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Shure's SM81-LC cardioid condenser instrument microphone and Yamaha's TF1 digital mixer.
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Soundcraft’s new flagship Vi5000 and Vi7000 models (Vi7000 shown here), come equipped with vast network connectivity options and the ability to accommodate digital wireless microphone systems.
When it comes to providing new audio gear for churches, competition among manufacturers is a good thing. As various makers strive to outdo each other with more performance and more features at lower costs, church sound teams reap the rewards.
But, at times, cooperation has it benefits, as well. It's less common, and it usually happens when one company partners with one or more non-competitive companies to achieve – naturally – a competitive advantage over those companies that it does compete with.
For example, recently we've seen microphone manufacturers working with digital console makers to develop new user benefits. This is not too surprising, as major microphone manufacturers continue to specialize strictly in microphones. (Or should I say, “input transducers”? With the vinyl comeback, two large microphone makers are also experiencing a rebound in phono cartridge sales.) Since they are not tied directly to any console maker, most major microphone companies are free to enter into joint ventures that would benefit customers – like us church folk.
Consoles, unlike microphones …
Despite continuing improvements and innovations, the role of the microphone has not changed much in the past 50 years. Not so for the mixing console. In the digital era, it has rapidly evolved into the all-in-one device for audio control, manipulation, enhancement and monitoring. Much like the telephone of old has become the today’s smartphone, the digital console has become today’s smartmixer – plus.
And that brings us to the two intriguing developments announced a few weeks back at the Pro Light + Sound tradeshow in Frankfurt, Germany. It seems that microphone makers are “plugging into” digital console technology in new ways, on both high-end and entry-level systems. We’ll touch on the expensive gear shortly, but of primary interest to most churches will be the close cooperation between Yamaha R&D folks and three major microphone makers on Yamaha’s new TF Series mixers.
Like digital mixers at pretty much at any price point these days, TF mixers come pre-loaded with factory presets for various input channel settings. Of course other mixers have had presets for different vocalists and vocal styles, and for all kinds of instruments. But the microphones have been entirely missing from the equation, or only included as generics – as in dynamic vocal mic or small diaphragm condenser.
Just right for YOUR mic
Yamaha has gone a step further by enlisting the microphone makers in the development of presets for specific microphones as used for specific applications. Yamaha approached the three largest microphone makers, Audio-Technica, Sennheiser and Shure, and asked them to send sample microphones for their R&D department to develop preliminary presets covering a variety of applications. Once the initial presets were done, and as soon as enough prototype TF mixers became available, the microphone makers had an opportunity to fine-tune the presets to their liking before approving their inclusion in the console firmware. Certainly nobody has more incentive to make sure a mic sounds its best than the people who made it.
When making the announcement in Frankfurt, Yamaha included comments from the participants. Keisuke Kobayashi of Audio-Technica was quoted as saying, “Each Audio-Technica microphone is painstakingly designed for accurate reproduction within the selected application.… Collaborating closely with the TF engineers on the instrument specific presets means that we can be sure that our microphones deliver their best performance, while leaving the user free to focus on creativity and the character of the production.”
High-end or entry-level, wired or wireless, microphones are now “talking” to digital consoles. The improved communication should prove of great benefit in making better worship sound.
Speaking on behalf of Sennheiser, Michael Pollen states, “We are extremely pleased that our evolution microphones are part of the TF consoles via their ingenious preset functions. These presets provide users with … a rock solid foundation for their work.”
The mic input workflow
So, what’s really going on here? Well, when you set a console input for a vocal or an instrument, you have to set your input gain, compression and EQ for optimum results. And it’s not the same for different microphones, even if similar types. For example, our church’s two primary dynamic vocal mics are Shure’s SM-58 and Sennheiser’s e845. Input gain is close, but EQ has some subtle but significant differences when optimizing for the same voice. Also, depending on circumstances, compression might differ as well, since one is cardioid and the other is supercardioid. If I switch from one to the other, I’ll usually re-tweak the input. (We’re still analog – but perhaps not for long.) But most of our volunteers will just leave it as is, often with sub-optimum results.
Even more drastic changes are needed when switching from dynamic to condenser models, or moving a mic from an acoustic instrument to, say, an electric guitar cab. However, if both the specific mic and the application are pre-programmed, then you’re immediately most of the way there.
To find out more, I talked briefly with John Schauer of Yamaha and, representing the microphone makers (as he was conveniently in a USA time zone), John Born of Shure.
“The main goal here was to get you close to where you want to be, but without getting you into trouble,” says Schauer. “The idea was to let you plug in that mic, put it in use for that vocal or instrument, and have it working very close to its optimum. That said, we were cautious, particularly with the head amp gain, where we generally play it safe.”
But the idea is not to rob the more seasoned engineer of creativity, he emphasizes. “We tried to make the presets useful only in a broad sense. We’ll get you into the driveway, but you still put it in the garage.”
Schauer says that total presets from all three makers will be over 100, with more in development that will be available for download from the Yamaha website. He also notes that the three makers were asked to participate based on their worldwide distribution and wide selection of models at low- to mid-price points, in line with the target market of the TF Series. However, the door is open to smaller makers in the future, he adds.
80% of the way home
The key point person in the project for Shure was Product Manager John Born. “The TF Series is Yamaha's entry-level digital console, so we expect it will be used by a lot of church volunteers, and by young bands just starting out,” he says. “These pre-sets are designed to get you 80% of the way there, taking care of the general workflow needed to properly set up a specific microphone for a given application. And the presets really shine on some lower-priced mics. For example, the vocal preset for the PGA58 really comes surprisingly close to the sound of the SM-58 in most uses.”
Shure’s first batch covers 29 presets for 17 different microphones: seven for vocals; seven for drums, two each for electric guitar, acoustic guitar and piano, and nine for horns and flute.
“We have a good pool of musicians here at Shure, so we spent a solid week of playing, tuning and listening,” Born says. “We hope that when a user fires up the mixer and puts the mic on a snare or a horn, they will say, ‘Hey, that was just what I would have done, and now it’s ready to go.’”
Soundcraft-Shure wireless connection
The high-end cooperative announcement will probably have less immediate impact on most churches, but it’s still worthy of notice. The new, high-end digital wireless microphone systems have a number of control and monitoring functions that, until now, were monitored either on the microphone receiver or on a separate computer or tablet. Now those functions are going into the console, as well.
In this case, the consoles in question are Soundcraft’s new flagship Vi5000 and Vi7000 models. Since they come equipped with multiple large display screens and an ample supply of programmable “soft” control, not to mention all sorts of network connectivity, there’s no reason why digital wireless microphone systems can’t be accommodated “in the mix” as well.
Of course, Soundcraft and AKG are siblings in the Harman Professional family, so AKG’s DMS800 and WMS4500 systems were immediately brought into the fold. But wisely recognizing that restricting the feature to one maker would limit its value, Soundcraft reached out to Shure, developing seamless integration with that maker’s ULX-D and QLX-D systems, too.
After initial set-up, the integration enables automatic discovery of all Shure devices on the network, identification of each, and mapping of the system to the proper input channel. When that channel is selected, all essential wireless parameters are displayed on the console, including RF and audio metering. The receiver gain can be adjusted from the console, as well.
So, that’s the news from Frankfurt. High-end or entry-level, wired or wireless, microphones are now “talking” to digital consoles. The improved communication should prove of great benefit in making better worship sound, whether in multi-campus megachurch installations or new portable church plants.
