double mics on podiums - a la bush press conference - how?

[signorMars]

i played a show once and someone stuffed an SM57 knockoff in my bag when we were packing up (not me! someone else... we provided the PA, so the well-meaning people who helped us pack up tossed a couple extra cables and the mic into my bag). but when i got home and took the microphone out of the bag, the diagphragm failed to stay attached to the microphone. but then that was a knockoff SM57.

[tomasz]

I happened to work with presidential lectern couple of times while working for an AV company thad did bunch of press events and benefits with Bill C.
The podium is actually bullet proof and the mics are owned by White House AV department and so are the 50Ft XLR cables that mics are plugged in with.
How the mics are run was pretty much left to the sound guy and I chose to use it as main and a backup. The press feed was taken as a direct out from the PA console (or a splitter) into the White House AV operated FP33 mixer and than sent away to the truck or press boxes. Very simple and reliable set up in case of "anything". The safest mic , good cable safe mixer (battery operated) no fancy electronics no phantom power...and ..I have never seen an SM57 fail either

[inverseroom]

I noticed while watching the Bush press conference that there were two mics side by side

One for each face.

[marqueemoon]

One for each face.

The phase cancellation that occurs helps decode the doublespeak.

[OneZero]

One for each face.

Damm!!! The Nail right on the head.

[Snarky]

I'd say backup, but also with those omni type small diaphragm condensors you can cut the shit outta one to get it loud w/o a bunch of ambient feedback, and leave one flat and put it up there just so the speaker sounds like a human instead of someone talking to you thru headphones.

[jajjguy]

backup sounds right to me.

BUT in older press conference footage, from 25 or more years ago, there are usually two mics spaced apart a bit, one on each corner, and pointing in toward the talker. i always figured that was some way of either improving signal-to-noise (by having two directional mics with patterns that overlap at one particular spot) or maybe to allow the talker to move around a bit without getting missed by the directional pattern.

these days, those tiny black side-by-side mics are probably omnis, i'd guess.

[@?,*???&?]

I didn't even watch idiot boy make his speech. I quickly tuned in, heard him say 3 things that could just as easily be interpreted the same from the Iraqi perspective and switched over to play-off hockey. One of the statements about 'these are evil people who kill at will' or something to that effect and I just about puked.

If you know anyone backing this knucklehead, take them out back and have a personal one-to-one conversation with them about what has actually gone on with him in office. Does anyone realize his first 9 months in office that he was on vacation 42% of the time? Wouldn't we all agree that being President is the single most important job in the United States? As far as I'm concerned, he should be on call 24-hours a day. 42% of the time on vacation? Is he fucking insane. I know, I know, rhetoric...

[wing]

in this sort of situation, does phasing really matter anyway?

[joel hamilton]

Same arrival time at the mic= Good phase.

[Mark Alan Miller]

Well, each mic was balanced, so you have that traditional noise canceling. But then they'd put the two mics pretty close together, and put them out of phase, so that stage "noise" (drums, guitars, monitor wash) got cancelled out. Since this is a differential system, the singer has to sing right up on one of the mics, so that the singing is much louder in that mic. Otherwise the singing would be cancelled out as well.

Apparently a trick in some radio CRs as well. Even if the mics aren't really coincident - in a newsroom, for example. If they're near each other at one end of the room I've heard of them being flipped to help cancel at least some room noise...

[kcrusher]

I didn't even watch idiot boy make his speech. I quickly tuned in, heard him say 3 things that could just as easily be interpreted the same from the Iraqi perspective and switched over to play-off hockey. One of the statements about 'these are evil people who kill at will' or something to that effect and I just about puked.

If you know anyone backing this knucklehead, take them out back and have a personal one-to-one conversation with them about what has actually gone on with him in office. Does anyone realize his first 9 months in office that he was on vacation 42% of the time? Wouldn't we all agree that being President is the single most important job in the United States? As far as I'm concerned, he should be on call 24-hours a day. 42% of the time on vacation? Is he fucking insane. I know, I know, rhetoric...

Many americans don't realize alot of things, unfortunately. Seriously, though - if he's not out of here in November...

[auralman]

I killed a 57 once. Still not sure how - I think it was hit with a drum stick, but that's never mattered before...
It's on the bench - one of these days I'll give it a proper autopsy and find out who really killed it.
What's that called - getting the luds?

[superpenguin79]

I was thinking one for recording and one for the PA or whatever amplification was in the room, but dynomic's answer makes more sense. I don't know why there'd be a need to record the President in stereo -- it might reveal that his voice is actually coming from the direction of Cheney's throat. Ever see Cheney drink a glass of water while Bush is speaking?

maybe Bush is lip syncing like Ashlee Simpson....

[Mr. Dipity]

Just Curious-

Has anyone ever experienced a SM 57 failure. How about without throwing it a the wall?

It would probably survive that.

However, they fail all the time if you spill bullshit all over them.