Mic'ing for plays and musicals?

[Matthew P. Morris]

Does anyone have experience Mic'ing people for stage. I am running 8 Shure slx's with straight circle lav's and flat side lav's And was wondering how the mic'ing is typically done for the best sound.

[Jimbob Jones]

Hi, I've had a fair bit of experience with this. If you can get a hold of headset mics instead, they're a million times better, but you can still get great results with lavs!

Could you post the actual model numbers of the mics? That would be very helpful.

As far as general pointers go, I usually clip the mic directly to the persons collar if they're wearing a T-shirt, high up on their lapel if they're wearing a jacket, or between the first and second buttons if they're wearing a shirt. I've seen them clipped to people's shirt collars, but IME they end up knocking it with their chin.

As for positioning, it depends on the mic. If the lav has an 'omni' pickup pattern, it really doesn't matter about the orientation! I usually point them downward, because it reduces the chances of getting breath noise down the mic. If the lav is cardioid, then you need to have the 'front' of the mic pointing straight up, towards the performers head.

The other thing to bear in mind about positioning, is that you might be able to learn a thing or two from the performers! If they do a lot of stage work, then they'll have been mic'd up before, and may well be able to share useful info.

You will find that feedback is your enemy here.

If you have access to a 32-band graphic EQ, it's very worth 'ringing out' the mics. Set them up in a group (or Bus) and use the 'group insert' to run all the mics through a single graphic. Leave them on the front of the stage (they don't need to be attatched to people, just put 'em on the stage) and gradually increase the level until you get feedback, then simply notch the frequency that's feeding.

Trial and error is fine if you don't find the offending frequency straight away. If you cut a fader and it doesn't solve the problem, remember to slide it back up to the middle! You want to do as little as possible with the EQ, just using it to remove the most 'ringy' frequencies.

[Matthew P. Morris]

thanks man thats a lot and i will read it over a few times, but thank you from the bottom .. i am using 4 shure wl93

Shure Americas | WL93 Series Subminiature Condenser Lavalier Microphones | All-purpose, Lavalier, Paging, Production

and i am using 4 wl50
Shure Americas | WL50 Wireless Lavalier Microphone | All-purpose, Lavalier, Paging, Production

when i got hired i recommended headsets, so they bought 4 wh30's

Shure Americas | WH30 Condenser Headset Microphones | All-purpose, Lavalier, Paging, Production


a year later and no director wants these in there production, i am currently selling all 4 to get more mics..

here is my issue and my question . the show runs this thursday through sunday. first show went okay.

i am taping both lav's to the side of there faces with small strips of surgical tape for the production and i am constantly having to adjust trims from the backs of the slx units. ( which is very very hard to get to worse than the tightest engine you have ever worked with.)

the flat ones are clipping at the unit not the console.. its just seems like to much signal getting to the mic. especially when they get loud in the scene.. so i really need suggestions on that.
my fixes are to keep pulling the mic back by 2 fingers, then 3 fingers. ... would aiming it down help? this is an issue with the flat wl93 really, then straight ones dont seem to have and issue once i put a wind screen on them ...



and one i can feed a wl50 the striaght one in there hair line and it sounds great

never working a theater before i don't know exact way to do things. thanks

[Jimbob Jones]

Good plan with the positioning; can't fault you there; the one coming down the forehead is great! much better than the 'traditional' positions I mentioned earlier.

Clipping:

Is the gain on the beltpacks as low as it will go? The other option of course is simply to set the gain for the WL93 recievers stupidly low, then compensate at the desk end.

Are you having much issue with feedback? If not, then it may be worth trying the WL93 in a lower position, like the ones I mentioned in my previous post.

Hope that helps!

[fokof]

Lav's are a PITA to setup , they are omnidirectional.
Terribly prone to feedback.
You absolutly have to have a full parametric EQ , 4 bands minimum.
A graphic won't be enough for the job because you want to cut the frequencies very precisely and very narrow.(with the 'Q')

It also depends on where the PA is from the stage and how loud you have to push the Lav. If it's "theater" type of level , you can be OK but if there is music or a band involved , it can turn into a nightmare.

+1 for the headset if you can.
DPA makes some very good and small ones.

DPA Microphones :: Products

[Matthew P. Morris]

Thanks. I have a yahmaha ls9 with a 4 band. Or high and low shelf with a low mid and a high mid. I ring them out. The two mics are different. I have not had a feed back issue yet. The speakers are hung above the stage. Left center right
I have to use somethig that fits a SLX wireless

[TimmyP]

Just above the hairline.

Taped to the cheek (has to be a really tiny lav).

Taped to stiff wire and turned into a headset.

We (theater) use omni E6 and omni MM Audio - The Next Generation of Pro Audio Equipment (order with the extra stiff ear hoop!).

[Jimbob Jones]

Just a quick note on headsets; you want the mic to come down the jawline and end just before the chin. You do NOT want it coming down the cheek pointing directly at the corner of the mouth.

[Never_grew_up]

+1 on the DPA's, or the Countryman E6:
E6 Directional Earset - Countryman Associates, Inc.
I've also made over-the-ear rigs for the WL93's using coathanger wire & white floral tape, then paint with pantone markers to match skin tone. I've used the WL93's a fair amount because they're pretty inexpensive, but they're also not as consistent sounding from unit-to-unit because they're not a high-end mic. They're basically designed for spoken word applications where intelligibility rather than fidelity is the goal. Put the WL50's on your leads & use the WL93's for supporting characters.
Make sure the gain on the bodypack transmitters are all at the "0" setting, use good batteries (like Duracell Procell) and put fresh batteries in for every performance.
Also, start using the mics and sound system at rehearsals as soon as you possibly can. If you wait till 2 weeks before opening night to start micing, the actors will have rehearsed their lines with all the screams & whispers for 6 - 8 weeks and you'll never get them to adjust for mic sensitivity, or to get them to speak & sing at anywhere close to the same volume level.

[Matthew P. Morris]

Your awesome ! Show 5 was the best so far last night. The 8 mics are being taken on and off each person for the total of 20scenes. I've tried to keep the leads the same pack number . So far zero feedback issues! I have trims on all 8 slx units and the levels on the packs tailored to each person. Why "zero instead of mic? Thanks guys so much

[Never_grew_up]

"0" instead of mic because you don't typically have much control over the actor's volume (the swing from scream to whisper may be dramatic but with untrained actors it plays hell with levels). Once it distorts upstream in the signal chain you can't un-distort it later. Also, since the LS9 has per-channel compression you can dial in a little of that to take some of the spikes out.
By the way, what show are you doing?

[Matthew P. Morris]

Thanks. I have had most of the kids of 0 but have been tailoring it to the kids who dont project. It's called "broadway Jane" it was in my local theater for 5 shows. Now it's Off broadway for a week an will be entered in the Fringe fest next year