When I was a kid, I was fascinated by politics. Especially the all-encompassing presidential elections that seemed to dominate the TV of the day. When I think back to president Jimmy Carter’s inaugural address, I remember he spoke at a podium into two microphones. I really wasn’t a Carter fan, but that really doesn’t matter for this article. What does matter is that president Carter was speaking into two microphones. It seemed like a rather obvious move now. One mic goes down, and you still have another one on-line. However the big question in my mind was what manufacturer supplied those two microphones for the inauguration? I didn’t get the answer to that question until much later in my life. In the meantime, Ronald Reagan was elected president and was inaugurated. At his big speech he used three microphones. I figured this guy had to be more cautious than Carter, or he just wanted to make certain that every word he spoke was heard.
That said, this is obviously an article about podium (also known as pulpit) microphones. We’re not focusing on presidential mics, but pulpit mics used in the house of worship. By the way, every president since 1965 has used a Shure SM57 for their inauguration speeches — in fact, Shure even offers the SM57VIP, a special kit with two mics and a dual mic holder for just those occasions. So, you may ask yourself, if the 57 is good enough for all those presidents, shouldn’t it be good enough for my pastor? Well, if the answer were yes, that would be the end of this article and we would all be using SM57’s at our podiums. However, the answer is more complicated than a simple yes or no. There are hundreds of microphones that work beautifully for podium applications. Many of these mics are designed specifically for podium use and have no other practical use. The biggest challenge in the pulpit mic arena is matching the microphone to the speaker or preacher. In actuality, you probably already have a microphone you use for your podium. Nonetheless, if you’re planning on a mic purchase, I may be able to give you some ideas.
Most pastors who do the majority of their preaching from the pulpit will do well with a gooseneck or boom condenser microphone. These are also condenser mics that are built into a gooseneck or boom. We know that condenser microphones are more sensitive than dynamic mics. This is a very good thing if the user has good mic technique and experience. The only potential problem is that very often a lay person who has little microphone experience will be reading the bulletin or making announcements using the same podium mic. For the less-experienced microphone user, a dynamic mic is usually a better choose. A dynamic mic is generally more forgiving than its condenser counterpart. Maybe that’s why all those Presidents used SM57s. Anyway, back to the condenser pulpit mic. When properly used, this is a much better tool for amplifying the spoken voice. In addition, gooseneck mics are more unobtrusive and can be placed closer to the speaker’s mouth without taking attention away from the speaker. In fact, many thin black gooseneck mics are almost invisible.
A Little Mic Technique
Let’s look at some simple rules for using a condenser podium mic. First, remember that your condenser mic needs phantom power to operate. Okay, now make a fist and stick out your thumb. Bring your thumb up to your mouth. The opposite side of your hand represents the distance between your mouth and the microphone. If your pastor uses this distance as a constant, it will be easier to EQ the microphone and get a consistent tone and volume level. Of course every sermon has its more emotional and louder vocal moments. That said, all your pastor has to do is keep a consistent distance from the mic and the entire delivery comes across more sonically accurate and tonally realistic. In other words, the preacher’s delivery just sounds better.
Next, I like to mount my gooseneck mics to the podium using a shock mount. Isolating the mic a bit from the wood or Plexiglas or whatever your podium is made of will reduce chances of vibration being introduced into your mix. This is a good bit of advice whether you use a condenser mic or a dynamic one. In addition, many mounts have a female XLR connector built into them. This will take some extra work to drill out your podium and install the mount, but it is a very handy feature to be able to plug your gooseneck directly into the mount. This also reduces vibration.
I don’t want to leave out dynamic microphones when it comes to the pulpit. These mics can work very well for a podium. As I noted earlier, they are less sensitive, but in many cases the only mic at your disposal may be a dynamic mic. So, your goal is to make that mic sound as awesome as possible. With this type of microphone, I want the distance between my preacher or anyone using the mic and the mic itself to be a little closer than with the condenser. That is my personal preference, but if you can just get your users to speak at a constant distance, you will have a much easier time getting a good sound out of your mix. Of course, with all microphones, the more time you spend mixing your pastor, the better you will be able to make him or her sound. EQ is going to be your friend when using a dynamic podium mic, and if you have one, a compressor can come in handy. (We will talk about compressors and your preacher at another time, however.)
I should also mention that there are dozens of wireless podium microphones available in condenser and dynamic versions. They certainly have uses in the audio world, but aren’t often used in pulpit applications unless other circumstances dictate it, such as removing the mic from the mount and using it as a handheld to offer an invocation in front of the altar area. In any case, should you decide to go wireless, the same rules will apply.
