Lavalier Mic Please Help

J

Johnny Bueno

Active member
Hey everyone,

I'm in a bit of a pickle. I have a wedding to shoot in less than a month and need a lavalier microphone to attach to either the groom, bride, or priest. My problem is that I am new to audio and know NOTHING about microphones. So I really need some suggestions simply on which BRAND to buy and links would help too. Also I have no idea what minimum lavalier setup I need to run from my HVX200 to the person. What i mean is, that when i search online for lavaliers some come with a big box looking thing thats a receiver and others come with just two small looking boxes that I assume u attach to the camera and then also the person. Simply put, I need one lavalier mic to go from my HVX200 to a person. I need it to pick up all 3 people in the wedding ceremony. Im not looking for movie quality audio I just need something to clearly pick up the priest, bride, and groom. So if anyone could please let me know exactly what bare minimum I need in terms of accessories to attach from my hvx to the person that would be amazing help. My budget is at the most $500.00 but the less the better. Like i said all i need is a strong signal from camera to person, not filmmaking quality audio. Thanks for any help and i hope i didn't leave anything out lol.

Here is a list of brands that I found to have prices in my budget:
Samson
Sennheiser
Azden
Audio-Technica

Whether or not they are good brands unfortunately i don't know.

PS: I have no idea the range of 1 lavalier mic and am assuming unless told otherwise that one lavalier will clearly pick up all 3, the groom, bride, and priest during the ceremony. thanks again.

Johnny
 
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Talk to whoever is doing FOH sound for the venue. They're probably going to have a mic of mics in place that you can get a feed of. If not, an omni on the groom should be fine to pick up vows from both bride and groom. It'll probably cover the officiant too, depending how close he/she stands to the couple. Planting the mic a little lower than normal on the groom can help balance out the levels a bit.

At your budget, you're better off renting. There's probably a good shop in FL, but you can also contact Trew or Gotham and have them ship the gear. A Countryman B3 or B6 lav and Lectro or Zaxcom wireless kit will get the job done well.
 
When you see a wireless system that has "a big box looking thing as the receiver," like this, you probably don't want it. :) These receivers are designed to be stationary and plugged into AC power. If you want something camera mountable, as I'm guessing you do, you want something like this.

The general consensus of this forum is that Sennheiser G3 is the least expensive thing you should buy. (Although almost everyone will also recommend that you ditch the lav mic that comes with it at your earliest opportunity and replace it with at least a Countryman EMW, the B3 or B6 that Jordan has already recommended, or something else of higher quality). Some of the Audio-Technica systems have their fans, but almost nobody considers Azden or Samson to be "professional quality" systems.

A good quality, omnidirectional, lavalier (positioned in accordance with Jordan's tip above :) ) will typically give you good results picking up the bridge, groom, and officiant. If a feed from the house system is available, it will probably get you better audio from the officiant and any other people speaking, but there are a wide variety of churches out there with a wide variety of sound systems, so (IMO) you can't count on getting one.
 
If you're gonna buy, Sennheiser G3 are the choice in your budget. Personally, I don't think the included mic is to bad for what you are doing. I have a friend who uses my wireless for weddings, and haven't ever heard a complaint.

If you'd rather rent, go with TAI Audio. They're local, so no tricky mailing back and forth.

Either way, sit down and get to know the equipment before the wedding and get there early to test. Wireless can be tricky, and as the service starts is not the time to find out you have problems.
 
Thanks all for the responses. They have helped emensly. So I guess its bewtween the sennheise g3 and audio technica. But the audio technica seems to be a bit cheaper than the sennheiser. Are they reliable? And which audio technica should I go with if I choose to go with them? Same for the sennheiser. By what I can find, the cheapest sennheiser is $599.00 on B&H. Am I looking in the wrong place?
 
Remember:
1) DO NOT buy anything that transmits between 695 and 805 MHz (The "700MHz band") because it is no longer legal to use wireless mics there.
2) You need the variety with a small battery operated portable receiver. Not the kind with the larger metal box receiver which requires mains power.
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Johnny Bueno said:
Thanks all for the responses. They have helped emensly. So I guess its bewtween the sennheise g3 and audio technica. But the audio technica seems to be a bit cheaper than the sennheiser. Are they reliable? And which audio technica should I go with if I choose to go with them? Same for the sennheiser. By what I can find, the cheapest sennheiser is $599.00 on B&H. Am I looking in the wrong place?
Click to expand...

Which A-T are you looking at? The 1800 series is basically equivalent to the G3 gear.

$599 is pretty standard for the G3 kit.
 
Not sure which A-T but ill look into the 1800 you just mentioned Jordan. Richard thanks for pointing out the MHz. Can anyone clarify on what MHz means in terms for the microphone and what is good MHz and what is bad MHz? I see some lavaliers have between 100 to 200 MHz and others have between 500 to 600MHz. What does this mean and what should i get? Also richard can you clarify a bit on why I should stay away from transmits that are between 695and805 MHz? why is it not legal? Thanks again.

Johnny
 
The lower frequency 100, 200, 300 MHz wireless equipment tends to be the older and/or cheaper gear. More modern technology permits use of the higher frequencies. Choice of frequency band will determine how much interference you may face out in the field.

If I were going to acquire a wireless kit to use in Orlando, I would go to a rental house first and ask what was available for rent. They will know what is working for their customers and what isn't. They may also be a source to buy a kit either new or one of their rental kits. You could get a better quality for the same price by buying used, but of course you must be careful about buying junk. (Of course you can buy new junk, also.)

The 700 MHz band is illegal for wireless mics because of the great shift to digital television that finally happened last June. Virtually all the TV stations that were in the 700 MHz band have been evicted and moved elsewhere, and the Government is raising several billion dollars to waste by auctioning little bits of the 700 MHz spectrum to commercial users.

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/wirelessmicrophones/

The FCC claims "harmful interference to public safety" but the reality is that only a small fraction of the 700 MHz band will end up being used by "public safety". Most of it has been auctioned off to commercial providers of mobile wireless services (phone, texting, data networking, book readers, etc.)

The ban affects many of us who have 700MHz wireless mics, I personally have thousands of dollars worth of equipment that is now illegal. but it is simple for you. Just don't buy any equipment that runs in the 700MHz band, it is as bog simple as that. There will be people out there offering 700MHz band equipment at fire-sale prices, and there is a reason for that. Much of it will likely be exported to other countries where it is still legal.

The truth is that it is more likely that YOUR wireless kit will receive the interference vs. causing interference to others. In many big cities (maybe including Orlando?) the wireless landscape is very crowded and successfully using a wireless kit is not nearly as simple as it used to be. That is why I would consult a local expert like an equipment rental house before making a decision on what frequency band to use.

Because of all the entertainment technology in and around Orlando, it may have become the RF hell that New York City is today. But perhaps more spread out vs. being concentrated on Manhattan Island? I really don't know, but it would concern me if I were in Orlando.

Using wireless mics in a big city is not an easy thing. That is why many wedding videographers use tiny and inexpensive voice recorders dropped into the groom's pocket, with an external clip-on mic near the head.

I have given up using wireless mics in several venues with a public audience because of RF interference from personal devices (cell phones, etc.) Even if you make a public announcement requesting that cell phones be turned off, you will never get 100% cooperation. Even in a "controlled environment" on a closed set, getting everyone to turn off their link with the world is a difficult thing.
 
Thanks for the info Richard its a huge help. I agree that the sennheiser G3 is the best in my budget, but Id only be able to buy one and I'm wondering if one will be enough to pick up all three people clearly. if everyone here agrees that it will then im sold. But if not then Im still contemplating on getting the one sennheiser or instead maybe 2 of the cheaper audio-technicas or samson as they go for half the price of a sennheiser. I understand fully that $500 is the minimum for good audio but Im not looking for ridiculously good audio or film shooting quality audio. All I need at this point, especially since I'm a beginner with audio is a lavalier that will simply pick up the bride, groom, and officiant clearly. So my question now and my last question hopefully is will 2 of either the audio-technicas, samson, or azdens work in my situation or will they not? And if they will work, can anyone please suggest which model I should get? Thanks again to all for the help. Much appreciated.

PS: What is the lowest MHz that a Lavalier Microphone should have? Reason I ask is because the sennheiser has 500MHZ while the audio-technica, samson, and azden have less than 200MHz. is that bad?

Johnny
 
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200 us VHF (Very High Freq)
500+ is the UHF (Ultra High Freq)

From what I remember the lower the MHZ the better it will penetrate walls, (Higher freq's bounce more) but generally the higher freq's sound better.

That being said you will 99% probably be within line of sight and UHF would be best.
 
UHF is generally a better choice. Off the top of my head, that starts around 450MHz.

The AT 1800 series and the Senn G3 is UHF. AT's VHF gear isn't great, and the stuff from Samson and Azden is a complete waste of money.

Wireless isn't somewhere you want to cut costs. $500-600 is the entry level - decent wireless with an OK lav included.

GOOD is an entirely different level beyond that, where you're looking at $200+ for the mic alone, and thousands for transmitters/recievers.
 
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ok Jordan. Im sold. I'm not gonna skimp and ill get the sennheiser. But will one do the trick? even though there is absolutely no way i can afford two. So i guess 1 will have to do lol. Any chance you can give me a link or suggestion on the model of sennheiser to get? theyre are like 5 different types with different MHz. thanks again

Johnny
 
One should cover it (unless the bride and groom don't like each other and stand too far apart).

You have the benefit of not having to worry about feedback, so you can set your level as high as you need. Don't forget to wear your headphones while you're shooting!

You can still take a board feed if you need for the rest of the sound - talk to the venue's FOH guy/gal before the day of the event to make sure they can accommodate you. You'll want to coordinate with them to be sure you're not stepping on each other's wireless, anyways.

As I recall, there are only three bands of the G3 sold in North America - A, B and G.
Senn. has an online tool to help you pick your frequency range: http://www.sennheiserusa.com/findfrequency/default.asp
 
thanks Jordan. you have helped me a lot. As far as I know there will be no audio feeds from the venue so it will be just me recording sound. Thanks again.

Johnny
 
Not 100% sure on what you're unclear on, so I'll just take a shot in the dark, let me know if I'm answering the wrong thing!

The G3s are available in a number of bands, each band covers a certain range of frequencies, and each band is generally available only in certain parts of the world. Here in North America, we have:

Band 'A': 518 - 550 MHz
Band 'B': 630 - 662 MHz
and
Band 'G': 566 - 608 MHz

The other bands are generally not available here, and some, like the 'C' band are actually illegal in the US after the 700MHz spectrum transition.

Hopefully I guessed the question right!
 
ok i see. but what I need to know is if i choose right now to order a,b, or g without knowing the frequencies in my area will they all still work? or do i chance it not functioning?
 
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