When Don Shelley of the First Rowlett United Methodist Church in Texas decided it was finally time to replace (5) portable boom-arm mics that had been purchased more than 20 years earlier, he figured he had really got his money’s worth. The old mics had started to show wear and recently began emitting interference noise that he couldn’t seem to eliminate, so he contacted the manufacturer for some advice. ACE Backstage helped establish that the interference was probably a result of increased mobile network activity that older mics were not built to repel. The good news was that new model microphones from ACE Backstage are designed to provide protection against this exact type of audible interference.
These days almost everything from your cell phone to your refrigerator transfers data over a network. Older electronics, including older microphones, can sometimes act like an antenna for this electromagnetic energy, resulting in audible interference. But with the help of partners Audio Technica and SHURE, all current model ACE Backstage Choir Stick Microphones (CSMs) offer RF immunity with shielded and re-engineered components and preamplifiers for unsurpassed protection against today’s hostile RF environment.
Proaudio.com had worked with Don before and was able to take advantage of the manufacturer discount ACE offers their Dealers on multi-mic packages to give the church a considerable discount on the replacement CSMs. And because these microphones are always in stock, the church received them in time for the bell choir performance scheduled for the Sunday service.
Like many churches these days, the Rowlett UMC conducts both live and digital worship services with their choir boom-arm microphones because they are portable, lightweight, and invisible for quick set up and intense weekly use. Mr. Shelley reports with enthusiasm that the new CSMs are “remarkable in their flexibility”. They provide well balance audio from multi-mic placement configurations for large choirs and productions or from single mic placement for featured instrument performances. And because the ACE CSM can be configured with interchangeable capsules and options to increase or eliminate background (audience) pickup, they work well for live sound applications as well as recording or broadcast.
