Lavalier microphone
Encyclopedia
A lavalier microphone or lavalier (or lav or lapel mic) is a small electret
Electret microphone
An electret microphone is a type of condenser microphone, which eliminates the need for a polarizing power supply by using a permanently charged material....

 or dynamic microphone used for television, theatre, and public speaking applications, in order to allow hands-free operation. They are most commonly provided with small clips for attaching to collars, ties, or other clothing. The cord may be hidden by clothes and either run to a radio frequency
Radio frequency
Radio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...

 transmitter in a pocket or clipped to a belt (for mobile work), or directly to the mixer (for stationary applications).

These miniature microphones are often supplied with a choice of push-on grilles of differing lengths that provide gentle high-frequency boost by forming a resonant cavity. A peak of approximately 6 dB
Decibel
The decibel is a logarithmic unit that indicates the ratio of a physical quantity relative to a specified or implied reference level. A ratio in decibels is ten times the logarithm to base 10 of the ratio of two power quantities...

 at 6-8 kHz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....

 is considered beneficial for compensating loss of clarity when chest-mounted, and a peak of a few decibels at 10–15 kHz when mounted in the hair above the forehead. This method of boosting high frequencies does not worsen noise performance, as electronic equalization would do.

History

The term lavalier
Lavalier
A lavalier is a type of jewelry, consisting of a pendant, sometimes with one stone, suspended from a necklace.-General jewelry:A lavalier is named for the type of pendant popularized by the Duchesse de la Vallière, a mistress of King Louis XIV of France. Within the fashion world, the name was...

 originally referred to a pendant worn around the neck. Its use as the name of a type of microphone dates from the early 1960s.

An American electronics engineer with Educational Media Resources and San Jose State College, Raymond A. Litke
Raymond A. Litke
Raymond A. Litke , the inventor of the wireless microphone and other electronic devices, was born and raised near Alma, KS. He served in the Army Air Force in World War II, but spent most of his adult life in San Jose, the capital of Silicon Valley and the third largest city in California.Raymond...

, invented the wireless microphone in 1957 to meet the multimedia needs for television, radio, and classroom delivery. His U.S. Patent No. 3,134,074, filed May 6, 1961, (originally filed January 8, 1960) is for the first portable, workable, practical, and dependable wireless microphone. The patent's diagram illustrates a cigar-sized device which was six inches long and weighed seven ounces, including a power supply and transmitter. Impressed by the more than one-half-mile distance of transmission, the FCC granted Litke 12 frequencies at his approval hearing. Litke coined the term "lavalier microphone," a word which appears in his patent.

Also called the Vega-Mike, after Vega Electronics Corporation which first manufactured it in 1959, Litke's midget device (both hand-held and lavalier) was used by the broadcast media during the 1960 Democratic
1960 Democratic National Convention
The 1960 Democratic National Convention was held in Los Angeles. In the end, the Kennedy-Johnson ticket was assembled and went on to secure an electoral college victory and a narrow popular vote plurality in the fall over the Republican candidates Richard M...

 and Republican
1960 Republican National Convention
The 1960 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held in Chicago, Illinois, from July 25 to July 28, 1960, at the International Amphitheatre....

 National Conventions. It allowed television reporters to roam the floor of the convention to interview participants where Presidential candidates Kennedy and Nixon were the first celebrities to use the wireless microphone. The American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) completed testing in 1959, prior to the conventions. Television anchor John Daly
John Charles Daly
John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly (generally known as John Charles Daly or simply John Daly (February 20, 1914 – February 24, 1991) was an American journalist, game show host and radio personality, probably best known for hosting...

 was exuberant with his praises for Litke's invention on the television news in July 1960. The wireless microphone was also tested at the Olympic trials held at Stanford University in 1959.

In newspaper articles from both the San Jose News of September 10, 1960, and The Alma Signal-Enterprise (KS) dated November 10, 1960 and February 26, 1981, Litke attributes the inspiration of his invention to the winged communication of the bee. Although electronics experts and scientists told him the wireless microphone was an impossibility, Litke managed to invent the microphone in 1957. This wireless microphone was only one of Litke’s inventions. In the 1960s, Litke was employed at University of California Medical Center in San Francisco where he invented several medical instruments, including the fiber-optic colonoscope.

Mounting techniques

Lavalier microphones are attached differently depending on the nature of their use. For instance, in theater applications where the microphone is used to amplify an actor or a singer's voice, lavs are typically concealed in their hair. This eliminates the possibility of scratching against their clothing while they move, which would result in the amplification of the scratching sounds as well. It also adds to the suspension of disbelief, since the characters themselves would not be wearing microphones, especially if the plot is set in a time before lavalier microphones existed. Occasionally, specially-designed skin-color headsets known as "headworn microphones" are used in stage applications when actors spend a good deal of their performance singing and moving around quickly (such as in stage musicals and in lecture or presentation scenarios). A headworn microphone is essentially a lavalier on a stiff wire mount which loops over the talent's ear.

In television and documentary applications, the lavalier will typically be clipped to the subject's clothing, such as a tie, jacket or collar. In narrative motion picture usage, lavs are almost always hidden under clothing to conceal the fact that the person is mic'ed. The Boom microphone typically sounds 'better', more natural than a lavalier mic and is always a soundman's first choice, however oftentimes for exterior location shooting, it may be more practical to use a lavalier. One such situation would be during a wide shot that forces the boom operator to keep a distance with his microphone from the speaking talent that isn't close enough to achieve a good signal to noise ratio. In that instance a lav mic hidden on the talent due to its proximity can achieve good signal to noise ratio for recording of speech. When lavalier microphones need to be concealed under clothing, the possibility of material scratching against the microphone is a certain risk. To minimize this, sound recordists might wrap the head of the microphones in moleskin
Moleskin
Moleskin, originally referring to the short, silky fur of a mole, is heavy cotton fabric, woven and then sheared to create a short soft pile on one side. The word is also used for clothing made from this fabric, as well as adhesive pads stuck to the skin to prevent blisters.Clothing made from...

 or place it inside a hollow centered column-shaped sponge and place it under a placard, behind a button, or within the knot of a tie.
The transmitter pack which the microphone is attached to may also need to be hidden under a person's clothing. Transmitter pouches are held on with elastic straps and hold the transmitter in various places, hidden wherever the clothing provides a non revealing space, i.e. high around the waist in the space created at the spine just above the belt line, inside the thigh under a skirt or dress, about the ankles under a pant leg, or even on the inside of a boot.

Manufacturers

  • AKG Acoustics
    AKG Acoustics
    AKG Acoustics is an Austrian manufacturer of microphones, headphones, wireless audio systems and related accessories for professional and consumer markets...

  • Audio-Technica
    Audio-Technica
    , established in 1962 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a company that designs and manufactures professional wired and wireless microphones, headphones, phonographic magnetic cartridges, and other audio equipment. One of their most famous products was a battery-operated, portable record player...

  • Beyerdynamic
    Beyerdynamic
    Beyerdynamic GmbH & Co. KG is a German audio equipment manufacturer, which produces microphones, headphones, wireless audio systems and conference systems. Beyerdynamic remains a family owned company since it was founded in 1924.-History:...

  • Countryman
    Countryman
    - Personnel :*Craig Allen – Art Direction, Design*Sweet Pea Atkinson – Vocals*Dan Bosworth – Guitar*Sir Harry Bowens – Vocals*Kim Buie – Executive Producer*Santa Davis – Drums*Richard Feldman – Guitar, Producer, Engineer, Mixing*Pam Hall – Vocals...

  • DPA Microphones
  • MIPRO
    MIPRO
    MIPRO Electronics Co. Ltd. , established in 1995, is an ISO-9001 certified Taiwan-based company that designs and manufactures wireless microphones, portable wireless public address and other wireless audio equipment for consumer, professional and commercial applications. U.S...

  • Polycom
    Polycom
    Polycom is a multinational corporation with approximately 3,200 employees worldwide and an annual revenue of approximately $1.2 billion in 2010. The company manufactures and sells telepresence and voice communications solutions.-Company History 1990:...

  • Posthorn Recordings (Sonotrim)
  • Professional Sound Corporation (PSC)
  • Samson Technologies
    Samson Technologies
    Samson Technologies is an audio production conglomerate that is made up of the following companies or elements:* Hartke Systems* Samson Audio* Samson Wireless* Zoom Corporation...

  • Sanken
  • Sennheiser
    Sennheiser
    Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG is a private German audio company specializing in the design and production of a wide range of both consumer and high fidelity products, including microphones, headphones, telephony accessories, and avionics headsets for consumer, professional, and business...

  • Shure
    Shure
    Shure Incorporated is an American corporation originally founded by Sidney N. Shure in Chicago, Illinois in 1925 as a supplier of radio parts kits. The company became a consumer and professional audio-electronics manufacturer of microphones, wireless microphone systems, phonograph cartridges,...

  • Sony
    Sony
    , commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

  • TRAM
    Tram
    A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

  • Voice Technologies
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