11
MICROPHONE ACCESSORIES
We’ve already mentioned microphone shock
mounts, windscreens, and pads. Some other use-
ful accessories are described below:
Stereo bar
This device mounts two directional microphones
on a single mic stand for convenient stereo miking
(Figure 22), An example is the CM-SB.
Fig. 22 – A stereo bar.
You might use a splitter to feed one mic signal si-
multaneously to a sound-reinforcement mixer, re-
cording mixer, and broadcast mixer.
To prevent ground loops and hum, only one mixer
should provide phantom power and ground. To do
this, you switch in the ground-lift switches on the
splitter to remove the grounds for the other mixers.
Fig. 23 – A splitter.
Splitter
This is a box with one input for a microphone and
two or three isolated outputs that feed individual
mixers (Figure 23).
Combiner
If you have more mics than inputs, a combiner
comes in handy. This resistor network mixes the
outputs of two or three mics into a single output.
SPECIFIC TECHNIQUES
The soundtrack of most video productions has four
elements: narration, ambient or environmental
sound, sound effects, and music. Let’s look at
miking techniques for each of these.
Announcer
In these examples, we’ll assume it’s all right to see
the microphone on-camera.
•Clip a lavalier mic (such as the Crown GLM-100)
onto the announcer’s shirt about 8 inches below
the chin (Figure 24). Aim the front of the micro-
phone at the mouth.
•Use a handheld omni dynamic.
•To reject background noise, try a handheld uni-di-
rectional dynamic, variable-D type, with a foam pop
filter. Place it close to the mouth.
•If the announcer is hard to hear because of loud
background noise (sirens, rock concert), try a CM-
310A Differoid
®
with lips touching the grille. The
CM-310A is a handheld cardioid microphone that
is noise-canceling or differential.
Fig. 24 – Using a lavalier mic.
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