Karaoke Forums

I generally hold the mic close to my lips either, touching, almost touching or within an inch. I do pull it back at certain times like if I'm straining for a high note or for very loud notes. I think I hold it so close because I don't have a powerful voice.

At my show last night someone in the audience remarked to the seminar presenter that I was holding the mic too close. They told him they were experienced in this type of thing.

I didn't speak to the person at the time and didn't hear about it until later. I know you get more plosives that way. I was using a foam wind screen in the past and I think I may go back to using them again.

What do you do?

What is the preferred way that is recommended by experts and professionals?

I hold mine similarly close.

About 10mm from my mouth.

For powerful notes I move it sideways a bit.

If it is a good mic with sufficient gain, I hold it 3-5 inches from my mouth for most notes and sometimes closer for low notes. If it is a not-so-good mic, which usually means less gain, I have to hold it close.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

about the same...3-5 inches away from my mouth. I can't imagine touching my lips to a mic that's been used by any singers, potential germs, diseases and infections...ugh.

Some of my singers rest their chins on the mic while singing...i kinda hate that and it looks funny

Maybe using a personal windscreen for yourself Stogie if you like to make contact with the mic..keep yourself safe and healthy!

3-5 is good, especially if sharing a mic.

At home or otherwise on my own mic, I eat that sucker, but I do have a very soft voice and it helps a lot.

The comment about resting the chin on the mic… some pros want to sing on/close to the mic but don’t want the plosives, so the sing just above it like that.

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Hate is like taking poison, hoping the other guy gets sick

I wish my voice was more powerful, I'd hold the mic further away.

I may have gotten in the habit by using mics without sufficient gain and so because my voice isn't that powerful, I compensated by holding the mic very close. I need to get out of that habit and hold it at least an inch or two away. I'll just have to be mindful about it for a while.

Soft voices are fine.

Did you know Shania Twain has such a soft voice they had to create new technology to get the mic gain up high enough in arenas? She sounds like she is belting it out, but she has a very soft voice.

Your Sennheiser 835s are excellent mics, and you should be able to turn the gain up on them without feedback. Experiment with that -- you might like it..

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

As far away as possible for me. Sometimes KJs will mic chase.....they turn up or down the volume, as the singer changes the distance of the mic to the mouth. If they have only even sung once before, they know the closer the mike the louder the mike, and if they hold it far away, it's because want to barely, if at all, be heard. Most singers know they can adjust the volume of their voice by mic to mouth distance........set it within the first few seconds, and leave it alone.....jmho
I really hate when people put their mouth on the mic, though.....

EVERY one of my mics react differently using the system built around the powered speakers vs the Fender Passport.

I tell people to hold the mics close, right at the mouth, using the Fender and about 6 inches from the mouth using the Yamaha board!

As to "pulling away" that is a good technique as the voice gets louder!

I have a VERY strong voice, tends to be on the shrill side in upper chest voice range with music like Journey, so I always warn the sound person - drop the highs, watch the volume. I hold the mic almost touching my mouth - and pull it back appropriately. Of course this depends on the mic, as well - and here we go, but cheap mics are not as 'tolerant.' Inexperienced sound people who have their gain/sliders so screwed up that with the slightest movement there is horrid feedback...and that combined with cheap mics is definitely a sound disaster waiting to happen. Having the mic too far from the mouth creates too much potential for ambient noise, feedback, etc. Not very forgiving...and too many variables. Better to have it close to the mouth (1-3 inches). Must be a reason why the pros do it that way.

My Samson wireless is quite sensitive which I guess means it's high gain, i can get serious volume out of that mic. I haven't used it much since I got it because it uses batteries so fast. Once I get my rechargeable 9 volts I'll have to try it again. By the way, someone made a comment about the 9 volt batteries, that they might not have enough power, the ones I'm looking at on ebay are 280mAh. I think I've seen them as high as 320mAh.

Interesting info on Shania Twain, I didn't know that.

I've seen most of the people when I have hosted the last few times holding the mic quite a distance from their mouth and the seminar presenter who I do the senior shows for, I have asked him several times to hold the mic closer because I have to crank up the mic channel when he is speaking due to holding the mic far away and not speaking very loud.

I'm filling in tonight at a VFW, I'll have to pay attention and see how people do it at that location.

I try to keep the mic about 2-3 inches from my mouth. I guess it can depend on the mic you use but vocal clarity tends be better if you give yourself a little breathing room. I have several different mics and this has been the case for each of them regardless of their cost.

To me (mostly live band), the mic is just as much an instrument as my Keyboards or Guitar. Knowing your voice and good mic technique is crucial to a good performance. On one song I sing lead on (Low by Cracker) during the first verse I'm pretty much right on the mic, then in the second verse the timber on the song changes so I back off about a foot from the mic, to make it balance out because I'm pushing harder . In another song (Fly Me Courageous by Drivin and Cryin) I just do harmony duty but in two different registers in different parts of the song. In the main part of the song I'm in a lower register and I am off the mic about six inches, during the bridge of the song I switch to the high harmony and actually move off the mic about two feet. So I guess I am saying, to me, there aren't any rules to distance, it just depends on what your trying to accomplish.

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

It depends upon several factors. First the type of mic. You have to know mic tecniques Then after that it depends upon the system and how the soundman has levels set. An experienced singer can adjust to any system in seconds if they can hear the monitor and FOH too.

With Shures I almost eat them an hold above the mouth pointed down to eliminate lisp.For chorus or highs I turn and hold more away from the mouth. There is no set rules but do what the situation demands.

BTW if you are afraid of germs I would suggest (no I aint gonna say it)

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yes, I hate germs.......but I can be germ conscience, since I don't have a lisp...

I've never though about it til you said this. But since you did, I'm here mimicking it to myself. I think that I probably on average hold it about 1 to 2 inches away, and then for alot of the highs and such, I often move it away to 6 inches or so, or turn either my head or the mic slightly so that I am singing at kindof an angle or not directly into the mic head.

Interesting, I never paid attention to it.

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You mean the mic shouldn't be part of your face?

I hold the mic any where from as near as one inch from the lips to almost a foot away. This depend on the song and how hot the mic is set. More important is that the mic is never in a steady distance, but rather it 'moves' with the dynamic of the song. As a singer I don't like compressor in the mic channel cos I prefer to do it myself.

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

being a radio jock for a few years we were taught that the optimum distance from a mic was in a heart shape area anything from 1 to 6 inches

to sing however its a bit different...for ballads I am quite hard onto the mic...I am lucky because again the broadcasting training I have had means I dont pop so I dont use a mic sock...I do however have a bit of sibilance (heavy on the S) and that was more of a prob with sm 58s than with the mics I use now. If the song is intimate, yet I have to get a bit strong then, like nick I turn my head away so as I am singing across the mic instead of directly into it

If I am going to be getting vocally strong then I use a mic stand and take a step (or more) away as required...Nights in White Satin is a perfect example of a song that I use a mic stand for...I step up close and intimate for the verses then step back, take a breath and belt out the chorus

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."