Mounting a Lav Mic in a Tie with The Lav Concealer

Here Poul takes us through a method for mounting a lavalier mic in a tie knot so that it's totally invisible and provides a clean and clear sound. He also shows how the cable is managed for this method of mounting.

We used a Sanken COS-11 and The Lav Concealer for this and to demonstrate how effective this method is we've left the mic's channel live for the duration - you can hear the noise while fitting it and how it sounds when Caleb talks. No processing has been applied to the sound. It was recorded with a Sound Devices 633.

Basic mounting points:

• Thread the cable through the tie knot, into the shirt, over the shoulder and down the back, securing with a loop and tape to the lower back region.
• Using a Cable Saver protects both your mount and your combiner from shock caused if the beltpack drops suddenly.
• Fit the microphone into The Lav Concealer, add the Fabric Guard to keep space around the capsule when it's in the tie knot.
• Push The Lav Concealer and mic up into the tie knot, just out of sight, and pull the remaining cable back into the shirt.
• Use some Piece-A-Fur to quieten rustle and friction noise on the back of the tie and under the tightest areas of the shirt.

The Lav Concealer is made of soft rubber to absorb as much of the vibration and friction as possible, with a removable fabric guard to give the mic capsule as much air as possible. As well as the Sanken COS-11 version, it is also available for DPA 4060, 4061 and 4071 lavalier mics, with more models on the way in 2019.