So you have an event coming up and all the details are set. You have the venue, the menu, the program, but what about the microphones?
There are many different kinds of microphones, from dynamic to condenser, handheld to over the ear.
It is important to choose the right one.
Wikipedia defines the dynamic microphone this way:
Dynamic microphones work via electromagnetic induction. They are robust, relatively inexpensive and resistant to moisture. This, coupled with their potentially high gain before feedback, makes them ideal for on-stage use.
A condenser microphone is defined like this:
The condenser microphone, invented at Bell Labs in 1916 by E. C. Wente[2] is also called a capacitor microphone or electrostatic microphone—capacitors were historically called condensers. Here, the diaphragm acts as one plate of a capacitor, and the vibrations produce changes in the distance between the plates.
Condenser microphones generally put out very crisp sounding high end as well as good mid range and base signals. Dynamic microphones usually are not as crisp at the high end but have excellent mid and low end ranges.
The most common microphone for live events is the dynamic mic. Their “high gain before feedback” makes them great for use in live events, especially when there are people using the mics that are not familiar with microphones and PA systems. Using a dynamic mic a presenter can move around the stage and even get near the speakers without having the system feed back.
A condenser microphone is more appropriate for use when the microphone will be fixed in one place and there is no possibility that the microphone will come near the speakers or monitors.
Further questions to consider are wireless or wired, handheld, lav or over the ear.
A wireless microphone is one that contains a small radio transmitter that transmits what is said into the microphone to a receiver that is attached to the PA system. A wired microphone uses a cable (wire) to get the microphone signal to the audio board.
A handheld mic is great if there are multiple presenters that need to use a mic and it is not possible to mic each one individually.
A lav or over-the-ear microphone should be used when when the presenter wants mobility but high quality sound is still needed.
No matter what kind of mic you need we have it. We can rent you whatever you need to make your event great. Contact us now, we’d love to help.