Wireless microphones for churches have had their popularity just about explode at the same time as the frequencies available for their use have shrunk.
One of the most important parts of a church’s sound system is often the microphones.
50 Years Mics (Part 1)
- By Edward J. Simon
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- 13 Jun, 2018
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One of the most important concerns with sound systems for churches is actually quite simple, what is the purpose of the sound system?
In providing sound systems now for more than fifty years (Along the way I did pick up an Electrical Engineering degree) some of the technical issues seem to be simple, but unless the goals are clear, skill alone often does not provide excellent results.
At the most basic, someone speaks into a microphone and the words come out louder through the sound system. At the start the microphone turns the sound into a small electrical voltage. There are five commonly used ways to do this. This small voltage is processed and amplified to deliver more power to the loudspeakers.
Even if everything is selected and wired adequately, the issue of feedback pops up. The sound “bleed” from the loudspeaker makes its’ way back into the microphone. If this amplified signal is as loud as the original sound into the microphone then feedback results. As most sound systems have more than one microphone, each one adds to the feedback so less bleed can still cause feedback.
When more than one microphone is in use, the worst microphone is often the one that produces the most bleed. When the overall level is equalized or turned down to stop the noise, it often leaves this worst microphone as the one that appears to work best!
The first step in checking out an existing system is to make sure all the microphones have the same sound characteristics. A good test is to take a reference microphone and hook it up to the sound system at the same time as a microphone to be tested. Using them one at a time speak into each one and just adjust the volume until both match. Then using both at once bring them next to each other. If the tone changes or the volume drops they do not match. This may cause a sound system to work one week and not the next as the microphones move around.
To reduce this problem try putting a different small colored self-adhesive dot on each one. Then put a matching dot where that particular microphone is used. That should at least keep things the same every week.
Next time I will go on to discuss the types of microphones and their best uses in a church.