-
- Thread: Drama Mics for a Gymnasium
-
- From: Randy Starkey (Pevely, MO)
- Subject: Re: gymnasium mikes
-
- Hi,
-
- We have a local school in our area that has a very reverberant
gym that is used
- for Thespian dramas. They use some lapel mikes, but have
asked me what I thought
- would be a good mike for "choir" type pickup
- i.e. picking up the actors' voices
- as they move and sing on stage.
-
- Does anyone have any suggestions I could give them? There
is of course the Shure
- SM-81 that would probably help them out, but is there
something better? They have
- a limited budget of course. They've been hanging down
some old who-knows-what from
- the ceiling, that has basically been picking up next
to nothing. I also have an
- AKG C1000S they could try, but I think the SM-81 is probably
better than that...
- Any ideas?
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Don Clayton (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
- Subject: Re: gymnasium mikes
-
- Randy,
-
- I have had very good success with Boundary or PZM microphones
from Crown. This
- assumes of course that the speakers are mounted between
the mic's and the
- audience / congregation. I have also used Shure SM 58
hanging from the ceiling
- for situations where the speakers are behind the stage.
-
- One note, on both of these is ensure they are the same
distance to the floor and
- set the EQ with a person speaking or singing. Don't make
my mistake and set the
- mic's the same. Have your actor walk around and speak
or sing to ensure correct
- settings.
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Randy Starkey (Pevely, MO)
- Subject: Re: gymnasium mikes
-
- Don,
-
- Thanks for the thoughts. I can probably get some PZM's
to borrow and try. I
- hadn't thought of that. Did you mount them on something,
like plexiglass, or
- just hang them? Thanks!
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Don Clayton (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
- Subject: Re: gymnasium mikes
-
- Randy,
-
- The Crown PZM's were just hung and I had twisted the
wire to ensure the
- direction of pickup was very specific.
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Barry Birdwell (Nashville, TN)
- Subject: Re: gymnasium mikes
-
- Randy,
-
- When using PZM type microphones you will need some type
of "boundary" surface
- to attach them to. You may at some time hear them called
"boundary mics"-this
- is why.
-
- When you place them on the floor then the floor becomes
the boundary. Placed on
- the ceiling (which may be used as an audience response
mic) the ceiling becomes
- the boundary. If you intend on suspending them then you
will need a suspendible
- boundary to attach them to. I have found in the past
that a two foot diameter
- piece of 1/4 plexiglass works sufficiently for most choral
and speech uses. Keep
- in mind that the larger the boundary, typically the lower
in frequency the mic is
- usable at (as it takes larger surface areas to reflect
longer, lower frequency
- wave lengths)
-
- As others have pointed out, this may not be the answer
for miking in highly
- reverberant space however it will produce an element
that will provide a larger
- pickup region. I would echo the response for providing
microphones as close to
- the talkers mouth as possible.
-
- Barry
- Birdwell Acoustics
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Randy Starkey (Pevely, MO)
- Subject: Re: gymnasium mikes
-
- Barry,
-
- I was thinking something was necessary, so thanks for
the details on the boundary.
- It may be the best interim solution for them until they
can afford a better
- wireless setup. Sounds like it may actually be cheaper
than choir mikes...
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Don Eger (Goshen, IN)
- Subject: Re: gymnasium mikes
-
- Hi Randy,
-
- If mics can be used for each performer then I would suggest
using Crown CM-310a
- Differoid mic. The mic is a difference mic and must be
used very close. A head
- worn model is also available, the CM-311.
-
- If individual miking is not appropriate than maybe some
one else has a suggestion.
-
- Don
- Eger & Associates
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Randy Starkey (Pevely, MO)
- Subject: Re: gymnasium mikes
-
- Don,
-
- They only have a few lapel mikes, and are looking for
something to pick up sound on
- the overall stage. It's a tough situation, to get any
good sound like that without
- feedback. Their system is pretty basic also...
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Ray A. Rayburn (Boulder, CO)
- Subject: Re: gymnasium mikes
-
- Randy -
-
- What you want is directional mics with as smooth an off
axis response as you can
- get. Most mics don't just die on the back side but have
frequency responses that
- look like the mountains ;>(. Look for mics which have
10 or more dB rejection
- at all frequencies on their back sides. Unfortunately
it is not fashionable
- these days to print both the front and back response
curves (probably because
- the back curve looks so bad!)
-
- The other thing they can do is make their sets as acoustically
dead as possible.
- This way less sound is reflected back into the front
of the microphones.
-
- As Don Eger indicated, the best solution is headworn
or close handheld microphones.
- The Crown differoids he mentioned have the highest gain
before feedback of any mic
- I know of, but MUST be used with the mic almost touching
the lips. My favorite
- headworn mic is the Countryman because it is so light
weight and tiny (sounds
- good too).
-
- Ray
- Peak Audio
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Blake A. Engel (Chicago, IL)
- Subject: Re: gymnasium mikes
-
- Randy,
-
- My thoughts are as follows:
-
- 1. It's hard to mic ANYTHING in a reverberant room with
sufficient volume to be
- worthwhile.
-
- 2. Microphones that are more than one or two feet away
from actors will pickup
- very little sound--better said, they will pick up more
room noise than actors
- sound, thus you will be amplifying the sounds in the
room, which will add up and
- become a feedback issue.
-
- I'd try to stick with the lapel mics and make sure they
are worn in the right
- place (close to the mouth, center--not off to the side).
-
- Maybe someone else can be more positive about your situation!
:-)
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Randy Starkey (Pevely, MO)
- Subject: Re: gymnasium mikes
-
- Blake,
-
- You're right, it's a tough situation. I think some improved
mikes from what they
- have will improve it though. It's reverberant, but intelligible
sound is still
- possible (although it's far from ideal...).
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Duane Greene (The Colony, TX)
- Subject: Re: gymnasium mikes
-
- Our church is encountering a similar problem/situation.
We have a drama group
- (5-6 people) that wanders across the stage and we don't
have enough lapel mikes
- to adequately cover them all. We have basically decided
to use a "shotgun" mike.
- We experimented with one and have decided to buy one
and put it through the rigors
- of a few rehearsals and performances. The cost is reasonable
(only about $250)
- and if we're successful with one, we'll consider purchasing
more in the future
- for our Easter musical which features up to 100 people
at once.
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Doug Benson (Gresham, OR)
- Subject: Re: gymnasium mikes
-
- Randy,
-
- Our church has been doing dramas for several years at
a frequency of about one
- a month. We tried many techniques to cut the cost. Nothing,
and I mean nothing,
- will be as valuable to you as a lapel mic on each person.
Even a poor quality
- lapel mic will give better results than many other compromise
solutions. We have
- also tried the following:
-
- 1. Mic mice - an old one from Broadway. Works better
on hard floors but wear quiet
- shoes.
-
- 2. Choir mics - better than mice. You can improve results
by having the director
- "block" the actors to the mics.
-
- 3. Shotguns - also OK. Shots can be improved by using
them handheld. (you also
- need stealthful operators)
-
- 4. Lapels - the obvious best choice. If money is a factor,
(and when isn't it?)
- don't write dramas for more than three characters.
-
- You can have better character development in less time
with less people. Our
- worst dramas were the ones with many, 4 - 7, characters.
-
- Side note: We used to have our lead actor hand-off his
mic to the pastor during
- a blackout. A church member witnessed their fumblings
and turned in a check for
- $750 with instructions to buy the pastor one of his own.
It was not our intention,
- be found out that if you make a need known to your church
body, someone will
- rise up to fill it. And don't ever give up on our greatest
technical resource.
- Prayer.
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Ray A. Rayburn (Boulder, CO)
- Subject: Re: gymnasium mikes
-
- Randy -
-
- <<"Thanks for the info! If you had to mike
a gym stage and couldn't use lapels,
- what would you choose? I doubt if I can even use mice
or shotguns. It'll have
- to be hanging something. SM-81's?">>
-
- While SM-81's would work fine they are large. I would
consider using some of
- the tiny choir mics sold today. Both EV and Countryman
use special wire in their
- choir mics to minimise the problems of mics twisting
with temperature changes.
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Robert Enlow (Norwalk, OH)
- Subject: Re: gymnasium mikes
-
- Randy,
-