Six Tips & Tricks

For Miking Events

You probably won't be called upon in the near future to handle sound reinforcement for major political events where, literally, the whole world is watching and listening.

Skip Kent of ATK Audiotek and Pat Baltzell of Baltzell Audio Design teamed up to provide the gear and the sound for both national conventions this summer, facing the multiple challenges of last minute changes, speakers unfamiliar with the gear, major musical acts performing without the benefit of sound checks and an imperative to deliver a flawless experience.

Gregory DeTogne, in separate conversations, asked them how their experiences might relate to yours – and what you can apply in your own sound explorations.


1. Have a back-up plan.
Skip Kent: You really don't want to use just one mic in anything live like this. It's difficult to monitor all the frequencies - the harmonic frequencies that happen - that you need to have a backup so there's no interruption in the program's continuity.

For example, Cindy McCain was miked twice as a way to insure that she was heard in all situations while on the platform. While she delivered her speech using the handheld, there were other situations in which she would move the mic away from her mouth to hug someone or whatever and still have a need to be heard—this is when the lav went into action. The lav could have taken over in the event of the handheld taking a hit and vice versa. Changes between the lav and handheld were orchestrated at the FOH mix position by Chief Engineer and Sound Designer Pat Baltzell

2. Be ready for anything.
Skip Kent: In these applications, its not like you're doing a rock show where you know what the person speaking is going to say and how they handle a mic based upon working with them every day.

Here you always have to be ready for anything. Many times you are dealing with people who are less than professional speakers. That's why backups are imperative, as well as the selection of mics like the KSM9 that have selectable frequency patterns to compensate for any deficiencies a speaker may have— for example, switching from cardioid to supercardioid as needed.





3. Have a spare on hand. Even in your pocket.
Skip Kent: As further redundancy, keep a spare wireless transmittter (handheld) in your pocket at all times. If everything tanks onstage, you can hand the speaker this mic which has been dialed into a rock-solid, cleared frequency.

I had a spare mic in my pocket always. I listened to the speeches backstage, but I also prepared for the next speaker. If something went wrong, I had a spare for everything right in my pocket. I was ready to run out—well not literally—with the Secret Service you don't run anywhere, but I was prepared to move briskly to fix the situation.





4. Stay true to the task.
Skip Kent: Events like this are obviously very high level with a lot of different elements, but in the end I just do my job to the best of my ability. I'm out there working for the mixer and audio crew so you can hear it correctly back home.

5. When in doubt, choose a mic with a cardioid pattern.
Pat Baltzell: Cardioid is a much safer pattern when you don't know what the person is going to do. I use cardioid pattern mics as sort of zone defense against unfamiliar users doing something goofy to me. A cardioid pattern is not as good at rejecting all that ambient sound of the people on the floor as a hypercardioid would be, but with a cardioid, unless the speakers lean way over and jump on the mic—which they are instructed not to do— I know they're not going to surprise me

6. Keep learning.
Skip Kent: Work hard—that's the most important thing I can say — jump in and work, doors will open. If there's something to learn — absorb it — and keep your mind open.