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Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: DiggerinVA on January 15, 2013, 06:08:16 PM
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I am just looking for a inconspicuous way to place a set of B-3's up, say on a table about 4 feet up. I really don't want to use a stand and say the SP t-bar. So I am looking for ideas. I have not searched simply because I can't think of a good set of search parameters.
Thank You
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Gaff tape mics/wires to underside of table with the caps protruding an inch or so, spaced a few feet apart around the edge.
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Thank You that would be inconspicuous and very useful from time to time. But I don't care if it is seen, and kind of want them elevated. Maybe some sort of antennae? IDK
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Lee employed a set of old TV rabbit ears at one point for one of his surround setups. pretty cheap and easy to telescope for use and hide away after. Some even have a weighted base/ is that the kind of thing?
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Telescopic TV antennae work great for miniature omnis. They don't appear like microphones / recording gear to most people and their thin cross-section helps the black ones disappear visually when used FOB on a stand, but they would not be particulary inconspicuous on a table.
You could bend something suitable out of a wire clothes-hanger.
I won't argue that it's necessarily the best solution for your case, but sometimes lower is OK, or even better. As long as you have a clear line-of-sight from the mics to the sources, be that PA cabs, direct on-stage sources, or a combination of the two, height shouldn't matter as much at a seated table gig- certainly not as much as at a standing-room gig. If in the front row of tables, having the mics lower can actually help by increasiung the ratio of direct sound verses ambient room sound (more of the musicians, less of the room and crowd). Attaching the mics to the edge of a table can also be advantageous by eliminating the influence of reflected sound from table surface reaching mics elevated above it.
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Seems like anything that gets up 4 feet over a table is going to be at least a little conspicuous. Maybe you could turn the rabbit ears into a center piece with some artificial ivy and stuff. Not inconspicuous but definitely not a dead giveaway that it's a mic stand. Sort of being funny, but kind of serious.
Digger, what's the context?
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Something to set on a table, that is easy to overlook. Friends have small bands in small places. I really don't want to be obstructive.
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http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019ICXE8/
might work for ya.. I have run mine on stage with this stand...
Neil
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Here's an option that begs DO NOT TOUCH...
Sam Ash has them Click Here (http://www.samash.com/p/Ultimate%20Support_Bring%20It%20On%20Sucka%20Custom%20Mic%20Stand%20Topper_-49944793)
(http://www.samash.com/wcsstore/root/Items/IP_U/UTOP3XXXX_ip.jpg)
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I built the thing pictured below back in '06 as an all-in-one device to take along to a guitar camp as something I could quickly place on a table or on the floor in front of me to record classes and sessions. It is a hemispherical baffle with two miniature omnis on opposite sides, with the mic preamp and recorder stuffed into the baffle. The baffle in the middle compensates for having less spacing between the omnis than would be optimal without a baffle. The idea was to get something similar to head-worn (HRTF) omnis in a seperate unit that was very easy to setup and start & stop and check levels, etc. while fitting in the outside pocket of my guitar bag and it worked nicely. Mics in this case were DPA miniature omnis in their special boundary mounts and the DPA preamp for them, but Countryman B3s would work similarly and using the boundary mounts isn't important.
(http://taperssection.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=70134.0;attach=50222;image)
(http://taperssection.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=70134.0;attach=50224;image)
(http://taperssection.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=70134.0;attach=50227;image)
(http://taperssection.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=70134.0;attach=50223;image)
Details and photos of building the thing are here- http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=70134.msg939807#msg939807 (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=70134.msg939807#msg939807)
Something similar could be placed under a hat or something. Or to elevate it, you could always show up over-dressed in a tuxedo with tails and a tall stove-pipe top hat. Attach the B3 to either side of the hat somewhat near the top and set that on the table. ;)
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Here's an option that begs DO NOT TOUCH...
(http://www.samash.com/wcsstore/root/Items/IP_U/UTOP3XXXX_ip.jpg)
Where can I get one.
Neilyboy that is a thought. I will mull that over a bit.
Gutbucket very interesting.
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^^^ Added a link for this in original post.
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Gaff tape mics/wires to underside of table with the caps protruding an inch or so, spaced a few feet apart around the edge.
Would this arrangement pick up noises from glasses and dishes, people with no rhythm "drumming" on top of the table, etc.?
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take a date. Purse on table. clip mics on purse.
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Gaff tape mics/wires to underside of table with the caps protruding an inch or so, spaced a few feet apart around the edge.
Would this arrangement pick up noises from glasses and dishes, people with no rhythm "drumming" on top of the table, etc.?
Yes, but any arrangement of omnis on the table will. Hanging them out an inch or two isolates them a somewhat from structrue-transmitted vibration through the table top via the complience of the cable. Being mounted lower can actually help reduce noises from glasses and the crowd if you can arrange it to have a direct line-of-sight to the sound sources you want, since the other sounds are then less direct and somewhat more blocked by the table than if they were mounted above it with a directly line to the noise sources.
The best answer is not to let some idiot bang on your table top.
take a date. Purse on table. clip mics on purse.
Simple and works, as long as your date isn't a table top banger.. at least in the sense refered to above. ;)
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It probably goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway... don't create a safety hazard.
I've used an old TV antenna rabbit ears with my 4061's and I make sure it's high enough that nobody can walk into it and get poked in the eye. The antenna has the blunt ends which aren't quite as lethal as the sharp end of coat hanger wire. If you end up with a sharp wire end, put a little round necklace bead on there or something. Especially when you factor in darkness and alcohol, if it's "an accident just waiting to happen", it will happen sooner rather than later.
I'm not trying to rain on your parade, just make sure a fun evening doesn't turn bad.
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take a date. Purse on table. clip mics on purse.
Simple and works, as long as your date isn't a table top banger.. at least in the sense refered to above. ;)
Or a "thunder clapper" in which case this won't work either. I sometimes have a better half that gets too excited. :(
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Thanks I believe the old rabbit ears may fill the bill. Now where do I find them? Do the still sell them. But I have to get the grenade. ;-)
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Or a "thunder clapper" in which case this won't work either.
If your better half doesn't fill these shoes, the person at the neighboring table will. :P
Could you imagine an artist's shock if everyone in the crowd exercised the "taper clap"?
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Thanks I believe the old rabbit ears may fill the bill. Now where do I find them? Do the still sell them. But I have to get the grenade. ;-)
Radio shack has the black ones which I prefer over the classic gleaming chrome. For those you need to buy the cheapest set-top set and scavenge them out of there ~$12-15. Any electronics retailer probably has them on a low shelf somewhere since they are still used for over-the-air digital TV. I've never found a source for the black ones as individual replacement anennas with the antenna alone, only chromes. The chrome ones are available cheaper as individuals and simple pairs without the plastic base and other stuff you will discard. I've seen them at the dollar store. And there is always online.
Joe raises a good point about poke safety. I either gaff tape the mics directly on the ends so they and the looped wire form a sort of safety cap for the pointy end of the antennas, or flush-mount the omnis in rigid foam Nerf balls about 1.75" in diameter which I put on the antenna ends- partly to change the mic polar pattern and response, but also as good poke protection for both the mics and the pokee. I've posted photos of that in other threads which I can point you to if you like.