[Callers] Caller's mic

A year or two ago at Pinewoods, my buddy Rick Barrows was doing sound and the question of which mic to use came up in a callers' class led by Scott Higgs. Rick suggested that they try out a bunch of different mics to see how they sounded. I wrote him and his report follows. Note: this covers not just wireless but wired mics as well David Millstone ------- What we learned is that, in general, the basic Shure SM-58 sounded best for *most* callers. We weren't sure if it was what we were familiar with, or what. The hard wired EV 757 (?)(current model 767) at Pinewoods were second, followed by our wireless (15 year old Samson with EV 757 head) and then the Shure Beta 58, with Scott's cheap wireless from Audio Technica coming in dead last. In general,other well-regarded vocal mic's include Sennheiser (835 and up), Audix (OM series - some are flat EQ, some have a presence peak), Shure Beta 57 for male vocals For those who care, some of these mics (Shure Beta, Audix OM, Senn 845/855, and EV) are "hyper" or "super" cardiod - which means a tighter pattern, less susceptible to feedback and you put your monitor, if you have one, at a 45 degree angle to the butt-end of the mic. The Shure SM-58, Senn 835 are cardioid mics - bigger pattern, and the monitor, if you have one, should point directly at the butt-end of the mic. Some of these mics (Shure, and some Audix, perhaps EV) had a "presence peak" in the EQ, which boosts the signal at a particular range of frequencies - usually above 2K in the voice range. Others have a "flat" frequency response. The peak is supposed to provide vocal clarity. You decide. And remember, talk into the *top* of the mic - point it directly at you, not "hold upright and talk into the side..." Happy to answer any other questions. adios, Rick <rbarrows(a)cs.dartmouth.edu>