Newbie question on Body Mics

rjain15

Member
Hi

I have a newbie question -- I am directing a student play at a local event (so it is a one time event) and I need some body mics for the actors (4 at a time).

I don't have a large budget, I have read in the Audio FAQ's and elsewhere that each mic/transmitter/receiver channel is around $500, which is very expensive.

What are the alternatives ... are there other variations of body mics I can use? This question might have been answered before... apologies for asking.

Any suggestions would help me a lot in deciding what to go for. I can reuse them at our local church after this event, but again there are some budget constraints.

Thank you and have a good day,
RJ
 
Does it have to be wireless? In many spaces you can get away with a few Crown PCC-160s on the floor perfectly well. The exact number depends on the size of the space, but 2 would probably be a good number to start with. They are ~$350 from Sweatwater.com. And they're much more durable than most wireless equipment
 
Do the event organizers have any equipment you can use, or is it all bring your own gear? If they are providing any gear, are they allowing "random" (to them) devices to be connected to it? If they aren't providing any sound gear, do you have the rest of what is needed to make this work (cables, mixer, speakers, amps, etc), or would you have to buy/rent that also?
 
Are you sure they need to have microphones? Maybe they do but maybe it's an opportunity for them to learn to project.

If you do need wireless microphones then since this is a one time event is there any reason you cannot rent them?

You can find less expensive wireless mics and they may work for you, especially for a one time event, but only you can decide what reliability and performance is acceptable for the application.

You may also want to think of any potential longer term implications. If you purchase inexpensive units and get by for this event then does that potentially create a perception that you will be able to do the same later on. Conversely, might renting good units that serve reliably help justify the value of the more expensive units if you later purchase some wireless microphones?
 
Thank you all for the suggestions, I will look into renting.

I recently purchase a Audio-Technica AEW-4240a Wireless Handheld Microphone System (Audio-Technica AEW-4240a Wireless Handheld Microphone AEW-4240AC)

Can I add multiple body pack transmitters to this receiver over different channels? I that case I just have to rent (or purchase) body mics and transmitters and I can use this receiver.

This is a large settting with 3000+ people , so yes they need mics and the audio equipment provided doesn't include body mics.

Thank you all,
RJ
 
Can I add multiple body pack transmitters to this receiver over different channels? I that case I just have to rent (or purchase) body mics and transmitters and I can use this receiver.
You could use it with multiple transmitters but with only one of them at a time. In other words, you could use Transmitter A with a receiver and then change that receiver's frequency and use it with Transmitter B but you could not use the same receiver with Transmitter A and Transmitter B simultaneously.
 
No, you can not use more than one transmitter per receiver.

Think of it this way, the transmitter is the radio station and the receiver is a transistor radio.

One radio station can transmit to multiple radios but the radios can only receive one station at a time.

You will need one receiver for each wireless mic used.
 
No, you can not simultaneously use more than one transmitter per receiver.
I corrected the statement as it is fairly common to provide both bodypack and handheld transmitters for a single receiver. You can have as many transmitters as you want for a receiver, however you can use only one of them at a time.
 

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