Members pdiddy Posted September 18, 2014 Members Share Posted September 18, 2014 Seems no matter the instructions given to a guest speaker the mic always ends up buried in the bosom of the maid of honor or broadcasting pancreatic secretions of the best man. Think of getting a cheap condenser for the task. Anyone else experience this situation before? Is there a tactful way to let the speaker know the PA is already on STUN and all they gotta do is put the mic in front of the hole where sound comes out of their body? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members trevcda Posted September 18, 2014 Members Share Posted September 18, 2014 The problem is that unless you are invited to the rehearsal (paid or otherwise), where the people using the mic will all be in attendance, you never get the opportunity to give them speaking lessons. Usually I end up making a gesture that means "hold the mic closer to your mouth", but usually ends up looking like a request for something more perverted. Sometimes a printed sign that can be pointed to will help. Most of the time, you just have to ride the fader and be ready for anything. The worst is the brides maid with the squawky voice that you can't turn down enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted September 18, 2014 Members Share Posted September 18, 2014 I have had that problem time and again over the years. One day at a conference, I decided to try an AKG C1000 clone. This mic had a little less top end than the C1000 but otherwise it sounded and looked the same. I had the mic mounted on a heavy K&M tripot and placed it wherever it needed to go. I didn't have the mic in the monitors (or very low) and was able to get a fair bit of gain out of it. I must have had twenty or thirty speakers use this mic and it worked well for all. The fact that they could move to one side, stand back from the mic, look down at their notes or even share the mic with another person made my life much easier - but of course YMMV. I haven't used that exact method since but I have used an AT2020 side address mic for speeches and it worked in a similar fashion. If you try this method, then a HPF, low end cuts and even panning to gain a few dB, could be part of the equation. The AT2020's are pretty cheap. If it doesn't work, you've always got a good Bluegrass Band mic https://www.long-mcquade.com/485/Pro_Audio_Recording/Microphones/Audio-Technica/AT2020_Condenser_Microphone.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted September 19, 2014 Members Share Posted September 19, 2014 There are only two ways to hold a mic at a wedding reception: 1). Hold it down below your waist as if you're not holding anything at all. 2). Put it right up against your mouth, but cup your hand over the top of it. . Regarding the 2nd way, I auditioned a singer awhile back who said the guys in the band she used to sing with taught her to hold a mic that way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nchangin Posted September 19, 2014 Members Share Posted September 19, 2014 How the heck else are you going to achieve that classic wedding sound Guido? chuckle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telecruiser Posted September 19, 2014 Members Share Posted September 19, 2014 Adjust the volume as if they are holding the mic to their mouths. When they don't and the crowd can't hear them the crowd will let them know. This happened two weeks ago at a wedding my wife and I attended. The crowd said, "we can't hear you" and the speaker put the mic closer to their mouths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Audiopile Posted September 19, 2014 Members Share Posted September 19, 2014 I'll suggest a decent wireless handheld mic set-up, because: In my experience... average "guest speaker" folks generally seem to be much more "at ease"/ less self attenuating with a handheld wireless as opposed to a wired mic... especially if the wireless mic is getting "passed from speaker to speaker" (not mounted on a mic stand). I don't know why the seeming phenomenon... maybe they feel more confident/ in control with the mic in their hand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pdiddy Posted September 23, 2014 Author Members Share Posted September 23, 2014 Adjust the volume as if they are holding the mic to their mouths. When they don't and the crowd can't hear them the crowd will let them know. This happened two weeks ago at a wedding my wife and I attended. The crowd said, "we can't hear you" and the speaker put the mic closer to their mouths. That's probably the best advise. Surely, half the audience will assume the PA is at fault and be looking at the band to "do something". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Audiopile Posted September 24, 2014 Members Share Posted September 24, 2014 That's probably the best advise. Surely, half the audience will assume the PA is at fault and be looking at the band to "do something". Ah yes... I've seen it over and over: Somebody from the audience shouts out: "I can't hear you." Where-upon the speaker leans forward to the microphone and sez: "Is that better?" "Yea" (from the crowd)." "Ok, as I was saying: blah, blah, blah" (from the speaker), and with each "blah", the speaker leans progressively further back from the mic... at about 4 "blahs", they're right back where they were when the audience member said "I can't hear you." And if this is the case, don't do the ultimate screw-up as a soundman and increase the mic gain to the point of letting loose anything that could be perceived as feedback... as then: 1) The speaker will completely clam-up and back-off, and: 2) The whole audience "knows" it's entirely the sound person's fault. I've found with a handheld wireless mic handed to the speaker, the speaker is much more likely to get into it: Speak up, not mumble, and close mic themselves. "Generally much more confidence" and projection with the wireless handheld mic... maybe it's because they perceive there's no mic stand to hid behind (the mic stand wall is nonexistent)... and they come to grips with the fact that the audience is looking and listening to the speaker, not a mic stand... I dunno... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wesg Posted September 24, 2014 Members Share Posted September 24, 2014 The human interaction part of the wireless mic cannot be overestimated. People will simply naturally hold the mic either near their lips or their crotch, it's simply not comfortable to hold the mic six feet from your head. Besides hiding behind the stand, it never ceases to amaze me how few people will not adjust a mic stand when taking turns at the stand for speeches. I have, without exaggeration, had people stand with a microphone pointed directly at their breast bones or foreheads. And then they mumble. Grr! Wes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Audiopile Posted September 25, 2014 Members Share Posted September 25, 2014 The human interaction part of the wireless mic cannot be overestimated. People will simply naturally hold the mic either near their lips or their crotch, it's simply not comfortable to hold the mic six feet from your head. Well there you go. I didn't think of that... duh... "of course". Holding a microphone means "holding a microphone"... and the easiest places to hold said microphone is likely either in-front of your lips or by your side... it's unnatural to hold a microphone where teevee reporters hold it... at about chest height. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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