Topic: mic bodies and electrical tape

[FOB_DFC]

I've seen some folks who wrap their mic bodies in electrical tape to keep them from getting scuffed. are there any potential drawbacks to doing this? Are there any specific potential problems to wrapping schoeps nextel gray finish bodies and electrical tape? If it matters the caps will be connected via active cables so the tape will not be near them.

thanks for your help.

[Brian Skalinder]

I wouldn't relish the clean-up job upon removing the electrical tape.  Ick.  If you're looking to protect the mic bodies in your bag, there are better options.  I used to wrap 'em in socks and velcro them together.  I currently use a Pelican hardcase for the ultimate protection since I sometimes break them out of the bag and lay them out across stage or some such.  I'm currently considering toothbrush holders + padding to slim things back down a bit while still maintaining some semblance of ecent out-of-bag protection.

[FOB_DFC]

thanks brian. I transport the mics in a pelican case to and from shows, but at the shows the bodies just sit in my bag and I hate that they are just sitting there exposed. I've also see some folks who drill holes in a pelican case to run the cables out of. maybe I should look into that too.

[Brian Skalinder]

As for drilling holes, I did same as neumannkid (similar to Jon Rabhan's solution earlier in the thread):

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,53891.msg704999.html#msg704999

Edit to add:  I really think the Pelican solution is total overkill for the kind of recording I do, except for the rare exception when I have the mic bodies out of the bag and exposed to band/crew/crowd.  Wrapped in a couple layers of sock, inside my bag, with a padded case...they're protected against most anything that might happen at a concert.  No, they won't survive getting run over by a car, but...that's just not gonna happen.  The most vulnerable times for my mics, IME, is when <a> I'm transferring from case to mic stand, or <b> on the mic stand, against which no case will protect, anyway.

[aegert]

Why not wrap them neatly in a cylinder made of paper and use one pc of scotch tape on the paper only to secure in place. So you would roll the body up into the paper tightly it can be pre-cut to the length of the body so no hang over the ends of the bodies. You could use black or grey construction paper to make it less noticeable as well.. At the end of the show rip it off..

Another way would be to get black velcro stripping 2 sided self ad hearing and wrap like a steering wheel completely down the whole body. When finished ( loop inside) you could then just stick them to the inside of the bag and they would not move or get scratched... I use a audio recording bag that has loop as the inside of the bag so it would stick nicely on the walls of the bag..



A :-)

[stevetoney]

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&partNumber=60075&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults

These work absolutely perfect as mic holders by stuffing an appropriate amount of foam down each end of the holder to minimize internal movement during storage.  These are also available in exactly the same design at Wal Mart for $0.50 each. 

May also be able to get creative with holes in each end for active cables and straight Neutrik XLR connector, although I've never tried this and don't know if there is enough size for that.

[newplanet7]

I have these.
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,95560.0.html