Tech Tip #7 More Rules ?

Welcome back to tech tips. The Blog that strives to arm you with common sense tips that the everyday (or should I say every weekend ?) sound person can use. I really try to avoid getting too technical, but sometimes we just have to go there. This is one of those times. So here we go with the ..................

DISTANCE HALVED RULE
A person at a local church is at the podium reading a passage from a book. They start to speak and are poorly audible because they are about 6 inches from the microphone. You want to make it twice as loud. You have options, but only one really makes sense. We will use the distance halved rule to solve our problem. Below are the options that are presented by the DHR.

A - Moving the P.A. system physically closer to the audience by a factor of 50%

B - Moving the audience physically closer to the P.A. system by a factor of 50%

C - Have the person talking move closer to the mic by a factor of 50% (3 inches)

So, by having the person speaking move from 6 inches away to 3 inches away you are able to increase the acoustic gain (volume) by half. Now, this is a lot easier than moving the big heavy P.A. speakers. How about the entire audience? Of course A and B are simply out and C is the most realistic solution. Unfortunately, many times I see a sound tech struggle to get enough gain (volume) from someone who is speaking impossibly far from the microphone. The distance halved rule is there to help you if you know how to use it. My solution is to simply and discreetly walk up to the podium and gently adjust the microphone stand until the mic is closer by a factor of ….. you guessed it. 50% Try not to smack them in the teeth as you move the stand of course. I would like to mention that a quick microphone lesson with the speaker of the day will go a long way towards a smooth sound experience.
I hope this tip helps you out in some small way. Take care and see you Friday.
TT