Topic: How to mount CA-14's?

[ace5gt]

I just received my CA-14 cardioid mics, and was experimenting with clipping them to my shirt collar, but nope.  They're always pointing everywhere but forward.  I thought about wearing a hat, but A) don't really want to wear hats to shows, and B) I also shoot video, so I'm often looking down at the viewfinder, which would impact the sound quality.

For those of you that use cardioid mics, please help me out here.

[nulldogmas]

Can you be more specific about what happens to your mics when you clip them to your shirt collar? When I do it with CA-14s I can't get them to point anywhere except forward.

[joeldotc]

I find it does depend on the fabric of your shirt, since the capsules/screens can sometimes pull the mics down or to the side. Are you running the cables down the front or back of your shirt? Usually having the cables routed down the back of my shirt ends up pulling them back enough to balance them in a pretty straight forward position.

I personally just mount them to my glasses arms in an A-B orientation, but I don’t take photos or film or anything. Taping while shooting video sounds like it would make things pretty hard. You might need to sacrifice one or the other in order to get the best results.

[nulldogmas]

Definitely run the cables down your back to help keep the mics pointed forward. I will usually clip the mics to the collar of a t-shirt, so that they're sitting either side of my neck — that way my head also blocks sound coming from the opposite side and improves stereo imaging.

But it's also possible to clip them to the top of the collar on a shirt with lapels (definitely helps to have stiffer material) or to clip them to the lapels themselves, though it may take some adjusting to get the angle that you want.

[goodcooker]

You could try clipping them to the ear piece of a set of glasses. If you don't wear glasses you can get a cheap pair and pop out the lenses.

It gets them pointed forward.

[mrfender]

You could try clipping them to the ear piece of a set of glasses. If you don't wear glasses you can get a cheap pair and pop out the lenses.

It gets them pointed forward.

I wear glasses and this is what I do.  then you can loop the cables over your ears and they're relatively out of the way.  My set doesn't have attached clips so I'm using some AT ones.  Also, put a little section of rubber tubing over the prongs to give it some grip.

[nulldogmas]

You could try clipping them to the ear piece of a set of glasses. If you don't wear glasses you can get a cheap pair and pop out the lenses.

It gets them pointed forward.

I wear glasses and this is what I do.  then you can loop the cables over your ears and they're relatively out of the way.  My set doesn't have attached clips so I'm using some AT ones.  Also, put a little section of rubber tubing over the prongs to give it some grip.

This is one solution, as is clipping to the side of a hat. But the OP said they don't want to mount the mics on their head because they want to be free to look down at a camera without affecting sound quality.

[mrfender]

You could try clipping them to the ear piece of a set of glasses. If you don't wear glasses you can get a cheap pair and pop out the lenses.

It gets them pointed forward.

I wear glasses and this is what I do.  then you can loop the cables over your ears and they're relatively out of the way.  My set doesn't have attached clips so I'm using some AT ones.  Also, put a little section of rubber tubing over the prongs to give it some grip.

This is one solution, as is clipping to the side of a hat. But the OP said they don't want to mount the mics on their head because they want to be free to look down at a camera without affecting sound quality.

Got it, kind of glossed over that.

I check my levels at times and really don't notice any real changes but I guess it depends on what kind of shows you're recording and how long you're looking down.  Loud rock shows aren't going to make much difference compared to an acoustic or similar quieter show.

[goodcooker]

OP said they don't want to mount the mics on their head because they want to be free to look down at a camera without affecting sound quality.

Well you can't have everything sometimes, can you? There's always trade offs in this world.

If the OP can't seem to get them situated on his collar, doesn't want them attached to his head and wants to be able to move freely to do other stuff while recording then the solution is to not mount them on his person. There's a million ways to accomplish that. When I tape less than open I never wear my mics. Not once.

Attaching them to the camera seems to be the best solution given the choices. The camera is going to be pointed at the talent so the mics will be too.

[EnglishSkylarking]

from the  perspective and as an alternative to the tried and true glasses-mount, consider getting some medical tape like 3M Medipore and tape the mics under your shirt to the tops of your shoulders or in the space between your shoulders and clavicles, facing the mics forward as best you can. the medical tape will stick to your oily skin without a problem and also let your skin breath so you don't sweat it off. you won't have to mind your own head movement as much and it can provide excellent results. ymmv on results will depend some on your height and the heights of everyone in front of you, a little more so as compared to mounted higher up.

I taped 311 just a couple weeks ago using the taped-to-shoulder method with satisfactorily comparable and enjoyable results
https://archive.org/details/311-2024-07-21.flac16.at943.engsky

can dm you more samples using this method if interested

[Pieteker]

I just received my CA-14 cardioid mics, and was experimenting with clipping them to my shirt collar, but nope.  They're always pointing everywhere but forward.  I thought about wearing a hat, but A) don't really want to wear hats to shows, and B) I also shoot video, so I'm often looking down at the viewfinder, which would impact the sound quality.

For those of you that use cardioid mics, please help me out here.

Great mics! I wear them on the arms of my glasses. How long did it take for Chris to send yours?