Radio mics are the part of a show most likely to go wrong in front of an audience. A pack that dies mid-solo, a headset that slips, two channels fighting over the same frequency — none of it is unusual, and all of it is avoidable with the right kit and a bit of planning. We hire headworn systems for cast use and handhelds for soloists, compères and speeches, on Channel 38, by the day. Take them dry-hired and run them yourselves, or have one of our technicians look after them. If you are not sure how many channels your show needs, tell us about the busiest scene and we will work it out with you.
Headworn mics are for performers who need their hands free and a steady level while they move — most musical theatre, most youth productions, any speaking role that has to carry over a band. The capsule sits close to the mouth, so the level holds whether the performer is upstage or down, and you get far more gain before feedback than a float mic gives you. Our Trantec S5.3 systems hire as a rack, from four channels up to twelve, on Channel 38.
Handhelds suit anyone standing still and talking to the room: a head teacher, a compère, a soloist. The Sennheiser G3 handheld kit covers that, and one mic can pass down a line of speakers all evening with nobody needing to be fitted with anything. It is forgiving, too — hand one to someone who has never used a mic and they will hold it roughly right.
Channel 38 and the licence you need
Channel 38 is the slice of UHF the UK keeps for radio mics, 606.5 to 613.5 MHz, and using it needs an Ofcom licence, bought online and valid for one or two years. Shared is the operative word. Your licence lets you work anywhere in the UK but gives you no exclusive claim on a frequency, so if another user is in the same building that night, sorting it out is down to the two of you. Ofcom publishes a ten-frequency plan for the band that avoids the worst intermodulation clashes. The licence-exempt band around 863 to 865 MHz needs no paperwork but has room for only a handful of channels: fine for one presenter, no use for a cast.
How many channels your show actually needs
Counting your principals is where most people start, and where most people get it wrong. Work from the busiest scene rather than the cast list. Eight named parts do not need eight channels unless all eight are on stage at once — though if that happens in the finale, eight is the number. Dance shows are usually a lighter ask: a compère plus a couple of spoken pieces, and four channels covers the evening. Whatever figure you land on, add one. Something goes wrong at some point in a run, and a spare pack on the desk turns a disaster into a thirty-second problem.
Coordination, antennas and the day itself
Scan and set your receivers in the room you are performing in, not the room you unpacked in. Broadcast transmitters, other users and the building itself all change what is clean, so a rig that behaved at last year's venue may not behave at this one. Antennas want height and a clear view of the stage; a rack tucked behind a curtain in the wings is asking for dropouts. Fresh batteries before every performance, no exceptions — a pack that has done the dress rehearsal is not a pack to trust for the show. Then walk the full stage with each channel live before the audience comes in.
Sharing mics, hygiene and spares
Sharing a headset between cast members works well when the gap is real: performer comes off, someone in the wings mutes the pack, swaps it onto the next one, unmutes. It falls apart when the gap is ninety seconds and the handover happens in the dark. Mark every swap on the script before you decide how many channels to hire. Headsets are worn against skin, so by the end of a week they have collected sweat, make-up and hairspray. Wipe the earpiece and boom between performers, and carry spare foam windshields. Keep hairspray away from a fitted mic altogether — it ruins capsules faster than anything else. Tell us if mics are being shared and we will talk through spares.
Radio mic hire for school shows and musicals
Most of what we send out goes to school halls, and the pattern is always the same: a cast bigger than the budget, one tech rehearsal, and a sound operator who may be a pupil. That is what the systems are prepped for. Racks arrive pre-tuned and frequency-coordinated, each channel labelled, with fresh batteries and spare headworn mics in the case. Show-week rates cover the run rather than charging every day at the full daily rate, and if the cast grows in rehearsals we can usually scale the system up rather than starting again. Tell us the show, the hall and the cast size, and we will recommend a channel count.
Rates are per day and exclude VAT. Ask us about multi-day and show-week rates, delivery, and hiring with a technician.
Common questions
For Channel 38 kit like the Trantec S5.3 and the Sennheiser G3, yes. It is a shared UK-wide licence from Ofcom, bought online and valid for one or two years, and it sits with whoever is operating the equipment. Some venues already hold one, so it is worth asking your site manager before you buy another. Raise it with us when you enquire and we will make sure you know where you stand before the booking.
Count the busiest scene rather than the cast list, then add a spare channel. Most school musicals land somewhere between six and twelve; a dance show with a compère and a few spoken pieces is often four. Our Trantec S5.3 systems hire from four channels up to twelve, so you can size it to the show instead of taking a fixed package.
Yes. Everything here can be dry-hired for your own team to operate, or supplied with a technician who sets up, runs the frequency scan, fits the headsets and rides the levels through the show. If nobody on your side has used radio mics before, the technician is usually the better call — the first hour of a get-in is where problems are either found or missed.
Yes, provided there is a proper gap between their scenes and somebody in the wings to make the swap with the pack muted. Wipe the earpiece and boom, change the foam windshield, and check the fit before the next performer goes on. Where the gaps are tight, an extra channel is worth more than a rushed handover in front of an audience.
