We have a conference room with a sort of mini podium that sits on a
table but can be moved out of the way. The mic they have in there at
the moment, an SM58, sits on a gooseneck when it's on the podium but it
sits on a little stable stand when the podium is moved out of the way.

I'm trying to improve the sound and one annoying problem I see is that
people never speak into the microphone. These are usually not
experienced public speakers so they usually move the mic a bit out of
the way and only talk just loudly enough to be heard. It's as if
they're afraid of the mic, which doesn't surprise me. I personally feel
that an SM58 is a lousy choice for that application so I was trying to
think of a mic that would solve two problems for me: 1) improve the
sound quality (largely through better frequency response) and 2) pickup
a wider area around the mic.

I was looking around the web today and ran across an Audio Technica
AT804. It's a small dynamic omni mic with a pretty good frequency
response. I'm beginning to think that an omni mic might be an
interesting experiment. I think the off-axis frequency response is such
that feedback probably isn't going to be an issue, especially since the
volume in the room isn't very high. This would partially solve the
problem of people not speaking directly into the mic.

I'm also tempted to move the position of the mic to a smaller gooseneck
in the center of the podium so that it's harder to move out of the way.
I still would get rid of the SM58 and replace it with something a
little better suited to the application.

Regardless, what do you think of the AT804, specifically, or of using a
dynamic omni mic at podium, in general?

It would only cost about $100 so it would be a cheap experiment. I'm
tempted to try it just to see how it sounds.

What do you think?

Many thanks,
John

I don't know the AT804 but for lectern/podium use the AT ES915
http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wi...863/index.html
'gooseneck' condensers are superb.
I've used many AT goosenecks singly and in pairs for conferences/lectures
etc and they are excellent on speech - sensitive, crisp and intelligable.
There is an AT surface shock mount for them too.
I have found these mics to outperform most others as mics for speakers on
lecterns.
Your SM58 will only work well if used close to mouth - a pair of the ATs on
a lectern allow the speaker to move their head a bit too....

Guy

wrote in message
oups.com...

Regardless, what do you think of the AT804, specifically, or of using a
dynamic omni mic at podium, in general?

It would only cost about $100 so it would be a cheap experiment. I'm
tempted to try it just to see how it sounds.

What do you think?

Many thanks,
John

"Bigguy" wrote ...
I don't know the AT804 but for lectern/podium use the AT ES915
http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wi...863/index.html
'gooseneck' condensers are superb.
I've used many AT goosenecks singly and in pairs for
conferences/lectures etc and they are excellent on speech - sensitive,
crisp and intelligable.
There is an AT surface shock mount for them too.
I have found these mics to outperform most others as mics for speakers
on lecterns.
Your SM58 will only work well if used close to mouth - a pair of the
ATs on a lectern allow the speaker to move their head a bit too....

I agree. Those small-profile electrets on a minature
gooseneck seem less intimidating to amateur users.
And more sensitive than the larger dynamics, etc.

wrote in message
oups.com

We have a conference room with a sort of mini podium that
sits on a table but can be moved out of the way. The mic
they have in there at the moment, an SM58, sits on a
gooseneck when it's on the podium but it sits on a little
stable stand when the podium is moved out of the way.

I'm trying to improve the sound and one annoying problem
I see is that people never speak into the microphone.
These are usually not experienced public speakers so they
usually move the mic a bit out of the way and only talk
just loudly enough to be heard. It's as if they're afraid
of the mic, which doesn't surprise me. I personally feel
that an SM58 is a lousy choice for that application so I
was trying to think of a mic that would solve two
problems for me: 1) improve the sound quality (largely
through better frequency response) and 2) pickup a wider
area around the mic.

The first and IME most relevant question is whether this is for just
recording or for use with sound reinforcement. This has profound effects on
your micing strategy.

wrote:
I'm trying to improve the sound and one annoying problem I see is that
people never speak into the microphone. These are usually not
experienced public speakers so they usually move the mic a bit out of
the way and only talk just loudly enough to be heard. It's as if
they're afraid of the mic, which doesn't surprise me. I personally feel
that an SM58 is a lousy choice for that application so I was trying to
think of a mic that would solve two problems for me: 1) improve the
sound quality (largely through better frequency response) and 2) pickup
a wider area around the mic.

First thing to do... take the foam out of the ball on the SM58. You get
the top end back and the mike sounds cleaner and can be used farther
away from the mouth because the pattern is better too. The bad news is
that it pops more easily, but it doesn't sound as if that will be a
problem for you.

I was looking around the web today and ran across an Audio Technica
AT804. It's a small dynamic omni mic with a pretty good frequency
response. I'm beginning to think that an omni mic might be an
interesting experiment. I think the off-axis frequency response is such
that feedback probably isn't going to be an issue, especially since the
volume in the room isn't very high. This would partially solve the
problem of people not speaking directly into the mic.

Possibly. I would be more likely to suggest something that is much more
directional than the SM-58. This allows you to pull the microphone way
back where it's hardly even visible to the speaker. The canonical mike
for the application is the AKG C747 but there are probably cheaper
alternatives.

Regardless, what do you think of the AT804, specifically, or of using a
dynamic omni mic at podium, in general?

I think it's a good idea for people who tend to get really close to the
mike. I think it may not be a good idea for people who don't.

It would only cost about $100 so it would be a cheap experiment. I'm
tempted to try it just to see how it sounds.

What do you think?

Try the EV N/D 468. I know it's sold as a drum mike, and it doesn't have
much of a presence peak, but it should be pretty cheap and it will allow
you to pull it way back. I think your goal is to be able to get the mike
as far away from the speaker as possible so he can't worry about it.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 05:47:26 -0700, "Richard Crowley"
wrote:

"Bigguy" wrote ...
I don't know the AT804 but for lectern/podium use the AT ES915
http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wi...863/index.html
'gooseneck' condensers are superb.
I've used many AT goosenecks singly and in pairs for
conferences/lectures etc and they are excellent on speech - sensitive,
crisp and intelligable.

I bought a pair of AT875s on ebay recently ($15). They had been cut
off at the bottom of the gooseneck so I ended up cutting off the
gooseneck and made an ORTF pair for a video cam.

They sound really excellent, I was shocked! Not a lot of low end, but
that's a bonus.

Frank /~ http://newmex.com/f10
@/

I think I might just try a different mic and stay away from my
omnidirectional experiment. :-) I'll check out the AT gooseneck
condensers. Oh, I keep forgetting that this mic needs to be removable
so that it can be placed directly on table. So, perhaps I'll look into
a hand-held condenser that has a smaller profile than the SM58.

Thanks!
John

In article .com, " wrote:
I think I might just try a different mic and stay away from my
omnidirectional experiment. :-) I'll check out the AT gooseneck
condensers. Oh, I keep forgetting that this mic needs to be removable
so that it can be placed directly on table. So, perhaps I'll look into
a hand-held condenser that has a smaller profile than the SM58.


Its funny, dictionary.com says a podium can also be a lectern, but a lectern cannot be a podium.
But I would not suggest standing on a lectern.

greg

After a quick check, this definitely is a lectern, not a podium. I'm a
dork. lol

John

On 20/04/06 12:17 PM, wrote:
I think I might just try a different mic and stay away from my
omnidirectional experiment. :-) I'll check out the AT gooseneck
condensers. Oh, I keep forgetting that this mic needs to be removable
so that it can be placed directly on table. So, perhaps I'll look into
a hand-held condenser that has a smaller profile than the SM58.


Have you thought about a Pressure Zone Microphone (PZM) like the
Crown's? Several companies now make them and the Radio Shack equivalent
is actually a reasonable performer too. I used to be in the in-house
engineer (16-track music studio and CCTV studio) at a College in the UK
and used PZM mics to record 'round table' discussions from time to time
and also used them on lecterns to give 'reinforcement' to speakers. They
work very well for spoken voice applications and are very unobtrusive in
use.

--
Larry Green

" wrote in
oups.com:

I think I might just try a different mic and stay away from my
omnidirectional experiment. :-) I'll check out the AT
gooseneck condensers. Oh, I keep forgetting that this mic
needs to be removable so that it can be placed directly on
table. So, perhaps I'll look into a hand-held condenser that
has a smaller profile than the SM58.

Thanks!
John

Given the resale value of used SM58s, You could get one for the
lectern and use the existing SM58 on the table.

--
Bob Quintal

PA is y I've altered my email address.

wrote:

I think the off-axis frequency response is such that
feedback probably isn't going to be an issue



This is a little aside from the the primary subject of the inquiry, but
any changes in off-axis response that affect feedback are going to have
just as much affect on pickup and intelligibility. If off-axis response
is poor enough to prevent feedback, it's also gonna sound like poo
whenever the talker moves off axis.

--
"It CAN'T be too loud... some of the red lights aren't even on yet!"
- Lorin David Schultz
in the control room
making even bad news sound good

(Remove spamblock to reply)

In article .com,
" wrote:

As I recall, this particular mic looks almost, but not quite, cardioid
at higher frequencies. I was thinking that that might help avoid any
high frequency weirdness. This mic is the only mic in the conference
room that is amplified. The rest of the mics are simply sent to the far
end so that videoconferencing participants can hear.

I think I'm just going to go with a smaller cardioid condenser mic and
be done with it. I may even reposition the mic stand on the lectern so
that it can't be moved out of the way so easily.

I don't know if this was discussed, but pay to attention to the RF
rejection capabilities of the microphone, unless you don't mind hearing
Nextel or Blackberry digital gak in your system. Audio Technica and
Clock Audio are two manufacturers that provide well designed micrphones,
that are resistant to interference from GSM devices.