Topic: Looking for some thoughts on a Rube Goldberg way of setting up apiar of B-3's

[DiggerinVA]

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

[Gutbucket]

Gaff tape mics/wires to underside of table with the caps protruding an inch or so, spaced a few feet apart around the edge.

[DiggerinVA]

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

[Ultfris101]

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?

[Gutbucket]

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.

[Ultfris101]

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?

[DiggerinVA]

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.

[Neilyboy]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019ICXE8/

might work for ya.. I have run mine on stage with this stand...

Neil

[DigiGal]

Here's an option that begs DO NOT TOUCH...

Sam Ash has them Click Here

[Gutbucket]

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.









Details and photos of building the thing are here- 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. 

[DiggerinVA]

Here's an option that begs DO NOT TOUCH...

Where can I get one.

Neilyboy that is a thought. I will mull that over a bit.

Gutbucket very interesting.

[DigiGal]

^^^ Added a link for this in original post.

[mysticeyes]

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.?

[justink]

take a date.  Purse on table.  clip mics on purse.

[Gutbucket]

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.