Wide pattern cardioid dynamic speaker mic.

[Rimshot]

This is something that I know very little about. My colleagues at the college know that I have recently built a bit of a mic cabinet, so this got tossed into my lap.
I need a speaker's dynamic cardioid mic with a broad pattern. An omni won't do. We are currently using a SM 58 at the podium/lecturn and no matter how many times we instruct a speaker/lecturer to speak into the mic, they are addressing it from the side. Occassionally, we need to pick up more than one speaker at the podium/lecturn at a time. We tried an omni, but it picked up too much peripheral noise and chatter from the dais.

What other options do we have for mics. I would like a mic similar in apperrance to the SM 58 (academics are creatures of habit. They're used to the old mic.) It's going through a 300W
PA amp and Peavy speakers. A condenser is also not an option, as there is no phantom power and it will be abused somewhat. I'd like something rugged and that looks enough like an SM 58 that some of them won't know it's been changed. (They may be scholars, but they're not always too smart.)
I know drum mics and a few vocal mics. This is new territory for me. Any suggestions?

 

[DJL]

Humm, maybe try using two Shure mic's like they use on the presidents podium.

 

[Innovations]

Well one thing I have seen done is to have a pair of cardoids combined into a single channel, like two of these

http://www.shure.com/microphones/models/mxgooseneck.asp

The other solution is to skip the stand mounted microphone entirely and go with some sort of lavalier, wired or wireless.

 

[bleyrad]

it is possible that simply using a mounted SM57 in the place of your SM58 would do the trick.

although they're functionally nearly identical, the appearance of the SM57 could cause a psychological effect in the speaker to speak more directly into it. it doesn't have the round ball windscreen, so it actually "looks" like the mic picks up from only what's right in front of it.


your other option would be to keep that sm58, and hide a wide-cardioid condensor behind it, built into the podium itself. they'll think they're speaking into the 58, but it's really the condensor that's picking them up. this would probably work very well. it could even sound better than your current setup.

 

[Rimshot]

it is possible that simply using a mounted SM57 in the place of your SM58 would do the trick.

although they're functionally nearly identical, the appearance of the SM57 could cause a psychological effect in the speaker to speak more directly into it. it doesn't have the round ball windscreen, so it actually "looks" like the mic picks up from only what's right in front of it.


your other option would be to keep that sm58, and hide a wide-cardioid condensor behind it, built into the podium itself. they'll think they're speaking into the 58, but it's really the condensor that's picking them up. this would probably work very well. it could even sound better than your current setup.

Thanks, yeah I was actually thinking of using an SM 57 and rigging up a ball screen over
it leaving the screen of the 57 towards the back so that even
if they addressed it from the side, they would actually be speaking towards the diaphram.

I fear for a condenser at that podium. These are people that when they want to know if a mic is on they blow into it or hit it.
Wireless lapel mics would be a nightmare. These are "scholars"......they know everything, so they never listen to anyone else. We tried them once and the speaker broke it.
Did I mention that these are scholars?
I know that the two 57's would work, but I also know our tech crew and they would probably only hook up one of them if there was only one speaker.
I'm trying to find an "idiot proof" solution here.
Money is also a consideration. They won't okay an expediture for
an expensive mic like a SM7, and it would have to be rugged anyway. I wasn't sure if there even is such a thing as a wide pattern cardioid dynamic, I know there are condensers. I thought I'd put the question out there.

 

[DJL]

As long as there are idiots in the world there will never be "idiot proof" solutions... everytime the speaker moves away from the mic, have everyone in the back row yell "what".... and use que cards that say "speak into the mic"... and have the soundman tell the speaker over the monitors to "speak into the mic" everytime they turn away.... or turn the PA off and let the speaker try just yelling if they don't want to use the mic. The point is... someone needs to be incharge and start telling the others what needs to be done for this to work...

 

[Rimshot]

As long as there are idiots in the world there will never be "idiot proof" solutions... everytime the speaker moves away from the mic, have everyone in the back row yell "what".... and use que cards that say "speak into the mic"... and have the soundman tell the speaker over the monitors to "speak into the mic" everytime they turn away.... or turn the PA off and let the speaker try just yelling if they don't want to use the mic. The point is... someone needs to be incharge and start telling the others what needs to be done for this to work...

Yup! You are of course correct on this. But I'm still going to have to work something out for them because the project was dropped in my lap. I may actually go with two SM57's in a Y jack so that it will be more work for the tech crew to remove the electrical tape that I will put over the connections and unplug them than to just set them up on the podium. The tech crew are not sound people, they work for the catering service and do all of the odd jobs like set-up and lighting (don't ask ) so even though the equipment is ours, they operate it. And then there are the administrative bureaucrats that are always muddying up the water.....I'm screwed!
Oh well, we does whats we can.

 

[chessrock]

Get some lavaliers.

 

[Innovations]

Yes, the more he describes the more it seems like the thing to do would be to get an old-fashioned wired lavalier on a neckstrap.

It would be idiot proof, cheap, and the professors could move around as much as they would like.