Microphones In Worship - Part 1
With such a variety of microphone technologies there are some that lend themselves to specific applications within the church. The type of mic you will use on the Worship Leader depends on whether the person stays at the pulpit or wanders around. If they remain at the pulpit, install a lectern mic on the pulpit. This application also works well when you have different people making announcements or reading from scripture. Most manufacturers sell a Lectern Mic that swivels and has a shock mount to avoid thumps from contact with the pulpit. If the Worship Leader is active and moves about, use a wired or wireless clip-on lavalier microphone. The transmitter usually clips onto a belt and the receiver in the wireless system plugs into a mic or line input in the mixer. Locate the mic at chest height about 8 inches below the chin using the manufacturers microphone clip and route the cable inside clothing. Lavalier mics come in omni and cardioid pickup patterns. The omni microphone is best suited for this application as it's design resists noise from clothing and has less proximity affect when the speaker turns their head.
For stage vocals use a dynamic handheld cardioid mic, such as the Shure SM-58. Every church should have an adequate stock of this workhorse microphone, as they can be used in place of most microphones when failures occur or when you have expanded needs. If budgets allow, try using a condenser cardioid like the Shure SM-87. Higher quality microphones will always produce better results in your mix and on stage.
When micing a piano try using a stereo pair of cardioid mics (preferably condenser, like the Sennheiser ME-40) aimed inside the piano at half-stick or full-stick open. If your church has an upright piano, open the top lid and aim two condensers in, or, alternatively, point two condensers at the back sounding board of the piano. If your worship team uses a keyboard, invest in a high quality direct box to convert the signal from unbalanced ¼" to balanced XLR inputs and run directly into the console.
There are a number of high qualities microphone "kits" specifically designed for micing drums and percussion. If you don't have the resources to buy a complete drum mic "kit", you should at least invest in a dynamic mica such as the AKG D112 for use on the kick drum. You can easily substitute a Shure SM-57 on the snare and employ two condensers or some more SM-57 microphones in an overhead configuration to pick up the toms and cymbals.
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