Going Small
Another unusual approach that’s worked out well is employing a head- or ear-worn mic with flute players. I find that if a flautist plays directly into a mic, the breath noise can be quite loud, so instead place a small head-worn model such as a Countryman E6 on the performer, adjusting the element so it’s pointing at the instrument and not the player’s mouth. This technique also works well with violin and viola.
Years ago, a colleague was working with an orchestra and he ran out of stands. So instead, he attached the mics to the players’ music stands with small drum clamps and gaff tape. It worked well, particularly for the brass instruments. A modern equivalent would be utilizing DPA d:vote 4099CM instrument mics with clamp mounts that clip right to the music stands, with the added bonus of a small gooseneck to help in positioning.
I’ve never clamped mics to music stands, but have used them to support boundary mics for recording. Specifically, this involves gaff-taping an Audio-Technica 871 (AT871R) on the desk (the part that holds the music), which can then be raised and tilted desk for positioning. This approach allows the room ambiance mics to blend in with the look of the chamber orchestra.
The same colleague also told me of a speech gig where the podium mic was broken so he gaffed a small lav to the broken gooseneck, using it as a stand. Over the years, I’ve expounded on his idea and now regularly tape small lavs on podium mics for use as backups. It’s a better look than deploying a pair of goosenecks on the podium while also affording presenters a bit more space. The lavs can also serve as dedicated recording mics.
Lavs also provide a way to place a different pickup pattern at the podium, allowing a switch between the two if desired.
When placing a lav on a podium mic, make sure it has a windscreen (or two) because many presenters will adjust the gooseneck to point toward their mouths and get right up on the mic. Many lavs aren’t designed to be spoken directly into because they’re usually worn on the chest, and thus the need for an additional windscreen.
In addition, lavs are commonly used on actors in theater, and my company has worked a lot of these gigs over the years. Normally we place wireless lavs on the actors with speaking/lead singing parts and suspend wired mics over the stage to pick up the chorus.
Once we forgot to pack any small suspended “choir type” mics and so instead taped wireless lavs (and their packs) to a light bar above the stage. The audio quality was good, and we ended up using them for dress rehearsals and the three show nights. Plus the motorized light bar afforded an easy way to drop/raise it for battery changes.
