History
Lapel microphones date from 1932. Various models were made including ones with condensor diaphragms, ribbons, moving coils, and carbon buttons. The term referred to any small microphone that could be hooked into the buttonhole of the lapel of a coat. The lapel microphone offered freedom of movement.
The term lavalier originally referred to jewelry in the form of a pendant worn around the neck. Its use as the name of a type of microphone originates from the 1930s when various practical solutions to microphone use involved hanging the microphone from the neck. For instance, a Dictaphone microphone could be suspended on a belt around the neck in order to retain some degree of freedom of movement while recording one's voice onto a wax cylinder in 1941. Telephone operators and air traffic controllers used microphones resting on the chest and secured by a strap around the neck. In the 1950s, some microphone models were designed to be hung on a string around the neck. In 1953, Electro-Voice introduced the Model 647A, a small omnidirectional dynamic microphone fitted with a cord to go around the neck. The body of the 647A was lightweight at 2 ounces (57 g), and relatively small at .75 inches (19 mm) in diameter and 3.63 inches (92 mm) in length. In 1954, Shure Brothers offered the larger 530 Slendyne which could be handheld, mounted on microphone stand, or worn around the neck on a "lavalier cord".
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