live webcasting and pushing into HD. Because it is also water-resistant, you can turn around and use it as a hair mic in a stage production, and the tight directional pattern rejects sound from overhead speakers and other sources to provide a very clean signal.”
Bruce Borgerson, audio supervisor at First United Methodist Church in Ashland, Ore., and a frequent contributor to Church Production Magazine, relates his experience with another Countryman model. “Some small condenser on gooseneck mics have a response that is essentially the same as a hanging choir mic,” he says. “That was a great help to us in amplifying our contemporary/folk ensemble during the communion services when, for aesthetic and technical reasons, the group is off in a corner where we can’t get a mic on everybody. A hanging mic would do the trick, but in our historic sanctuary there’s no way to hang one without being costly and unsightly. The problem was solved by placing our spare Countryman Isomax 4RF Podium mic on a stand, about eight feet in front of the group. It has a hypercardioid pattern that captures everybody evenly with good gain before feedback, and with a bit of low-mid EQ boost it produces a surprisingly full sound."
One of the more unusual microphone designs comes from Da-Cappo, the Australian-based manufacturers imported in the U.S. by Hosa Technologies. The Stick from Da-Cappo is built onto a bendable stem that can fit into theatrical costumes, wigs, set pieces, etc. The durable stem or stick can be repeatedly reused and repurposed, as well, offering more secure placement and flexibility than traditional lavalier mics.
The 4098H Hanging Supercardioid Microphone from DPA is designed for hanging applications for both recording and sound reinforcement of choirs, instrumental or vocal groups, speech or live audiences. Low in profile, the integrated gooseneck provides the ability to aim the mics. Color options are black or white and 3.5- and 5-meter extension cables and an XLR adapter are available as well.
Rick Belt, product manager for Electro-Voice’s wired microphones division, had this to say about his company’s mic recommendation: “The RE320 can be used on practically any instrument in the band: electric guitar and bass amps, acoustic guitars, strings, brass and/or wind instruments, percussion, and drums. Adding to its versatility, [the] RE320 contains a ‘dual-personality’ switch, which essentially creates two mics in one. This switch selects between a frequency response curve optimized for the wide range of applications just listed, and an alternate position designed specifically for kick drum microphone.”
Bacheus Jabara from Galaxy Audio recommends the company’s HSD headset model, stating it has been popular for pastors who like a low-profile microphone near the mouth, rather than using a lavalier. Since the HSD rests on the face, rather than being clipped to a lapel, it provides pickup even when the head is turned. The same microphone can be used for readers during the service or for plays and pageants, or other events. The HSD works for adults or children, since the microphone boom is adjustable up to 5 inches.
Greg McVeigh, who handles artist relations for Heil Sound, suggests the PR 35 as an example of a multi-use microphone. “It is a large-diaphragm dynamic mic, no phantom power needed, and it can handle a lot of SPL. It is predominantly designed as a vocal mic. The internal workings, though, are straight out of the PR 30, which is commonly used on guitars and drums. The PR 35 can be used on anything on the stage.”
Yvonne Ho, vice president of sales and marketing for Point Source Audio, proffered the CO-7 ear-worn microphone, saying, “As far as unique applications, we had a customer wrap our bendable boom microphone around a flute as an instrument mic. The mic boom was completely straightened and wound around the instrument. We’re constantly surprised to hear how customers find new uses with our 360-degree bendable boom.”
The Provider Series features a product that is not strictly a microphone but increases the flexibility of clavalier microphones. The Head-Clip allows any lavalier microphone to be transformed into a head-worn microphone. And Edward Byce, sales for the Provider Series, says, “A unique use for the Head-Clip, in conjunction with a lavalier microphone, is to mic a flute.”
Kent Margraves, market development and education house of worship, Sennheiser Electronic Corp., recalls a time at Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., when an MKE2 lavalier mic—used weekly for normal speech presentation and dramatic work—was rolled in foam and dropped inside an upright bass through the F hole. “The upside is extreme gain-before-feedback and almost zero leakage. It’s a close-mic’d sound, and wonderful. The down side—a less natural, spacious sound [than] would be achieved by a stand-mounted mic’ing approach.”
Shure recommends its SM81 for choir mic’ing, as well as piano, organ, cymbals and acoustic guitar pick up. The SM81 features a cardioid pattern and a selectable low-frequency roll off. Dave Middleton, part of the audio staff at Bayside Church in Granite Bay, Calif., describes his use for another Shure model, “The typical use for the Beta 57A is instruments (snare, electric guitar). An alternative application: Vocals. This may be obvious to some or hearsay to others, but for live use I love this as a vocal mic. It doesn’t have the pricey LDC (Large Diaphragm Condenser) sound like a KSM9, but it’s very easy to work with, especially if you’re dealing with monitors.”
Paul Doty, CEO and founder of West Coast Sound and Light in Modesto, Calif., once mic’d a grand piano with two PZMs [pressure zone mics] gaffed back to back on the inside edge of the piano side. “I panned the mics at 10 and 2 o’clock. It also afforded huge gain before feedback,” he says. “And if you want, you can close the lid. Boundary mics reject the surface they are on, so zero mechanical noise from the piano walls, as well. The sound was just gorgeous.”
