What mic to use...

[gafftaper]

I run a high school performing arts center. We rent out constantly to a variety of elementary, middle schools, and community theater programs for kids. Renters are allowed full access to our inventory. Including my 8 Sennheisser 100 G3 systems with Countryman E6 mics. While I love the sound of the E6's my experience over the last couple years has been that they are just too fragile for kids. I lost two rentals on a show with really good, and careful kids. One snagged while changing costumes and the other just fell apart. They also don't fit well onto smaller faces, they don't fit properly over the smaller ear of a kid, and the mic boom sticks out too far and we hear is puffing.

I've been in this new job position for about 3 months. When I walked in the door I was told that they had just replaced two of the wires that run from the pack to the mic. Last week I replaced a third one (that's $70x3). Tonight an actor standing in front of my technician picked up the mic to put it on and it broke in half. There goes another $400.

I'm just not a fan of them for a rental situation exclusively used by kids. My feeling is I would be much wiser to replace them with a skin tone Lav, run them over the ear and tape to the cheek. Something a little sturdier. Maybe a Countryman B3... I can get two for the cost of one E6.

Do you agree with me? What would you switch to?

 

[gafftaper]

....and I just noticed the other E6/B3 thread.

Any other products I should consider switching to besides the B3?

 

[MarshallPope]

For this sort of all-purpose application, I'm actually a fan of the SM93. (The lav that comes with most Shure wireless packages) It is cheap and damn near indestructible, and sounds fairly decent wherever you put it - as a lav or in the hairline or on the cheek or even on most instruments. It doesn't have the crispest sound, but it works, especially with kids where, honestly, pristine audio usually isn't your biggest worry. The side-address nature of the capsule also protects it from makeup/sweat/oil when taped to the skin.

 

[Lextech]

I must agree with Marshall. The 93 is a great element for kids and even adults in rough situations. You can get them in several colors and they take a beating. I've used them for years and while not perfect, they are kind of like a SM57, you can throw it on anything and make it work.

 

[StradivariusBone]

We have a couple of those here, but they were all used with the old frequencies and the new wireless lavs that were bought were all Audio-Technica and Sennheiser. I don't suppose they make the SM93 with either of those ends? (I did look, all I could find was the preamp gizmo that puts in to normal XLR). Some of the AT's we have use B3's and the rest are whatever mic came with them which are pretty durable in general. The Sennheiser ones are beginning to crap out unfortunately.

 

[BillESC]

I think these from Audio Technica might serve you well - BP893cW-TH

 

[MNicolai]

Be warned about the BP893's. They have a maximum input level of only 114dB per their datasheet. This is much lower than the more common 125-145dB of other microphones in this market. This would make for more unpleasant clipping in loud applications (singing, shouting, etc.)

 

[gafftaper]

The BP893 is an interesting option. It looks a bit more durable than the E6 and it's cheaper .

Does anyone know how well it fits on the ear of a small high school kid? I like the idea of the B3 because I can bend/tape /pin it to the shape of any size kid.

 

[chausman]

The BP893 is an interesting option. It looks a bit more durable than the E6 and it's cheaper .

Does anyone know how well it fits on the ear of a small high school kid? I like the idea of the B3 because I can bend/tape /pin it to the shape of any size kid.

I've got two in a new church install and they stay pretty well without any help or bending. But they do seem to bend on the ear part fairly well.

 

[np18358]

We have had issues using the WL93's from Shure, they tend to sound a bit hollow. Due to the extraneous use they we put on our mics, we had purchased 30 of them for our 24 mics a few years back. They have certainly stood the test of time, only one broke, and it was due to a user hanging the pack from the mic for 3 weeks. We also have a small quantity of B6's and B3's and they are great, but they are also slightly less durable than the shures. We just purchased 24 Microphone Madness mics for this past show. They are 115$ for the lapel. They are our favorites in terms of sound quality. We haven't had them long enough to test the durability, but others seem pleased, the price was great, and the construction seems like they should last as long as the B3's. The company was a pleasure to work with (we ordered directly). Couldn't be happier. We hairline them and sometimes over the ear. Rarely for speakers will we actually place them on the lapel. This was for ULX and UR's. We also have 8 Sennheiser's that run the original mics they came with (not sure of make will check) and they are great. Better sounding than the ULX, but not as good as UR with the Mic Madness mic. Can't say enough good about the Mic Madness mics.

 

[simoneves]

+1000 for Microphone Madness PSM-Ls.

I have about ten of them, some of which are nearly five years old, and have been through 10+ community theatre shows with actors of all ages. They don't sound quite as good as the MKE2s or B6s that I also have for responsible actors or when I need the mic more hidden, but they are damn good, especially for the price (note that the price is $125 for Sennheiser EWs... not sure why... those Switchcraft locking 3.5mm plugs must be damn expensive!)

I messed around with "bendy" mics (both single-ear and dual-ear) for a while, and always came to the conclusion that they were more trouble than they are worth. The idea of clipping to the ear sounds good, and yes, it's quicker for getting on and off in case of mic sharing, but in general it all goes to hell once the wearer starts moving, let alone dancing. Yes, you can use tape to hold them on, but then the boom fights the tape. Then they become uncomfortable and the kids mess with them and get distracted, or they fall off anyway because the tape fails.

I have one remaining "bendy" version of the PSM-L, and access to some E6is, but I never use them. I just use the loose ones up and over the ear and halfway down the cheekbone, with three pieces of 3M Micropore, 1/2" from the end, behind the ear, and on the back of the neck as strain relief. On the rare occasion when I am faced with a kid whose skin reacts to the tape (and complains to their parent enough to oblige me to stop using it!) I have some elastic halos.

 

[gafftaper]

I just went ahead and ordered a B3 $190 on Full Compass with free shipping. The microphonemadness clones would have been $150 by the time you add in the shipping and the optional case (which comes free with the B3). With only $40 difference I decided to get the real thing.

As my E6's break or loose cables, I'll slowly replace them with B3's.

 

[Floobydust]

There used to be an unadvertised option for the mic wires from MicrophoneMadness; Thick, extra durable cords that were designed for rougher handling. I purchased four of them and super-glued the cord to the surrounding rubber cover at the body pack end. Never had a problem with them.

 

[BobHealey]

For a WL-93 work-a-like, try the AT MT830cW units. I know a group that's been using them for ~20 years as their inexpensive AT lav. They're in use on AT 1200 series VHF transmitters, which have outlasted every replacement attempt in the UHF band to date. Price point's around the same as the WL-93 too. No major complaints about them, other than the same complaints I have with the WL-93. I personally don't like the side address capsules because if the tape doesn't hold, the have a tendency to rotate in a direction that reduces the amount of audio picked up (9 times out of 10, if I lose someone on one of those capsules, its gotten flipped over so the pickup is facing the skin).
One nice thing on the B3s is you can replace the grill if they get clogged with make up.

 

[jonliles]

On the MM elements, if the cable fails during warranty, they'll repair for free. Also, they will repair for a very small charge (<20 last time) each. I usually wait until I have 5 or 6 that need repair. They replace the cables, reshape the elements and ship them back. Easy peasy lemon squeezie.