Lecturn Mic

G

ggrantly

Veteran
Hello Listers,

I've been expanding my audio kit (like many of you) and am now interested in being able to provide my own lecturn kit, so wondering what folks use. This may be used in addition to a house PA or possibly to supply the house system. I always see lecturn setups for political stuff, but can't tell what they use. I have full sized mics in suspension that could be mounted on a desk stand, so have that covered. I am more interested in the flex setups you commonly see. I could start with a lav on a chop stick, but would like a little better without busting the budget. Not sure what the budget is, so help me with that also; what do I need to spend to be respectable.

TIA
Grant
 
For lecterns and podiums, I’ll often use a Sennheiser handheld mic/transmitter. I’ve got a rack full of them for live sound work, and they’re on the same frequency band as a couple of my G3 ENG receivers. If the event is big enough that I’m not working from a bag, or if I’m also supplying house sound, I just take the rack. Having one for the podium and a couple for questions from the peanut gallery is helpful.

If you need slim or low-profile options, boundary mics can be useful. Or the Shure MX418D/S if you’re looking for a cabled, gooseneck solution. Condensers can be dicey on lecterns and podiums if you’re also feeding the house system, depending on the speaker arrays. In conference/convention settings with in-ceiling speakers, go with a dynamic (like the G3 e835 mic/transmitter)
 
Thanks Alex,

I hadn't really considered wireless, but it is a pretty easy option. I have plug-ons for my wireless kits so an RE/50 or SM58 would be my options presently. The same type of mic could of course be wired. Looks like the Shure MX418D/S would be a middle ground option in cost for a gooseneck type, so I'll research that. Is feedback the reason you recommend the supercardioid over cardioid pattern. For me, tight patterns are really useful, but make me nervous in the hands (or voice) of non-professionals. For me, that has always been a challenge when working solo; try to get the talent to not move around too much and use forgiving mic patterns as possible.

Question: Has anyone had a speaker balk at having a full size mic on the lecturn? More than anything, that is what I want to be prepared for, thus the inquiry into lecturn booms.

I've also been considering headset mounted lavs as they follow the talent as they go bounding away or twist to look at the overhead screen whilst speaking. Of course that would be less than desirable for a high profile situation, but seems like it would be the best option for the more active speakers; think training seminar with a small audience or even no audience recorded for tube or websites
.


Grant
 
It really depends on the situation but I have had good results with PZM Or PCC mics on podiums. The only real catch is the podium has to be large enough thet you can have the mic and not interfere with notes etc.
Im not sure a big honker like a RE20 is going to go over well.
 
Watch any appearance by the U.S. President in the last 50 years. He is always mic'ed by one or (usually) two Shure SM57s on goosenecks. This is not only a practical and good quality setup, but I believe it has set the visual standard for what most people expect to see when a speaker presents from a podium. The SM58 and E835 are similar enough that they would also work well. A dynamic cardioid mic is the Goldilocks choice, providing some control of background noise from the audience direction, but is not so touchy that you have to worry too much about the speaker moving out of the pattern abruptly. A head-worn mic would provide even cleaner sound but is completely impractical if you lack an assistant to wire up the talent or have multiple speakers sharing or alternating at the podium, which is usually the case in the events I have covered (think awards ceremonies or scientific conference presentations). I would avoid wireless unless you absolutely cannot physically run a cable in the venue (especially if also feeding the house PA).

Back in my day of covering community events for a living, I used to carry a case containing four SM58s, a Shure M267 mixer, lots of cables and a variety of desk stands and goosenecks, which worked great for covering all kinds of government meetings, school events, political speeches and educational presentations. My equivalent kit today would probably substitute E835s and a Sound Devices mixer, but the principle would be pretty much the same.

- Greg
 
ggrantly said:
I have plug-ons for my wireless kits so an RE/50 or SM58 would be my options presently. The same type of mic could of course be wired.
Click to expand...

There’s the old adage: whenever able, use a cable. That said, some live events make running cables impractical. After plenty of episodes of both “American History TV” and “Book TV” for C-SPAN, I walk into those situations ready for wireless. Always a lav on the presenter/professor/author. Often a wireless handheld on a podium and/or in the audience.

If you have the prep time and an unobtrusive path to run cables (and tape them down), go for it.

The RE-50 is omnidirectional, and probably not the best choice if you’re wanting to isolate audience noise. If running a feed to the house PA as well, omni is also going to reduce your gain before feedback. The SM58 would be the better choice between the two.

ggrantly said:
Looks like the Shure MX418D/S would be a middle ground option in cost for a gooseneck type, so I'll research that. Is feedback the reason you recommend the supercardioid over cardioid pattern. For me, tight patterns are really useful, but make me nervous in the hands (or voice) of non-professionals. For me, that has always been a challenge when working solo; try to get the talent to not move around too much and use forgiving mic patterns as possible.
Click to expand...

That Shure is a supercardioid, but it’s also a condenser so it’s a hotter pickup. Again, all about gain before feedback if you’re feeding the house PA. The gooseneck design will place it closer, which is very helpful.

Scott mentioned PZM and PCC, which I mentioned as boundary mics. I love ‘em and have a kit of 6 that I carry with me and they are great multitaskers. Again, these are condensers and they might be problematic if you’re feeding the house system as well... especially with in-ceiling speakers that fire straight down over the mic.

ggrantly said:
Question: Has anyone had a speaker balk at having a full size mic on the lecturn? More than anything, that is what I want to be prepared for, thus the inquiry into lecturn booms.
Click to expand...

Assuming by “full size” you mean something larger than a gooseneck condenser, or a lav on a stick... no. I’ve never run into an issue using the Sennheiser e835 transmitter on a lectern or podium.

ggrantly said:
I've also been considering headset mounted lavs as they follow the talent as they go bounding away or twist to look at the overhead screen whilst speaking. Of course that would be less than desirable for a high profile situation, but seems like it would be the best option for the more active speakers; think training seminar with a small audience or even no audience recorded for tube or websites.
Click to expand...

With no audience, it seems your options would be much more open. An E6 headset is quick to rig on the presenter, assuming they don’t mind wearing one, and placement is ideal and constant.
 
Thanks for the great responses, I really appreciate it.

Just curious if anyone has thoughts between the SM58, SM57, or the Beta variants, and e835.

The Beta models are super cardioids and have a few other differences as well. I didn't look, but imagine Senn has similar variants.

It seems strange to me that the 57 is used more than the 58 on podiums when it doesn't have a pop filter. And if super cardioid Beta models might be preferable for isolation, it doesn't seem that they are used much if at all for lecturns.

Grant
 
This thread seems to have died for lack of interest so I'll revive it so we can beat the minutia to death.

Above, I queried the comparison of the SM58 to the Beta variant and the SM57 vs the Beta variant, with the Beta models being super-cardioid and a few other differences.

I found a couple of Gearslutz discussions which of course are more musically oriented than here but equally opinionated as this group:

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/low-end-theory/543091-shure-sm58-v-beta-58a.html

If you search at GS, there is much more to be found. As previously mentioned here, the Senn e835 gets love as a better alternative. These aren't real expensive mics or anything but I'd rather buy once.

Best Regards,
Grant
 
I think you'd be happy enough with any of them. The SM57 and SM58 are essentially the same microphone except for the extra built in pop filter on the 58. On a lectern, the speaker isn't working within an inch or two of the mic as vocalists do on stage, so it isn't as essential, and it does make the SM58 a bit more visually intrusive compared to the slimmer SM57. The E835 sounds a lot like the Shures with maybe a little bit flatter response and less high vocal range emphasis (still some, just not quite as noticeable).

My set of four SM58s were all soaked and destroyed in a flood a few years back (a story in itself), and I replaced them with E835s. I've been very happy with those for both lecterns and groups of speakers around a table, and have no hesitation recommending them. They're also a close match both visually and aurally for my single MD46 handheld interview mic. On top of that, they're a few bucks cheaper than the SM58s, especially in the three-pack they offer.

I have no experience with the Shure Beta models.

- Greg
 
I have always used an SM57 with the A2WS windscreen and A53M shock mount. I carry a splitter as well if an existing house mic is a POS ... 9 times out of 10, it is. If replacement of adding a second mic is not an option, I tape a lav to the existing pod mic.
 
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