Pastor Mark’s Microphone

One of the most common questions we get is “What microphone does Pastor Mark Driscoll use?”  Here is the low down, on what we use and some of the rational behind it.

We use the Countryman E6 and E6i headphone microphones for 95% of our applications.  We do own 2 DPA 4066 Headset microphones as well.  Pastor Mark uses the DPA because he thinks it is more comfortable, however I think the Countryman is more comfortable, but he is the one that wears it.  They booth have similar capsules and pick up patterns.  For our application, Pastor Mark, the DPA 4066 sounds better, but it is also a more expensive microphone.

The biggest difference between the units is the way they sit on your head.  The countryman E6 and E6i sit on one ear and wrap around the cheek to the mouth.  (Countryman has come out with the “E6 Ear Clip” to give the mic support over both ears.)  The DPA 4060 series mics have a frame that sits on both ears and the boom of the mic attaches to that frame, and wraps around the cheek to the mouth.  Both are fairly comfortable, lightweight, and easy to mold to the user’s head.

I’ve mentioned the E6 and the E6i – so, what’s the difference?  The E6 is a slightly stiffer boom arm and ear piece, and consequently meant for mostly one user.  With it being stiffer, it can be stored in it’s case and pulled out, and still be shaped right.  One note of caution with this though, I’ve had Pastors reshaping an E6 and break the boom arm in half.   Countryman does provide directions for the shaping of the E6, and if they are followed, it wont break.  So, moral of this story is to make sure you really know how to mold the E6 properly (and it’s not that difficult).  The E6i is a much more flexible boom arm and ear piece, which makes it ideal for multiple wearers of the mic.  The downside to this is that it doesn’t hold it’s shape as well in storage, and needs to be remolded before every use.  The E6i also offers a larger rubber grip for the portion which goes around the ear, that does grip the ear a little better.  There are various sensitivities and colors to choose from for booth mics, please see their webpage for complete details.  (Countryman has also come out with the E6s, which is a short boomed E6, a cool idea, but require more gain to use, increasing your chances of feedback.  Use this one with caution.)

We also utilize a DPA Lavaliere microphone on a wireless for primary back up.  There is also always a wired DPA Lavaliere microphone close by in case all wireless systems go down for some reason.

We use Sennheiser wireless systems.  Most brands would work comparably well.  Every campus has the Sennheiser G2 series for wireless microphones (as Sennheiser replaces the G2 with the G3 series we will be purchasing those for new applications).  Pastor Mark is using the 3000 series wireless systems.  If you are looking to go wireless, look for the following in the unit(s):

• Diversity antennas – Allows for pick up from the strongest signal on the strongest antenna.
• Remote-able antennas – Allows you to move the actual antennas to a different location then your equipment racks, and allows you to use antenna combiners, so multiple wireless systems can use one set of antennas.
• Frequency agile units - There are two basic types of units out there. Ones that allow you to change the frequency you are operating on and ones that do not.  Get the ones that allow you to change frequencies, as this will let you change them without having to go buy a new system.

In general, wireless units do follow the rule of the more you pay for them, the better they are.  Yes, you can hear the differences as well.  In general, I would not look at purchasing any system that the MSPR (retail or list price) is less than about $700.00.  Remember that you should never actually pay the MSRP price.  For instance the systems we use list for $899.00 and we can regularly purchase them for $500.00-$550.00.  Systems less then this generally are really cheap and you wind up unhappy with it in the long run.