Microphones Hanging Mic for listening at the booth

dancerhhj

Member
I would like to hear what is going on on stage.
Our theater is mostly dance or music performance.

But, our booth is blocked and I can't see or hear anything.. (Don't even ask....)

So, I am thinking of hanging a mic and connect to small speakers (like computer speakers), but don't know which microphone and how to connect computer speakers... (I have seen that kind of set up some of the small theaters).

Can anyone help me with this, please?

Thank you very much.
 
Do you have a sound board or are you just doing playback via a computer? What's your budget?

I've never dealt with equipment specifically for this purpose ... but assuming you need more than 6 feet of cable between the auditorium and where you are, a simple webcam probably won't work.

So my first thought is to get a Wyze Cam and iPad set up for visual (via wifi), and then assuming you have a soundboard, mount a pair of condenser mikes (cheap ones like the Behringer C2, for starters) in the rear of the room where your sound booth should be, pointing forward, maybe 6-8 feet apart, and then pipe that in through the board as a stereo input channel pair and either listen on headphones or a small pair of studio monitors from the board.

I haven't been practicing for a couple of years so there will likely be better suggestions ...

-- John
 
If it is just for your own ears and not used for EQing or any of that jazz hang whatever handheld mic you have laying around.
 
My blackbox has a QU-16, and an SM-57 hung over the center of the room.

When I'm working in there, usually mixing childrens rental musicals, I patch that mike to a channel, set the trim, and leave it muted with the fader down, and then punch the PAFL/cue button on it. When a song starts, I unpunch it, and the Cue lands back on the stereo for the duration of the song, then I punch it back in so I can follow dialogue.

Works pretty well for me; I'm already wearing those cans.
 
Alternatively: For a smaller venue (which might have greener hands poking around), it's sometimes best to bypass the house mixer, avoid having a fader which causes immediate feedback, and keep things super super simple.

Run a long cable from a choir mic (or even a spare SM58) into a Eurolive 5205d and.... that's it. Done.
 
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The other issue you might have is bleed when the door is open, depending on where it opens into.

While it might be overkill, a 70v amp with mixer, either toa or this monoprice model would give you a mic in and other ins. Then you can buy a quality 70v speaker of your choosing - ceiling recessed, Control 25av, whatever, and have a completely separate system just for listening.
A 57 is fine - I'd recommend 2 on a Y so you don't get oddly directional sound, especially if the ceiling is low.
There's also PZMs that mount into a regular 1 gang switchbox. Very low profile and super common in every studio I've been in.

If house management caught on, you could continue the 70v system into the lobby.
 

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