Long ago and far away, and hard though it may be to believe, there were no microphones. There were no P.A. systems, no wires and no amplifiers. There were loudspeakers, but not the kind we have today. When I say “loudspeakers” here, saying “loud speakers” (with a space between “loud” and “speakers”) is the accurate, correct form. That’s right — we had to rely on the aural projection of the person speaking from the pulpit.
Before electronics were developed to ensure that the church leader could be clearly heard, we relied on room acoustics to accomplish this goal. And the room acoustics were pretty impressive — the shape of old cathedrals successfully helped to ensure that the voices from the pulpit were heard throughout the space. Intelligibility wasn’t great, as virtually every sound in the space was accompanied by a substantial amount of reverberation, but it did the trick pretty well. Once we figured out how to capture voices with microphones, amplify them, and present them to our congregation via electronic loudspeakers, we were able to overcome most of the reverberation, increase intelligibility, and get those voices from the pulpit more clearly into the ears of the congregation.
Early on, a microphone was mounted in the pulpit, frequently on a gooseneck. This works nicely if the person at the pulpit is calm, still, and speaks directly into the pickup pattern of the mic. Unfortunately, not all clergy exhibit these characteristics. And some might start their message with very little motion, but as the Spirit moves them, they may stray away from where they began, walking around the platform well away from the effective range of the mic. We attempted to solve this challenge by issuing our pastors handheld microphones so they could pluck the mic from its clip and stroll around, holding the mic in relative proximity to their mouths. I say “relative” because the same impulse that causes the pastor to step away from a mounted microphone may also cause them to forget that a handheld microphone must still be kept in proximity to their mouth. And lest it appear that I’m casting aspersions on pastors who move around and get passionate in the delivery of their message, I will make it clear that this is a good thing. But it comes with the misfortunate side effect of inconsistency by way of mic positioning.
Enter the Headset Mic
If we can’t rely on the pastor to keep that mic in a consistent position and distance from the mouth, we must find another way, and the trick we sorted out came in the form of lavalier and headset microphones. They both accomplish the goal of keeping the mic with the pastor no matter where they may roam, and they also keep the mic at a pretty consistent distance from the pastor’s mouth. Lavaliers are not quite as common or popular, because they are not quite as effective as headset mics by way of keeping the microphone capsule in a perfectly consistent location in relation to the speaker’s mouth. And indeed, if a headset is used properly, it virtually guarantees that the capsule will remain in a consistent location related to the pastor’s mouth. That fact contributes greatly to delivering his/her voice clearly to the congregation.
When the idea of headset microphones was first proposed, one of the concerns expressed by pastors was based on the notion of comfort. And indeed, it was a legitimate concern, because the earliest headset microphones were not necessarily comfortable. They were heavy by today’s standards, and they were not necessarily inconspicuous. In fact, they tended to be so conspicuous as to be distracting. But as is the case with most technology, improvements have been made, and now, virtually all headsets are lightweight, reed-slender, and barely visible beyond about the 5th row of pews. They come in a variety of colors so as to blend in with the skin tone of the speaker, and they feature mic capsules that are microscopic compared to their chunky ancestors. Nevertheless, pastors still think about the ramifications of wrapping this apparatus around their heads for most of an hour at a time. It must be comfortable and as unobtrusive as possible, and its structure must successfully keep our capsule in consistent proximity to the mouth. There are single and dual-ear designs. The dual-ear type almost certainly keeps the capsule in the right spot better than its single-ear colleague, but for some users, may not be quite as comfortable. Open communication with the person(s) who will wear the mic is important here. If it’s possible to do so, it would be nice to let the speaker(s) take each kind for a test drive so they can assess its fit and comfort, and so we engineers can assess its effectiveness at keeping the capsule where we want it.
Conventional wisdom dictates that we can get a lot more gain before feedback with a cardioid mic than an omnidirectional one, and while feedback is never a good thing, it seems to be particularly egregious in the middle of a gently-spoken part of the pastor’s message. We should always do our best to avoid feedback, so we should always choose a cardioid headset mic, right? Not necessarily. As our recording brethren and sistren know, sometimes the speech (or singing vocals) sound better when we use an omni mic. If the configuration and acoustics of your space allow for it, an omni headset mic can be a very nice choice. Not only can it offer a more pleasant transduction of our speaker’s voice, but it is also a bit more forgiving than a cardioid in terms of placement — if it moves around a little, we won’t notice as much. Nevertheless, it’s important the mic we choose has the capacity to be properly positioned. I have had experience with enough different headset mics to know that they’re not all created equally in this regard. Typically, we’ll want to get the capsule just off the corner of the mouth, and we’ll definitely want to avoid having the slender mic boom rubbing and chafing against the cheek of the wearer. Your mileage may vary in this regard, so be sure to actually check to make sure your mic meets this important requirement.
Headset Sharing and Adjustments
One other big consideration: unless you have an endless budget, it’s likely you’ll purchase one or two headsets, and they’ll be shared by potentially dozens of different people. The ability for the mic to be adjusted a bit to accommodate each of these individuals is important. Some mics are designed to be highly configurable this way — others not so much. And this goes beyond just the business end of the mic (the capsule) — the ear surround and other support structure must be compatible with (and adjustable for) multiple folks, unless you literally have the capacity to purchase each person their own microphone.
I have found modularity to be another very important factor in choosing a headset mic. I have used systems in which the entire mic (support structure, capsule, cable, and connector) are permanently integrated — a system with zero modularity. What happens if one part fails? You have to replace the entire thing. Some manufacturers offer solutions in which certain components are modular — they can be replaced. In particular, it’s important that the cable can be swapped out, because it’s one part that tends to be subjected to rougher treatment than the others. On the same note, you may wish to use a microphone from one manufacturer with the beltpack transmitter from another manufacturer. There are several connector topologies out there, and you’ll need to be able to get your signal from mic to transmitter. Modular cables are very helpful in this regard.
Another major factor is budget. In a perfect world, we have an endless budget and the capacity to purchase the highest quality gear available without a moment’s concern. Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect world, and we do have limitations, so we’re forced to steward our resources carefully. Luckily, we’re blessed with options that give us good results without breaking the bank. Careful consideration and a bit of test-driving will help us find those options. In fact, the best advice I can offer is to first do some research — narrow the options to the mics that fit your budget — then test two or three of the options to determine which is the best choice for you.
John McJunkin is the chief engineer and staff producer in the studio at Grand Canyon University
