$100 or less speech mic with more direction.

[wavestar]

Hello
I have a friend who does speeches for churches. He has a small PA. I was going to give him one of my SM57s, but he wants to be able to move his head side to side sometimes and still be heard. Being that the 57 is a cardioid, do you think an SM58 would be better even though it's still an cardioid? Or is there anything for $100 that would be a better speech mic then an SM58?
When you're looking at specs, what feature gives a person more area or room to move around and still get the same volume but without picking up background audience noise?

 

[rob aylestone]

You wont find the 58 any better. Why not do what the President does, have two 57s. It’s done the job of podium speech for a very long time and if there was something better, cost would hardly be a problem. Mimic the US Government and tell your friend it’s the best that can be done. Anything else is the speakers problem.

 

[wavestar]

Interesting, I didn't know that about the podium using two 57s. I could do two, I have two.
Those mics are the only thing good on the podium. Lets hope 2024 won't get stolen again.

 

[rob aylestone]

It’s a pretty established technique that allows the speaker to have a greater range of movement without significant tonal changes. it also gives 100% security. One mic of any price can’t be totally reliable, with connectors, cables and people involved.

 

[bouldersoundguy]

I think the two mics used by the president are redundant, one being active and the other being the backup. But what makes it work for someone who turns their head is not having it too close. At 16" or so, a head turn doesn't change the angle or distance enough to make much of an audible difference.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

but he wants to be able to move his head side to side sometimes and still be heard. B

Try a Beyer M58. Excellent for spoken word. Omni.

 

[wavestar]

@ Lazer
That Beyer M58 is $200 used. The OP was targeting the $100 range. My friend will not drop 200. I would, he won't.

@bouldersoundguy
In my experience with one, the SM57 looses a lot of power if you're not on top of it. Although it would help if this guys PA was more powerful. Maybe that would be a game changer. This is the PA he's running. Great sounding little portable unit though.
It seems like using two mic's would be risky in the sense that you could get some phase cancellation by having two at different distances from the source (the voice). One mic could find itself out of phase if the speaker was not dead center to both mics.

On a side note. The plastic knobs on the PA must have been made with a cheap plastic, the plastic is breaking down, they are so sticky when you touch them it feels just like you're touching the back of a piece of duck tap. This happened with my old Snark tuner. One day I went to use it after about 6 months and it was like touching sticky tape. I was sent a new one and now they use a better plastic.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

ebay

 

[ecc83]

Not wishing to be pedantic here but the requirement here is not 'PA'. A speaker in church is not Mick Jagger who is trying to launch his voice over a band at 110dB SPL behind him and a X1000 noisy fans in front. The chap needs "Sound Reinforcement".

A dynamic mic just below cake H and at about a foot away will pickup plenty of voice and all that is needed is enough gain in the PA amp. He will need less than 50W of amplifier power even in a bigish church because he is preaching to the (quiet) converted. (assuming reasonably sensitive speakers) I would also think the amp might feed a hearing aid loop?

Two mics? Good idea. There might be a problem feeding them to the amp if it only has one XLR input but a Y adapter will sort that. If mic security is an issue buy a pair of Behringer XM8500s. $50 the two and more than good enough.

Dave.

 

[rob aylestone]

The idea to double mic speakers at podiums (podii??) is pretty common - plenty of nice cardioid mini condensers too, but in fairness, with a small PA, in a modest church, turning a head is not going to really matter. A single cardioid does the job pretty well, and the drop off when you turn your head is minimal - in fact it just changes in tone more than it does volume. I'm happy using a single cardioid in a 1400 seat venue I just make sure the axis of the mix goes right down the middle, so it even works when they are to the saide of the stage. Gain before feedback is rarely a problem unless they want rock music style levels. It sounds like the speaker has decided one mic is not enough, when he will of course be the ONLY person who has NOT heard it from out front!

The M58 is a fine mic, but it's horrible used for anything amplified, and it is very long too - handy for interviews but not very good for the purpose here.

 

[bouldersoundguy]

@bouldersoundguy
In my experience with one, the SM57 looses a lot of power if you're not on top of it. Although it would help if this guys PA was more powerful. Maybe that would be a game changer. This is the PA he's running. Great sounding little portable unit though.
It seems like using two mic's would be risky in the sense that you could get some phase cancellation by having two at different distances from the source (the voice). One mic could find itself out of phase if the speaker was not dead center to both mics.

I'm pretty sure the presidents' dual mics aren't on at the same time. There are two in case one fails. Besides, they're close enough together that phase shouldn't be a problem.

As far as distance, it works for these guys.

 

[ecc83]

I tend to go with Rob, in most cases there will be no benefit from two mics except for redundancy. I certainly never did that for SR work, AGMs and so forth but, if the guy is prone to moving 90drs off a centre axis mic, a wider spacing than on those pics could be useful.

"Phase" IMO is a red fish. The voice will be summed to mono and one assumes the two mics will be at the same polarity! As the chap moves across to one mic the level in the other will drop dramatically (Inv' sq law and all that swaddlin') so IF there were any phase anomalies they would hardly be audible?

Sax players must present a similar problem? Any experienced thoughts?

Dave.

 

[jamesperrett]

Sax players must present a similar problem? Any experienced thoughts?

It depends on the player. Some players like to be able to play the mic - moving away when they want a thinner tone and closer when they want a warmer tone. Other players want a more constant sound with the freedom to move so a clip-on mic usually works better here.

 

[ecc83]

It depends on the player. Some players like to be able to play the mic - moving away when they want a thinner tone and closer when they want a warmer tone. Other players want a more constant sound with the freedom to move so a clip-on mic usually works better here.

There you go then OP! Give the guy a tie-tack and a transmitter!

Dave.

 

[wavestar]

My friend is doing a celebration of life which will be outside. As for the original topic: I'm looking for consistency in volume and tone. The speaker mentioned a shirt clip. Seems like the SM57 was used a lot for speeches to my surprise. But the president is not usually turning his head too much. I think the speaker is over thinking it, I don't think he'll need to move his head that much. We will test it out next week with me standing at the far end. I think the key or trick to really helping the volume is to make sure the speakers are high enough so the sound does not get absorbed by the audience body's.
I think it sounds fine. I just wanted to maybe find a mic for the speaker to keep as we're using my mics.

 

[ecc83]

"I just wanted to maybe find a mic for the speaker to keep as we're using my mics."

Ooo! Right! get him the Behringer 8500 then. It works well, is slightly more sensitive than a '58 and looks and feels much more expensive than it is. DON'T forget to get him an XLR mic cable as well or he will be forever nicking yours!

Dave.

 

[rob aylestone]

Don't watch this video unless you're really interested in saxophones and recording them - it goes into some detail and will bore the pants off you.

 

[Papanate]

Just get him a Lavalier mic - or you could get a Shure MX118 Condenser and let him move his head around - picks up fairly consistently around an area.

 

[R D Smith]

Don't watch this video unless you're really interested in saxophones and recording them - it goes into some detail and will bore the pants off you.

Good to know, I'll watch it the next time I have insomnia.

 

[rob aylestone]

The most useful recording tip that I mention at the start, but demonstrate at the end is what the sound is like that comes out of the end! Horrible - and the place all of us sometimes stick the mic.