Lav mic attachment

P

Parapluie

Member
Hey

When I attach a lavalier mic on a person, does it matter for the sound if the mic is pointing up or down or something in between?
I thought the lav mics picks up sound equally from all directions and therefor it doesn't matter?

I heard some say that the mic should point up against the mouth to get better sound. Is that true?

Or does it depends on the lav mic? (I use Sanken cos-11)


Thanks
 
As long as it is a omni lav mic you can put it either way, on some people upside down works better as it prevent nasal blasting of the capsule.
 
It is 100% up to the pattern of the mic, as 'lav' doesnt necessarily tell you what pattern it is, and 'lav' mics are available in several pick up patterns.

as mentioned by Garry the upside down trick works excellent but only if the 'lav' mic is omnidirectional, if its anything else then it will not work so well like that.

Let us know what model of mic you have and we can tell you.

Cheers
 
OP states the sanken cos-11 which is omni directional so it should be fine although you have to be careful that the mic body does not flop down and touch the wearers clothes if placed upside down!
 
Top address mics are usually pointed more or less towards the mouth. You should here a significant quality difference pointed towards vs. away, even if it's supposedly omni. That's what most guys do with a cos11.
 
Parapluie said:
Hey
I heard some say that the mic should point up against the mouth to get better sound. Is that true?

Or does it depends on the lav mic? (I use Sanken cos-11)
Thanks
Click to expand...

Normally pointed upwards, however, when you encounter a high-siblance talent mount it sideways to attenuate those highs. When matters become loose, upside down mounting.
 
Point them (omni/Cos-11) any which way to get them as close to the "air" as possible rather than buried under the clothing.

IE: point them down if you're peeking out the bottom of a tie knot, sideways if you're peeking out of a polo/button down shirt, etc.
Those kind of placements will far outweigh the ridiculously subtle differences of which way the mic is pointing on its own.

If you are simply clipping onto a shirt (IE: visible) its safest to simply point towards the mouth. Not necessarily because its the best sound but
since its the norm. Pointing them down is just going to cause confusion with anyone involved in the process (post) down the road who
doesn't understand. They will simply think you did something wrong and its just not worth the hassle trying to educate.
I've even been around people at home where they state "look their microphone is upside down!".

Of course if you live across the pond where its very common to see lav's upside down on tv thats a different story.
 
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