What's the Best Lavalier Mic Position?

I'm just curious what the best position is for Lavalier microphones. I've never gotten sound that I'm too thrilled with so I figured I'd try 6 positions and get your feedback.

Listening back to the raw unprocessed sound, I think position 3 is the best sounding. It has the best mix of low end and clarity from the top end without introducing too much room tone like we got in position 4.

Lav mic: Rode lavalier II
Interface: Rode AI-Micro
Gain: ~90%
24-bit, 48khz

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[AlamarFly]

3 is good for this mic, 6 not practical, but sounds much better

[SoundSpeeds]

Clip it to your tongue. That's how us pros do it.

[jason]

#3 is my preference for that lav and your voice

[kote]

It is worth noting that the location of the microphone on the cap makes sense: the sound will not change much if you tilt your head, unlike mounting it in the chest area.

[robynrox]

Also, this is the ONLY short I've ever seen where it made sense for the video to auto-repeat. Usually I absolutely hate that and I tend to avoid shorts for that reason!

[ahriik]

I'm a location sound mixer, and when I wire up talent I usually go for #3. But it can sometimes be problematic with certain kinds of clothing or with people have particularly deep voices (can end up sounding too boomy/muddy). The best sounding lavs I've ever recorded have nearly always been #6 though. It honestly feels like magic, not having to deal with any clothing rustle, muffling, or sweaty chests weakening the adhesive. It's just pretty rare that a talent is wearing a hat or something similar for the majority of the shoot. Hiding in glasses has always proved tricky for me - seems to work great for stage, but at least in my experience, it's usually way too visible for film/commercials.

[jasonday]

Location sound mixer here. I typically always go for something similar to 3 unless timing or appearance is a factor. For interview setups, clipping over clothes is typically the best way to go, no adhesive, no fabric muffling, and it's fast and easy, fitting for when you're thrown on location and have the bare minimum time to get set up.
Problem is you only really get good audio to rely on the lav if it's about 8 inches away from the chin, so it's only reliable if your subject is wearing an open jacket, a cardigan, a collared shirt, or something similar where you can clip the lav on the outside and then hide the wire. Filming is easy but awkward and takes more time because typically if you tape it to the middle of someone's chest it'll work, the only problem is fabric russling and muffling. A good solution is taping to the fabric itself because skin has less friction, but then if you're not careful you can see the outline of the mic or tape.
It's a crapshoot, but you can always find a way to make things work.

[Hugmir]

It sounded best held in front, but that method kind of defeats the purpose of a lav...
I 'd settle either for the mid-upper chest position or the hat one, to combine comfort with quality.

[miniatureface]

1. Holding in hand
2. Hat
3. Mid chest
4. Lower chest
5. Center collar
6. Side collar

[Kragatar]

Handholding sounded best, but you might as well use a proper handheld mic in that case. I'd say 6 inches down on your shirt was best for normal lav mic use.

[DragonKingGaav]

I wish you would review more lavalier mics/wireless mics.

[kote]

6 sounds best, followed by 3. But 3 is more practical.

[Edwin--]

The 3rd position has my preference, sounds nice and open.

[romasnatakrishna]

Once again this guy showing a good vidéo for people that still amateur like me 😁😁😁😁

[bradburymedia]

3 sounded best, but it does depend on the mic's properties. Most (but not all) proper lavs are designed for wearing around the chest area, and often have a frequency response designed around this - meaning that it's expected to pick up a lot of bass. Using such a lav handheld would be a mistake as the sound would be lacking in body.

Standard practice in broadcast in the UK is to place it somewhat centrally at chest height, but with the capsule pointing DOWN. Since lavs are (nearly always) omnidirectional, it doesn't matter too much which way it points, but inverting it reduces the risk of breath noise and sibilance (as the omni pattern is more perfect at lower frequencies, and less so at the higher end).

[khalilsstories]

Theres also presets you can add to make the audio sound amazing

[Glen.Danielsen]

I agree with Jason below: Lav about six inches below chin on shirt. On other hand, seemed to have very smooth sound on collar to the side. Grateful subscriber earthling here! 💛🤗

[mountainhobo]

Whenever I had an opportunity to speak in large halls, and someone else managed the sound, they would attach the lav mic to me like in your position #3, and based on what I am hearing here, they were right.

[JoseOnTheAir]

3 is good. I know of instances of people taping or pinning the mic when routed under the shirt. SourceFed used to do it that way their whole run

[lotsaringwear]

I clipped my Rode lav mic onto the middle of my pop filter screen and it sounds great!