Topic: Mics under shirt collar

[canbelto]

I have been using a croakie mount for my mics and would like to try putting them under a shirt collar.  The croakies work great but I have to be careful about head movement.  Can someone tell me, who's tried it, about the sound quality and helpful do's and dont's.  Any help is much appreciated.  This group has been a fountain of information for me and has helped me more than I can say in becoming a better taper.

[stevetoney]

If you want to make better recordings, record bands that allow open taping and fly your mics on a stand up high.  This way you'll never have to worry about head movement.  You'll enjoy the show more and will enjoy posting the show onto LMA where others can enjoy the fruits of your efforts...not the least of which might be the band that gave you the enjoyment in the first place.

[page]

On topic, some guidelines I can offer:

Your top end will drop if someone's standing in front of you, but the shirt itself will *generally* not impede your results. Also, your bass response should be a little more accentuated, but again not due to the shirt.

Biggest issue is clothing noise. What you trade in freedom of your head, you pay in ability to move your body. Work on practicing this at home and changing options (e.g. windscreens for no screen and different types of clothing) before you do it in the field to see what you get for noise.

I gave up stealth taping because of shirt worn mics (among other reasons). The hassle just wasn't worth it to me unless I needed some serious camo against security and *really* wanted a copy of the show.

[deadwing]

My preferred method when recording in stealth mode is to clip the mics inside an open necked polo shirt. I get as good (and possibly better) recordings doing this than clipping them outside the shirt- I find that I don't get the 'phasing' if someone walks closely by me.

[kfrinkle]

My preferred method when recording in stealth mode is to clip the mics inside an open necked polo shirt. I get as good (and possibly better) recordings doing this than clipping them outside the shirt- I find that I don't get the 'phasing' if someone walks closely by me.

Agreed... with my cmc-8s with windscreens attached, I have a dress shirt with a pretty small collar.  I can put the mics in my collar and do not even need to use clips, they just stay snug in my collar.  Never had a phasing problem, but you do have to move more like a robot.  But hey, we are all robots anyways.

I got a pair of the CA-14s from Chris Church and I have not had them yet in a stealth situation, but here's to hoping the results will be the same!

[Belexes]

I got a pair of the CA-14s from Chris Church and I have not had them yet in a stealth situation, but here's to hoping the results will be the same!

I collar mount CA-14s and have had nothing but good experiences with them.

[setboy]

If you want to make better recordings, record bands that allow open taping and fly your mics on a stand up high.  This way you'll never have to worry about head movement.  You'll enjoy the show more and will enjoy posting the show onto LMA where others can enjoy the fruits of your efforts...not the least of which might be the band that gave you the enjoyment in the first place.

what kind of dumb reply was that?

[MJ]

I used to put SP-CMC-8s under the shirt collars for stealth taping. 
Neil Young gave me an idea about how to do it .  I wrapped a short wire with fabric tapes and tied the mic clips with both ends of the wire.  Then I made tiny holes on the collars……………….

This method of taping is very effective especially when the speaker is held high up in the air.  It is relatively easy to aim the mics to the stacks.  

[Gordon]

If you want to make better recordings, record bands that allow open taping and fly your mics on a stand up high.  This way you'll never have to worry about head movement.  You'll enjoy the show more and will enjoy posting the show onto LMA where others can enjoy the fruits of your efforts...not the least of which might be the band that gave you the enjoyment in the first place.

what kind of dumb reply was that?

no shit!  so change his taste in music so he can open tape   

[Dede2002]

If you want to make better recordings, record bands that allow open taping and fly your mics on a stand up high.  This way you'll never have to worry about head movement.  You'll enjoy the show more and will enjoy posting the show onto LMA where others can enjoy the fruits of your efforts...not the least of which might be the band that gave you the enjoyment in the first place.

what kind of dumb reply was that?

Honestly, I just don't understand what is it that is so hard to understand about this matter. Talking about myself, outside the US, open taping is not an option. Period. So what am I supose to do? Give up taping?

P.S.: Anyway, I believe that any stealth discussion should be moved to PM.

[Belexes]

Give up taping?

Blasphemy.

[Scooter123]

PM Sent

[canbelto]

First of all, I want to thank everyone for their suggestions. They have been a great help to me.  Secondly, I didn't realize there was a post in the "Start Here" section about overt discussions of stealth taping.  If I have breached the group's protocol, please excuse me as it was not my intent to do so.  This group has been the greatest source of information on taping I have found.  I used to think I was the only one, especially due to my musical preference.  Again, thank you all for your most helpful guidance.       

[Dede2002]

Give up taping?

Blasphemy.

 

[live2cd]

hey guys, I just purchased the CA-14's and had my first stealth run with them last night seeing the Gin Blossoms. When I went into the bathroom to 'gear up', I noticed they would not cooperate and point up and out .... as  would my HEB 4060's. The built in clips actually clip in a different direction which screws up my previous collar clip method.

So I need to figure something out before the Foo show here Thursday night. Does anybody have any pictures they could share or recommendations they could give? When you say INSIDE the collar, where do the mics stick out? Or do you keep them underneath the shirt? I was confused by that. Ive been considering cutting holes in my shirt too..... anything to get away from wearing a hat mount.

[acidjack]

On topic, some guidelines I can offer:

Your top end will drop if someone's standing in front of you, but the shirt itself will *generally* not impede your results. Also, your bass response should be a little more accentuated, but again not due to the shirt.

Biggest issue is clothing noise. What you trade in freedom of your head, you pay in ability to move your body. Work on practicing this at home and changing options (e.g. windscreens for no screen and different types of clothing) before you do it in the field to see what you get for noise.

I gave up stealth taping because of shirt worn mics (among other reasons, such as that most stealth recordings sound terrible). The hassle just wasn't worth it to me unless I needed some serious camo against security and *really* wanted a copy of the show.

FTFY    I'm not advocating for or against stealth taping - I do it when I (rarely) have to and I appreciate that folks outside the U.S. are forced to.  My only point is really, if you're stealthing, you're already adding tons of variables that are likely to make your recording bad (less than ideal placement, people talking, etc.)  Personally, I would suggest at least trying to avoid at least one thing you can control, which is the additional nastiness you can get when you clip to a collar or really anywhere below your head.  Even if you're tall like me, having the mics lower will only add to the phasing and other issues that are already problems with stealth taping.  Having tried just about everything myself to "just get it taped" I realize in VERY rare cases there may be reason for such paranoia that you don't want to mount mics up higher, but honestly, in this day and age, I think there aren't many of those, whether you're in the U.S. or Europe or Asia.  I'm pretty confident that everyone in Europe and Asia is taking all kinds of cell phone videos at concerts, too, so I have to think that whether they allow "open" taping or not, it's not much of a priority at most (but not all) shows.

Just my $0.02.

[Belexes]

PM Sent.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

The croakies work great but I have to be careful about head movement.

It is an off-label use, but Botox injections to the base of the neck and skull provide a steadiness that must be experienced to be believed.

[tim in jersey]

Why no hat rig? Security that tight?

EDIT: Ooops. Didn't read initial thread.