Conference napalm::commusic_v1

RE < Note 1862.0 by KERNEL::FLOWERS "Hero of the Green Screen..." >

	I can think of a couple of possible reasons;

	-  If they have any more than one stack of keyboards, they may not be
able to perform vocal parts on front of one mike.

	-  They may be in the need to converse with an offstage technition
who is in charge of an additional pile of MIDI gear.

	Dan    
    

	I have one of those "little telephone headsets". I'll speak from 
	experience.

	I absolutely love it. I can move around on stage, move from one
	keyboard stack to another, bounce up and down, and I don't have to
	try keeping my face in front of some boom mike that's always tipping 
	over or feeding back into some monitor.

	It's also comfortable to wear. Mine also has foldback built into the
	preamp, and I wear little earplugs underneath the headset itself
	which allow me to mix my vocal with the incoming monitor feed. I
	can get the monitors in stereo if I want. 

	I can see where some people might not want to use one, but if you
	got more than one keyboard stack, and you like to move around on
	stage, well, they're pretty neat.

	/pjh

    
    I've worked with drummers who used them for similar reasons, i.e.
    not having to deal with a mike stand in your face. 
     
    The ability to have monitors right in your ears is an added plus.
    
    

    So what's the response like on the mic itself?  And what do they cost
    (ballpark is fine)? 

    Of course, we never let our drummer sing (for obvious reasons). 

-b

	couple of things come to mind...

	Be careful not to damage your hearing by setting the volume too high,
especially if you have to set them high enough to hear them over the rest of the
band...

	It would seem to me that you'd need very good control of your voice as
you don't have the option to pull back on the mike during loud vocal sections 
or phrasings...

	Dan

	The mike I use is a TOA. I forgot the model number, although
	it is a member of a family of headset mikes. This particular model
	is out of production. It was available with one of three mic capsules,
	of which I got the "male" version (others were "female" and 
	"technician"). Mics are highly directional condenser types, phantom
	powered from a beltpack. Dan, you are right, it is possible to turn
	the headphone amp up enough to burn your ears, much the same as with
	a Walkperson. 

	My mom bought an AKG version, much for the same reasons I did. Hers
	is much lighter, but instead of a beltpack, we had to procure a 
	phantom power supply for it. 

	Price for mine was about 260 bucks for the entire rig in a plastic
	nuclear-hardened travel case. My mom's was about 150 bucks for the
	mic and 100 bucks (ouch) for the phantom supply. Hers came with a 
	little plastic/vinyl bag for the mic instead of a case.

	I can provide more statistics if needed, like response, preamp specs,
	etc. Mine uses 3V supplied by two AA batteries. Mine has a cough button
	so you can shut it OFF. The mic boom is fully adjustable with a locking
	swivel.

	/pjh

    I used to use (and still have) a Shure SM-10 mounted (via a little
    dab of epoxy) on a pair of AKG K-240 headphones.  The SM-10 worked
    fine as a mic, and needed only a little EQ to sound just right.
    Placement is very important - the mics are generally designed to
    be to the side of your month, not directly in front.  This minimizes
    proximity effect bass enhancement and breathing noises.
    
    I fed the 'phones with a custom mix - a send from the PA board,
    my own mic, a click from the sequencer (actually, my choice of pattern
    from a drum machine synched to the sequencer), and the output of
    my Simmons head. This way I could control exactly what I was hearing.
    Feedback (not from my mic) was a potential problem, but I found the
    levels from the 'phones no worse than those from the monitors.
    
    The SM-10 cost something like $120 a couple of years (like 5?) back.
                    
    len.
    

                                                   
    >It would seem to me that you'd need very good control of your voice as
    >you don't have the option to pull back on the mike during loud vocal
    >sections or phrasings... 
        
    This is why we have compressors... and sibilance supressors...
    and EQ's ... and noise gates... and all sorts of expensive toys.
    
    My particular goal is to add a Vocoder... I can't sing, but I can
    patch. :-)
                                       
    

    I recently read an atricle about microphones and the author mentioned
    a TOA headset mic/headphone that allows the user to mix his/her
    own mic output into the monitor mix that is already coming into the
    headphones.  It allows you to create your own custom monitor mix.
    Sounds like a neat idea. Does anyone have any info about this unit?
    
    	Thanks,
    	Willy

	See reply .6 - that's exactly the headset I have.

I have an AKG C410 headset mic for sale for $110.00, like the one mentioned in
reply .6. 

It's a condensor mic with very good frequency response, no headphones
so you don't look so much like a geek on stage. It needs phantom power; if your
mixing board doens't have phantom power you'll need a power supply.

As mentioned, these things are great for drummers or keyboard players.

The mic is in new condition, never used on a gig, only a couple of times in the
recording studio. Vinyl bag and foam windscreen included.

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