Can anyone give me any advice on the Microvox Strap on Microphone for Flute/Recorder/Whistle? It seems very cheap, and don't know if I would be better to save up for something better?
Generally, the microvox mic does the job and is good value for money. I probably wouldn't use it to record a carefully grafted CD recording, but it seems fine for live gigs.
I have the bigger PSU. It has an on/off/volume switch for the output. This means you can turn the unit off without unplugging the output cord. Useful if you do not want the mic turned on for the whole gig. Plugging/unplugging makes it easy to lose cables or end up with the wrong thing plugged in. The volume control is also useful if you don't trust your mixer person, or if you are using the mic in a situation without a manned mixer board (e.g. plugged into a small personal amp.)
Both of them allow the internal balance of the two inputs to be adjusted via a switch which is only accessible once you open the case, i.e. not something you can do during a performance. I have never really played with the second inputs much.
The bigger control is however a bit bigger... Not really a problem clipped to the back of your belt - the cable is more annoying than the PSU itself anyway. You probably need to tie it round your belt before plugging it into the PSU to prevent it being tugged out by someone standing on it. If you don't have a belt then you'll have to find some other way to do it. Cable-free alternatives are available but much more expensive and I remember reading that the radio bandwidth that they use is soon to be reallocated...
Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) has a page about micing flutes for loud stages - worth reading since he, if anyone, knows how to do it... (Also essential tips on how your sound engineer should behave...)
I don't claim to be a flute player, but I have used a Microvox mic for a couple of years, and find it the best out of about half-a-dozen that I have tried. You can hear a sample here if you want to judge -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f18Tm93FslI
I plug it into a pre-amp with volume control and off switch, which was made by a friend. I have no idea what's inside, but it's hardly bigger than a matchbox.
I use a Microvox setup for playing the harmonica at gigs. I have the bigger PSU and I use a Roland Mobile Cube amp. For reasons beyond me, I can't get the thing to work at all through the instruments socket on the amp, which does me out of all kinds of potentially useful settings. When I plug a cheapie minidisc-type mic in I can use whatever socket I like on the amp, so the Microvox setup is annoying. I am restricted to the microphone socket on the amp, which, fortunately, works OK, though balancing the volume settings on the amp and PSU is a right old fiddle - I usually end up adjusting the volume on the amp, not the PSU, as the latter is far too sensitive, which kind of defeats the object of having a volume control close to hand. I get by, but the moral, as ever, is to insist on trying whatever amp/mic you're thinking of buying with whatever mic/amp you already have.
I found the J Tull article interesting. I have become our de facto sound guy and have been wrestling with the flutes now for a couple of years.
bodatcha- which mike are you talking about?
As Tull discussed, THe SM 58 works nice, but the SM 57 controls background . The 58 will feedack if you are not careful with gain.
Question about the microvox. How is the sound quality? I like to get a nice round tone with flutes- kind of hollow sound. Which is the problem with the 57. It's too neutral.
And as I said at the time if you are on a very tight budget they are OK ish, however if you are looking for a good sound that is free of feedback go elsewhere. For what it is it is overpriced and a engineer could knock up a unit for a 1/4 of the price they charge.
Since I posted on the thread adove, the warning over build quality posted by someone else 'came home to roost' to us with one of the little phono sockets shearing through in a gig. Whilst as an engineer I managed to repair the unit it is now regarded as a bit of kit we can no longer trust and is now likely to be replaced in the near future with a more robust unit.
Microvox mic for flute/whistles
Microvox mic for flute/whistles
Hi
Can anyone give me any advice on the Microvox Strap on Microphone for Flute/Recorder/Whistle? It seems very cheap, and don't know if I would be better to save up for something better?
http://www.microvox.demon.co.uk/flutepage.htm
Thanks!!
# Posted on January 12th 2012 by Rosh
Re: Microvox mic for flute/whistles
...and I do realise, I have to buy a power supply. What's the difference between these two:
http://www.microvox.demon.co.uk/psu.htm ?
# Posted on January 12th 2012 by Rosh
Re: Microvox mic for flute/whistles
Generally, the microvox mic does the job and is good value for money. I probably wouldn't use it to record a carefully grafted CD recording, but it seems fine for live gigs.
I have the bigger PSU. It has an on/off/volume switch for the output. This means you can turn the unit off without unplugging the output cord. Useful if you do not want the mic turned on for the whole gig. Plugging/unplugging makes it easy to lose cables or end up with the wrong thing plugged in. The volume control is also useful if you don't trust your mixer person, or if you are using the mic in a situation without a manned mixer board (e.g. plugged into a small personal amp.)
Both of them allow the internal balance of the two inputs to be adjusted via a switch which is only accessible once you open the case, i.e. not something you can do during a performance. I have never really played with the second inputs much.
The bigger control is however a bit bigger... Not really a problem clipped to the back of your belt - the cable is more annoying than the PSU itself anyway. You probably need to tie it round your belt before plugging it into the PSU to prevent it being tugged out by someone standing on it. If you don't have a belt then you'll have to find some other way to do it. Cable-free alternatives are available but much more expensive and I remember reading that the radio bandwidth that they use is soon to be reallocated...
Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) has a page about micing flutes for loud stages - worth reading since he, if anyone, knows how to do it... (Also essential tips on how your sound engineer should behave...)
http://www.j-tull.com/musicians/iananderson/equipment.html#amplified
# Posted on January 12th 2012 by Crackpot
Re: Microvox mic for flute/whistles
"What's the difference between these two: "
One is overpriced, and the other is much overpriced,
# Posted on January 12th 2012 by Weejie
Re: Microvox mic for flute/whistles
Thanks for your help Crackpot!
Weejie, do you know where I could get a cheaper alternative?
# Posted on January 12th 2012 by Rosh
Re: Microvox mic for flute/whistles
You could get someone to make one. It's a very basic circuit.
It's because I used to make them that I realised how overpriced Microvox originals were.
# Posted on January 12th 2012 by Weejie
Re: Microvox mic for flute/whistles
I don't claim to be a flute player, but I have used a Microvox mic for a couple of years, and find it the best out of about half-a-dozen that I have tried. You can hear a sample here if you want to judge --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f18Tm93FslI
I plug it into a pre-amp with volume control and off switch, which was made by a friend. I have no idea what's inside, but it's hardly bigger than a matchbox.
# Posted on January 12th 2012 by gam
Re: Microvox mic for flute/whistles
I use a Microvox setup for playing the harmonica at gigs. I have the bigger PSU and I use a Roland Mobile Cube amp. For reasons beyond me, I can't get the thing to work at all through the instruments socket on the amp, which does me out of all kinds of potentially useful settings. When I plug a cheapie minidisc-type mic in I can use whatever socket I like on the amp, so the Microvox setup is annoying. I am restricted to the microphone socket on the amp, which, fortunately, works OK, though balancing the volume settings on the amp and PSU is a right old fiddle - I usually end up adjusting the volume on the amp, not the PSU, as the latter is far too sensitive, which kind of defeats the object of having a volume control close to hand. I get by, but the moral, as ever, is to insist on trying whatever amp/mic you're thinking of buying with whatever mic/amp you already have.
# Posted on January 12th 2012 by Steve Shaw
Re: Microvox mic for flute/whistles
They are feedback prone if you are playing in loud/noisy environments and need the monitors cranked up.
# Posted on January 13th 2012 by bodatcha
Re: Microvox mic for flute/whistles
I found the J Tull article interesting. I have become our de facto sound guy and have been wrestling with the flutes now for a couple of years.
bodatcha- which mike are you talking about?
As Tull discussed, THe SM 58 works nice, but the SM 57 controls background . The 58 will feedack if you are not careful with gain.
Question about the microvox. How is the sound quality? I like to get a nice round tone with flutes- kind of hollow sound. Which is the problem with the 57. It's too neutral.
# Posted on January 13th 2012 by zippydw
Re: Microvox mic for flute/whistles
This has been discussed before here:-
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/28271
And as I said at the time if you are on a very tight budget they are OK ish, however if you are looking for a good sound that is free of feedback go elsewhere. For what it is it is overpriced and a engineer could knock up a unit for a 1/4 of the price they charge.
Since I posted on the thread adove, the warning over build quality posted by someone else 'came home to roost' to us with one of the little phono sockets shearing through in a gig. Whilst as an engineer I managed to repair the unit it is now regarded as a bit of kit we can no longer trust and is now likely to be replaced in the near future with a more robust unit.
# Posted on January 17th 2012 by Fergus MacGregor