Microphone Technique: Handheld, Headset and Lapel on a Live Stage

In this guide:Working distance · Handheld · Patterns · Headset · Lapel · Picks · FAQ

The difference between a singer who sounds professional and one who does not is very often two inches. Microphone technique is not a refinement to worry about after the kit is right, it is the single largest variable in live vocal sound, and it costs nothing.

This guide covers the three microphone types a beginner will actually meet on a stage, and what each one needs from the person using it.

Working distance is the whole game

Every microphone has a working distance it was designed for, and the level it delivers falls away fast as you move outside it. Halving the distance to the source roughly doubles the level. Move from two inches to eight and you have lost a lot of signal, which the engineer must replace with gain, which also raises everything else in the room.

That is why a singer who eats the microphone and a singer who holds it at chest height cannot be mixed the same way, and why a performer who moves between the two mid-song is difficult to mix at all.

Handheld: close, and off the grille

A vocal dynamic such as an SM58 is designed to be used close, and close means touching the windscreen or within a couple of centimetres. Used that way it delivers a strong signal, rejects the stage behind it, and sounds full and present.

• Hold it by the body, not the head. Cupping the grille wrecks the polar pattern and turns a well-behaved microphone into a feedback generator.
• Point it at the mouth, not the chin. The microphone hears where it is aimed.
• Stay consistent. Moving from touching to a foot away mid-phrase is the hardest thing to mix around.
• Off-axis for loud passages. Turning slightly away is better than pulling the microphone back, because it keeps the distance stable.

Proximity effect is the bass lift you get when you work a directional microphone very close. It is not a fault, it is a tool: singers use it to add weight on quiet passages. It also means a shouted vocal at zero distance can be boomy, which is what the high-pass filter on the desk is for.

Cardioid, supercardioid, and where the wedge goes

A cardioid microphone rejects most from directly behind. A supercardioid rejects most from two zones behind and to the sides, and has a small rear lobe, so it is slightly live directly behind.

This changes where the monitor wedge goes. With a cardioid vocal microphone, the wedge belongs directly behind the microphone. With a supercardioid, that spot is a rear lobe, and the wedge should sit slightly off to the side. Getting this wrong is a common cause of feedback that no amount of EQ fixes, and it is covered further in how to stop feedback.

Headworn: the consistent one

A headworn microphone fixes the working distance permanently, which removes the biggest variable in the whole chain. That is why theatre, worship and presentation work use them, and why they give far more usable gain than a lapel.

• Position the boom at the corner of the mouth, not in front of it, so plosives pass by rather than into the capsule.
• Roughly a finger’s width from the cheek is right for most models.
• Use the correct connector for the transmitter you own. Most headworn microphones are sold in several terminations and they are not interchangeable.
• Have spares of the windshields. They are consumable, and a missing one on a hot stage is a wet capsule by the interval.

Lapel: the discreet compromise

A lapel or lavalier sits on the chest, which is 15 to 20 centimetres from the mouth and off-axis to it. That distance costs a lot of level and therefore a lot of gain before feedback, and the position means the voice arrives dull, which is why lavalier capsules are voiced with a presence lift to compensate.

Use one where discretion matters more than performance: talking heads, video, conference, ceremonies. Do not use one on a loud stage or in a room with a PA aimed at the wearer, because there is simply not enough headroom.

• Mount it as high on the chest as the clothing allows.
• Keep it away from necklaces, lanyards and rustling collars, which are the usual cause of clicks.
• Use the supplied clip and dress the cable, so the capsule cannot rotate to face the floor.

Frequently asked questions

How close should a singer hold the microphone?

For a vocal dynamic, touching the grille or within a couple of centimetres. That is what the microphone was designed for, and it is the difference between a strong, isolated vocal and a thin one that feeds back.

Why does cupping the microphone cause feedback?

The ports on the side and rear of a directional microphone are what create its pattern. Covering them with a hand turns it closer to omnidirectional, so it hears the monitors as well as the voice, and it does so with a peaky, resonant response.

Is a lapel microphone worse than a headset?

For live sound with a PA in the room, yes, substantially. The extra 15 centimetres of distance and the off-axis position cost enough gain that a lapel will feed back long before a headworn microphone does. For a quiet room or a camera it is fine.

Can I use a handheld on a stand for a speaker?

Yes, and it is a good option for a lectern, but the working distance still applies. Set the stand so the microphone is within about 15 centimetres and aimed at the mouth, and brief the speaker not to drift away from it.