News:

Welcome to the Renaissancefestival.com Forums!  Please post an introduction after signing up!

For an updated map of Ren Fests check out The Ren List at http://www.therenlist.com!

The Chat server is now running again, just select chat on the menu!

Main Menu

Vocal mics

Started by Terry Griffith, May 27, 2008, 10:33:37 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Terry Griffith

Hi,
I'm having a bit of a debate, mostly with myself, about vocal mics.  Last year our good friend and marvelous musician, "Cast in Bronze" was about 50 feet from my stage where I sing and play Irish music, some acapella.  As much as I love his music, if we didn't have amplification, we would have been useless on the Pirate Pub Stage at Morelandshire.  You just can't compete with 9 tons of bells without mundane equipment. 

The wireless lovelier mics we were given presented several problems ranging from feedback to bleeding into another stage's system.  I think I have solved both problems with a face mike that plugs in to the pa.  The appearance of the thing is what has me perplexed and maybe someone else's opinion will help me decide. 

It's a black small mic only about an inch square and a black wire to hold it close to me face.  I have a dark beard so it's not that obvious from strait on but if you catch me from the side it looks like Garth Brooks on acid or Britney Spears sober.  I'm afraid the image will be lost because of it's obviousness.  On the other hand, she wore a glove...sorry... on the other hand, the lovelier was hidden but so far below my mouth that it had to be turned way up and that caused feedback at certain angles.  It was a constant problem.  Not to mention that just as I was doing a take off of "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life"  (the line "life's a piece of sh*t if you look at it") the children's stage over the hill picked up my signal and a few toddlers went home with a new word.  The wire coming down my back and plugged into another wire on the floor breaks the picture but I won't get arrested for contributing.

What say you?  If you have to have amplification, what do you prefer besides the dreaded vine covered boom mic.
"There's a unicorn that's hangin' in what's known as father's room......"

troubadude

I've seen and used a lot of various mic's at festivals (in costume).  My preference is a wireless Lavalier placed as close to the mouth as possible.  When I was with TomLori, we doubled (used one on each side) them and had no problem with picking up a signal.  We were able to hide the mic's in our garb and put the "sending unit" in a bag on our belts to hid it.  We set the gain just high enough to pick-up the signal and have had little to no problems with feedback.  I've seen many others at faires use this set-up, it may take a little time to make all the adjustments, but it's worth it. . .

If others are using wireless mic's, you will just need to make sure you coordinate frequencies with other wireless users. 

Good luck, and I hope this helps, 

Tom
Troubadude

if music be the food of love, play on!

Terry Griffith

Thanks, Tom.  I never thought of doubeling them up.  That makes sense except I've found the ones that really work well and present the fewest problems are (like everything else) expensive.  Doubeling that cost is a problem.  Maybe next year.

Also something that I didn't know until the experience lase year, even though you make sure the frequencyies are different, as soon as you turn one mic off, the receiver picks up the nearest mic that is on.  Maybe that was because of the low cost equipment that we were given.  That's why I decided to provide my own this year.
"There's a unicorn that's hangin' in what's known as father's room......"

Capt Robertsgrave Thighbiter

Terry,  wirelss mics, good ones, are BIG bucks. The cheaper ones will drive you to distraction and you'll be lucky indeed if you get a satisfactory performance with them.  Thats just my experience
( 35+ yrs) of performing. 

Good luck
If the rum's gone, so is the fun
*images and URLs not allowed in signatures* -Admin
Party like it's 1724

Terry Griffith

Capt., I have discovered that what you say is absolutely true.  That's why I've decided to stick with a hard wired face mic for the time being.  Maybe when I get that million dollar recording contract  ::) I can move up to the state of the art stuff.

I have the best acoustic guitars you can buy, the best pa head and speakers and duplicates of every other piece of equipment I use just in case, but the fancy-shmancy mic will just have to wait unless somebody here retires and wants to sell used ones at a reasonable price.
"There's a unicorn that's hangin' in what's known as father's room......"

PurpleDragon

Terry,

Have you checked on Craigslist or something like that maybe there is someone who does have some for sale in your area at a price more agreeable. 
Karl "Dragon" Wolff
The Pirates Cove

Bin Ich SCHLECHT? Ja BIN Ich.

Terry Griffith

Quote from: PurpleDragon on October 08, 2008, 03:05:33 PM
Terry,

Have you checked on Craigslist or something like that maybe there is someone who does have some for sale in your area at a price more agreeable. 
That's something I have to remember to do periodically.  I have checked with no results but it changes from day to day. 
"There's a unicorn that's hangin' in what's known as father's room......"

RicKim

  I seem to remember the Pastor of my old church using a mic that adhered to her face and was a very thin wire covered in a clear material, so it was nearly invisible. I believe it was made by Sennheiser (sp). It did work very well, but I think it was kinda pricey. Anyways, it's worth a web search I would imagine. Hope this helps.

Sir Rick
Sir Richard and Lady Kimberly Anne of Astonia

Professor M

Quote from: RicKim on October 15, 2008, 09:22:52 AM
  I seem to remember the Pastor of my old church using a mic that adhered to her face and was a very thin wire covered in a clear material, so it was nearly invisible. I believe it was made by Sennheiser (sp). It did work very well, but I think it was kinda pricey. Anyways, it's worth a web search I would imagine. Hope this helps.

Sir Rick

She probably has a great hat line to afford a mic like that!
;D
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."
~ C.S. Lewis

RicKim

It's truly amazing what you can get a congregation to pay for when they have no idea what it really is! It's all about package presentation!

Sir Rick
Sir Richard and Lady Kimberly Anne of Astonia