Welcome to the next installment of "Tech Talk." This monthly feature will hopefully help you understand about certain sound and musical gadgets that everyone sees but are just not sure how they operate in the real world.

This month we will be talking about another piece of equipment that is being used by Southern Gospel groups--Audio Technica's 4000 Series Handheld Wireless Units.

The Audio-Technica 4000 Series handheld wireless system is showing up on more and more national tours. Turn on the television set, go to see many arena touring acts, and you'll see the Audio-Technica 4000 Series systems in use. Why? They sound great and they're reliable. There's no other reason.

Any major tour or program produced for national television broadcast can afford any wireless it wants to use, so why not pick the very best? These tours must know something. The 4000 Series sounds as good as any other wireless made, and it costs under $1000 per unit.

With the 4000 Series you have a few choices for handheld microphones. At $949.95 is the AE3300 large diaphragm condenser element. The even-larger diaphragm AE5400 element is $1,099.95, and the $829.95 system with the AE6100 stacks up to many $5,000 wireless systems.

Take it from me. Take it from the tours. Whatever you do, just take this wireless system with you! You won't be disappointed.

Til next time,

Roger Fortner

TECH TALK FAQ

Have you ever had any interference in live setups?

VERY little. We have been using 4 wireless systems for about five years and have had two incidences where there was interference, but all I had to do was re-scan the units and it cleared up.

Any EQ problems?

None. They are very responsive to EQ changes.

Are they rugged enough for the road?

YES!

How about battery usage?

The mics take 2 AA batteries. You can expect about 15 hours of use before changing.

What about the cost?

The price falls in the $1,059.00 - $1939 range. You'll need to check with an authorized Audio-Technica dealer for exact pricing.