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[Ryan Baker]

    I would like to install a PZM on the podium at the church I mix at. Because one of the pastors didn't like the goose neck that I had on the podium, so down it goes. I had it there for redundancy in case the wireless lav went down.  Because as most know anything that can and will happen will happen and I really don't want to have a problem in the middle of our pastors message.
   So does anyone have a PZM that they would recommend for this application?



Anyone, Anyone, Bueller, Bueller...

[Greg Hertfelder]

Ryan
When you say you had a gooseneck on the podium, do you mean an old-school piece of coiled chrome hardware that creaks when you adjust it, or do you mean a small diameter condenser mic that had an integrated gooseneck, like something from BeyerDynamic or Audio-Technica? Contemporary gooseneck mics are so sleek and invisible, I would find it hard to believe that anyone would object to the presence of one.

I prefer not to recommend a PZM mic. PZM mics work okay for recording or videoconferencing, but the gain-before-feedback just isn't there for sound reinforcement.

[Brad Weber]

Technically I believe that a "PZM" microphone would be a Crown model due to trademark issues.  Are you meaning this more generically as any flat mount or boundary microphone?

A flat mount style microphone may not be a great idea if they often have a bible, bulletin or notes on the podium.  Low profile mics have a tendency to end up with things unintentionally placed on top of them, which certainly does not help their performance.

[Tom Young]

PZM mic's are prone to feedback in all but the best loudspeaker system designs with painstaking optimization and in spaces with superior acoustics.

Other 'directional' boundary mic's have improved gain befor feedback.

But any/all boundary mic's can get buried (as already mentioned) plus they tend to pick up shuffling of notes and/or turning of pages. They simply are far closer to these noises than they are to the talker.

We live in a world that is influenced by physics. That is a gross understatement. Pastors and others who dictate what we may use often force us to work under conditions that simply fly in the face of the physics that we work with.

I strongly suggest that the gooseneck mic is the only way to go here. It must be a device of reasonable quality and with a pattern that "fits" the conditions under which it will operate.

[David Harvey]

Might also consider using a second wireless lav.  Think of it as a 'primary' and and a 'backup'.  The thing to note here is to keep the 'backup' muted unless there is a problem with the 'primary'... only use one at a time.  

[Ryan Baker]

Thanks everyone for your reply. If no one like boundary mics for this application and gain before feedback is terrible then one lav it is.  

I was using a Shure MXC412SE and not the old school
super squeaky goose neck.  I wanted to have something for redundancy in case my lav failed. I had also addressed the "wear two lav's issue" with our pastor but two lavs are bulky and uncomfortable.

I also agree that the goose neck mics are almost invisible but if the pastor don't like it down it goes.

[Tom Van Valkenburgh]

I'm curious to know if your pastor has stated why, exactly, he doesn't like the "goose neck"? Is there a visual aspect like he doesn't like the way it looks or it is distracting, or does he like to move around and he feels the goose neck would "tie him to one spot"?

Another alternative would be to use something like an AKG C747 mini shotgun mic. These have a longer "reach" than the goose neck, so they could be placed further away and/or down lower. Theatre/Movie guys use these often to hide a mike in props or scenery. They are black and about the size of a well worn pencil. The sound quality wouldn't be as good as your Shure, but you could tweek it a little with some eq. Besides, it's a backup system, right?

I have a pair of them and they pull all kinds of duties like dramas/skits, small children's choirs (where you don't want them to reach out and touch the mics, but you know they will), etc.

Just a thought.

[Jason Cole]

I have used the AKG boundry mics for a number of applications.  I have not ever tried to use it on a podium though.  Perhaps you can get one to try.  Here is the website for the mic.

http://www.akg.com/products/powerslave,mynodeid,186,id,303,p id,303,_language,ENUS.html

[Rob Warren]

It sounds like your Pastor has ran you out of realistic options.
So it's time to ask him does he really care about a back up?
I guess bottom line is if he does not mind the distraction of a failed microphone then don't worry about it.  Sounds like your doing a great job in trying to do the best you can, sometimes it's hard when someone in charge of your spot knows very little about your position.  Sometimes you can explain things and they will do it, sometimes it's just not going to happen.  Sometimes it takes the issue to happen in order for them to "SEE" why you need a backup.  So it may be that one morning the mic will fail and things happen to get the Pastor going again and then it's
"gee, I guess we should get something up there, go ahead with that mic you were telling me about a while back."  

One thing you can do is get a wired or wireless handheld on a small stand somewhere in the area he is when he preaches.  If you have a  pulpit with space inside you can put a handheld mic there.  If the lav fails he will know to simply use the handheld mic for the rest of the service.  If you have it on already it should really only be a few seconds of transition.

[Ron Riedel]

I agree with other posters that the PZM will likely be limited in gain-before-feedback. That being said, it may still be your best option as a backup, since your pastor doesn't want anything visible on the podium. I use one on our altar for exactly that purpose, in case the pastor's wireless fails or is accidentally switched off. You can definitely notice the degradation of sound quality and volume, but it's quite a bit better than no mic at all, especially if you do some aggressive but intelligent EQ.

The key is remembering it's a backup, not your primary mic. It doesn't necessarily have to be of equal sound quality to still be useful.

Ron

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