Listening Further

Of all the Elements I have come across while working the one I have been the most impressed with is the Countryman E6. There are some drawbacks while using this element, however, especially in a community theatre environment. According to the user manual you are suppose to bend these elements around your thumb so you don’t bend the metal in a 90 degree angle. The problem with this in a community theatre environment is that people are rushing to get the microphones on the actors faces. During this rush the volunteers end up bending 90s all over the elements. Later these volunteers end up trying to unbend a 90 they have made or found. The concept is similar to what happens when you bend a paper clip back and forth several times. Unfortunately the E6 breaks at the 90. Many of the E6s I have come across have 90s bent in odd locations which causes problems when micing people. In the end you get odd looking elements behind the ears, often looking like zig-zags. Countryman states that you shouldn’t ever have to bend the element once its shipped from the factory because they are preset for people’s faces. But in the end everyone’s face is not the same. The solution to this from Countryman is the E6i which allows for more flexibility. This element ends up being too pliable and during costume changes it bends into odd positions. Still I have ended up liking the E6i more in community theatre, especially if band aids are applied properly and in the right locations and you explain to the talent that the element can easily bend. In the end these elements don’t break when a 90 is bent into them.

My point in the end is that the Countryman elements are really good, but the end user putting the elements on the faces of performers has to know how to take care of them!