GEAR REVIEW
POINT-SOURCE AUDIO EMBRACE ( EO-8WL ) EARMOUNT MICROPHONE | Mitch Bohannon
I have been involved in worship for most of my life . I ’ ve served on church staff since 2003 and have worked in a variety of settings and with an equal variety of budgets . I ’ m very cautious with my budget because ultimately , it ’ s someone ’ s tithe money . the cable . This way , you can use it as a highly concealed over-the-ear setting or for more quiet voices , you can choose one that sets the mic below the ear and extended an inch or so down the jawline . My pastor has a big voice , so setting it close and over the ear was perfect .
I ’ ve watched over the years how preaching / speaking microphones have changed . Gone are the days of podium microphones and even lavaliers . Podium mics kept the pastors from moving around and lavaliers would allow them to move , but did not allow them to turn their heads much and they would inevitably jump in volume when they looked down to read the Word !
I actually used to lead worship with a popular ear-worn microphone , and it worked well for me . Between that , my wireless in-ears , and my wireless guitar , I felt like a storm trooper with all the belt-packs ! I really never had a problem with the mic moving around . Maybe that says something about my ears ! At that same time , I had the exact same microphone for my pastor , and he broke at least three of them ! He would pull and tug on it and end up breaking the mic in the section that wrapped around his ear .
In the last few churches I have served at , the dual-ear head-worn microphone has been popular . However , I am not a fan . At first , for me as a glasses wearer , I could not imagine wearing glasses and then having both ears involved in my microphone as well . Now , even more so as a technical director , looking at someone on screen with the dual-ear mic is distracting . It ’ s worse with a bald pastor !
So , the physical “ hardware ” of the microphones was bothering me and then dealing with people who just simply could not understand how to get the little boom microphones placed correctly against their faces had me wishing
for the days of podium microphones again ! When the mic would pull away from their face , it looked silly and there would an added potential for feedback . Then , if they would bend the mic into their face , having it scratch against whiskers can be even worse . There had to be another way !
An ad for the Point-Source Audio EMBRACE microphone popped up on my Instagram feed and a lightbulb went off . I ’ ve seen little , concealtype mics used in theater applications for years . It got me thinking , “ Why are folks not using these for preachers if they work for theater ?” So , I showed my pastor and then ordered the EO-8WL for him .
I tested it out before I put it on him , and I absolutely loved the feel of it . The EMBRACE mics come with a few soft-molded fittings into which you can set the microphone and thread
The omni-directional microphone is quite sensitive , but with most everyone running digital mixers , dialing in a personal EQ for the pastor is a breeze . It ’ s even easier if you ’ re running plugins and can use a feedback eliminator to ring the mic out ! For our system , we set a four specific cuts in his EQ … one at 250Hz , another at about 520Hz . Then a cut at 1000Hz and another at 2000Hz . Before making those cuts , we could hear the choir stirring behind him as he was speaking , and the mic was attempting to feed back . But now that we ’ ve tamed the sound , he sounds great , and it looks great on camera . I ’ m sure you know , but copying our EQ adjustments will not magically work in your room . However , it could be helpful to understand that there will probably be more than one place to cut … including the sensitivity setting of your body-pack transmitter . Point- Source Audio has a pretty handy resource with other points to consider that you can view here .
My pastor is super pleased and even said after this past Sunday that he forgets that he ’ s wearing it because it ’ s so lightweight and comfortable . I ’ m determined to order more .
MAP $ 399 www . Point-SourceAudio . com 108 December 2024 Subscribe for Free ...