Lapel mics

[whitehousejamie]

Hi folks, any suggestions please for decent lapel mics?

 

We already have the transmitters (Sennheiser) so just need the mic and cable element.

 

Ideally sub £100 each if possible.

 

They are to be used for general conference work.

 

Many thanks

Jamie

[sandall]

CPC do a wide selection in the £30-40 + VAT price range

[Stuart91]

What have you been using up until now, and what is it with them that's made you want to look elsewhere?

[GaryNattrass]

Have a look at these ultradisc mics they sound reasonable and are more omni that cardioid as stated http://www.ebay.co.u...=item35e817fe81

 

I use them as spares to my sennheiser me2 etc: https://youtu.be/OaSAgymq6Ww

[david.elsbury]

I would not recommend ommni for most stage use.....

[Shez]

I'm not sure that I've ever used a lav mic that wasn't omni on stage before...

[GR1]

Depends what you call stage use. For Musical Theatre I use omnis but for Music and Corporate Events cardioid can be more useful. It really depends on the circumstances of the presentation.

[RichM]

I try and avoid omni lav mics for corporate. Presenters have a habit of wandering around close to speakers and you can easily end up fighting feedback. Or you'll have to cut so much out on a graphic that they'll sound awful.

 

My favourite lav mics are the Shure WL185's, they're not the smallest available but you can get a lot of level out of them far easier than others.

[sandall]

I will only use lavs as a last resort for conference work, as mouth-to-mic is just too far, unless your venues have good acoustics (most of mine don't!). First choice is always headsets - it used to be a difficult sell, but there is less resistance these days, now that they are all over our screens every night.

[RichM]

Also, avoid the cheap plastic Sennheiser lav clips. They're awful. The Shure ones are much better (http://www.shure.eu/products/accessories/rpm150tc)

 

I will only use lavs as a last resort for conference work, as mouth-to-mic is just too far, unless your venues have good acoustics (most of mine don't!). First choice is always headsets - it used to be a difficult sell, but there is less resistance these days, now that they are all over our screens every night.

 

Depends on the headset - I'd take a higher quality lav over a cheap headset. DPA stuff is fantastic but a while back I had to use some godawful Proel things that were good for nothing but the bin.

[sandall]

DPA stuff is fantastic

so it should be - they only sell the top few % of what come off the production line - but a bit over-budget for those of us who have to buy their own :(.

 

I bought a load of CPC over-ear mics for a kids show a while back, & thought they might have a 2nd life as conference stock. Sound ok, & reasonably robust (until some of the kids found out that if you bend the boom enough times in the same place it will snap), but for some reason keeping the mic in place seems to be totally beyond the abilitiy of the average talking head.

[Shez]

Depends what you call stage use. For Musical Theatre I use omnis but for Music and Corporate Events cardioid can be more useful. It really depends on the circumstances of the presentation.

It does indeed depend. But when a mic has to point in a particular direction, you can guarantee that either someone at some point will fit it wrong or it'll drift around during the course of someone speaking. Plus there's no proximity effect with omnis and I generally seem to find less variation in level as the speaker turns their head with them.

[TonyMitchell]

For the past 3 years or so, we have enjoyed great results with the DPA4080 for conference work. Very little (if any) EQing required and have found the GBF threshold to be excellent.

 

Whilst outside the OPs indicative budget, if you can stretch to them, the gain (pardon the pun) is well worth the initial pain on the pocket.

 

The only tip I would give is, when miking up, every time without exception, check the Microdot connector is nice and tight. Presenters fiddle with shiny small objects. Discovering it isn't, mid flow, is not good.

 

 

 

[GR1]

I love the DPA4080. There is very little phasing when speakers are close together.

 

This is of little use to the OP unless he can quadruple his budget although I rate them as value for money even at the high price.

[Bobbsy]

I prefer omnis for the reasons noted above unless I'm forced into very high amounts of amplification. For many corporate things, I'm only asked to provide subtle reinforcement rather than rock levels. If I do have to worry about feedback, I also try to push for headsets. I try to avoid directional lavs because turns of the head can take the voice out of the sweet spot of the pattern.

 

When using omnis, be a bit fussy about mic placement...up nice and high on the tie or lapel (as central as possible). Down by the tie clip or navel is asking for trouble.

 

In the sub 100 pound range, the Sennheiser ME2 (not to be confused with the MKE2) is a workhorse for around 70 quid. That said, I've lately been buying Chinese cheapies (actually from China on eBay) and treating them almost like a disposable. Not super sound but quite useable with a bit of EQ. I imagine these are pretty similar to the CPC cheapies people have suggested.