CB mics and live use

revstate · 23rd July 2009

Hi

I wanted to use a couple a CB mics live for A: look B: momentary on switch ( i use a lot of distortion on my vocals and no gate, eq or even a sabine feedback destroyer can get me around my massive feedback problems) C: extra color and distortion from using a funky old CB Mic.

I need to plug this into my pres and then into my effects, but CB mics are designed in a way that I do not understand because of their voltage needs and their output not being mic level.

So, how should I go about plugging a CB mic into my standard mic pres?

Any help with this and my massively huge feedback problems would be great!

Thanks

ben

jasonraboin · 23rd July 2009

Specifically what CB mics are you referring to? I have used EV m43u, among others, with standard preamps and gear and it works fine.

Distortion will definitely limit you gain before feedback. I think overdriving something will work slightly better, but I have never had very good luck getting totally distorted vocals up in monitors.

mixedupsteve · 23rd July 2009

You need to give us the specs on the mic. If it's close to line level and higher than a mic's impedance then you might not need the pre and you could use the line in on the mixer. Most effects increase feedback issues if used in the monitors. Proper mic placement and monitor placement are the most important thing though.

imixrecords · 23rd July 2009

Love the idea!!!!!!! Heck just plug it into a mic pre and see, nothing's going to catch fire! If that doesn't work try using line, or a DI box. Something will work! Who cares if it's not electronically correct, as long as the sonic goal id realized.

Again, I love the idea.

revstate · 23rd July 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasonraboin

Specifically what CB mics are you referring to? I have used EV m43u, among others, with standard preamps and gear and it works fine.

Distortion will definitely limit you gain before feedback. I think overdriving something will work slightly better, but I have never had very good luck getting totally distorted vocals up in monitors.

I was just going to pick something up from a local shop if there are any. The effects that I will be using are probably going to be AU plugins in mainstage. Maybe I should bring some fooger pedals and overdrive them instead?

revstate · 23rd July 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by mixedupsteve

You need to give us the specs on the mic. If it's close to line level and higher than a mic's impedance then you might not need the pre and you could use the line in on the mixer. Most effects increase feedback issues if used in the monitors. Proper mic placement and monitor placement are the most important thing though.

every venue i play will be different, and probably knda shitty. sometimes without a foh engineer at all. mic placement and monitors are the least of my problems ( i usually have to use no monitors an dwe move around a lot) when half of the venues will have their speaker stacks on stage or halfway behind on the sides or even worse.

revstate · 24th July 2009

what is the conversion for the pin out of the cb mic to xlr (it has four pins)

wax808 · 24th July 2009

This is funny... I didn't even mean to click on this sub-forum.

I'm an old school CBer. In fact I was on today shooting skip on the Superbowl. I've done exactly what you are talking about, but in a bit of a different way.

I've recorded a rapper freestyling over the CB, I had two radios hooked up and just ran the speaker output of the receiving one and ran it into my mixer. It sounded really cool.

Stock CB mics can be really crappy. An Astatic D-104 would give you some pretty good clarity but might feedback a bit. An Astatic Road Devil is good because it has some noise cancellation. There is another Astatic that has tone controls and would help a ton.

But if you want the ultimate in asthetics, get an Astatic Silver Eagle or a Golden Eagle.

The funny thing is that I dont use these for the most part on the CB, I use my studio condenser mic and a compressor.

wax808 · 24th July 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by revstate

what is the conversion for the pin out of the cb mic to xlr (it has four pins)

FYI: They are all different. What kind of mic is it? What kind of radio was it paired with?

Dreamsindigital · 7th January 2012

Quote:

But if you want the ultimate in asthetics, get an Astatic Silver Eagle or a Golden Eagle.

I have a Silver Eagle sitting in front of me. I'd love to convert it to an xlr and put it through a standard studio pre-amp. Anyone have info on the pinout / power requirements of the mic?

rcrowley · 7th January 2012

The Astatic D-104 ("Silver Eagle") appears to be an unbalanced high-impedance crystal microphone. It would be more suitable for an electric guitar input and probably would not put out a decent signal into a typical low-impedance mic preamp.

Astatic's Final Edition D-104 Silver Eagle

Dreamsindigital · 7th January 2012

But terminating this with a TS connector and putting it into a DI or instrument input should work ok, yes? Crystal microphones don't require power correct?

rcrowley · 7th January 2012

Crystal mics do not need power. In fact they likely don't even tolerate power. Yes, fitting a 1/4 inch phone plug for use in a DI or instrument input would be what I would try first.

OzGizmo · 7th January 2012

Converting CB mics to an XLR o/p is easy....in a CB mic there are actually 2 circuits the first is the mic circuit and the second circuit is the TX on / off switching.
You actually need it get into the mic and re solder some connections. Firstly the mic will have 2 connections these will need to be terminated to pins 2 & 3 of the XLR plug. (this then gives you a constant working mic)
The switch will be wired for CB use to a "normally open" position for the TX control circuit, this needs to be changed to the "normally closed" connections of the switch, these 2 switch wires then need to be connected to pins 2 & 3 of the XLR as well (doesn't mater which way around).
So you will now have a mic with its o/p sorted together UNTILL the switch is pressed which "un-shorts" the connections and the the mic will work.
Doing it this way there will be no "splats" when the mic is turned on, it will be oblivious to phantom power if it happened to be on that feed.
The older "trucker" type mics work well as they are just a dynamic mic, the newer small CB mics are electret and would be tricky if not difficult to modify for this sort of use.

I actually have 2 CB mics to XLR's on my OB kit, they are great problem solver..... I often have one in in the last channel of my desk which can be used to feed AUX sends, testing to groups, outgoing feeds or IFB feeds etc.
I have used them feeding into a radio mic TX which then goes to the mixer and gets routed to the talent IFB feed so a floor producer can feed info to the talent like in a Dr. Phil type show etc.

23rd July 2009	#1
revstate 3 + infractions, forum membership suspended. Joined: Mar 2008 Posts: 619 Thread Starter	CB mics and live use Hi I wanted to use a couple a CB mics live for A: look B: momentary on switch ( i use a lot of distortion on my vocals and no gate, eq or even a sabine feedback destroyer can get me around my massive feedback problems) C: extra color and distortion from using a funky old CB Mic. I need to plug this into my pres and then into my effects, but CB mics are designed in a way that I do not understand because of their voltage needs and their output not being mic level. So, how should I go about plugging a CB mic into my standard mic pres? Any help with this and my massively huge feedback problems would be great! Thanks ben

23rd July 2009	#3
mixedupsteve Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2008 Location: Chestertown MD USA Posts: 969	You need to give us the specs on the mic. If it's close to line level and higher than a mic's impedance then you might not need the pre and you could use the line in on the mixer. Most effects increase feedback issues if used in the monitors. Proper mic placement and monitor placement are the most important thing though. __________________ Steve

24th July 2009	#8
wax808 Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2008 Posts: 1,444	This is funny... I didn't even mean to click on this sub-forum. I'm an old school CBer. In fact I was on today shooting skip on the Superbowl. I've done exactly what you are talking about, but in a bit of a different way. I've recorded a rapper freestyling over the CB, I had two radios hooked up and just ran the speaker output of the receiving one and ran it into my mixer. It sounded really cool. Stock CB mics can be really crappy. An Astatic D-104 would give you some pretty good clarity but might feedback a bit. An Astatic Road Devil is good because it has some noise cancellation. There is another Astatic that has tone controls and would help a ton. But if you want the ultimate in asthetics, get an Astatic Silver Eagle or a Golden Eagle. The funny thing is that I dont use these for the most part on the CB, I use my studio condenser mic and a compressor. Attached Thumbnails

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23rd July 2009	#2
jasonraboin Gear maniac Joined: Dec 2006 Location: Northampton, MA Posts: 212	Specifically what CB mics are you referring to? I have used EV m43u, among others, with standard preamps and gear and it works fine. Distortion will definitely limit you gain before feedback. I think overdriving something will work slightly better, but I have never had very good luck getting totally distorted vocals up in monitors.

23rd July 2009	#4
imixrecords Gear nut Joined: Jul 2009 Location: America Posts: 109	Love the idea!!!!!!! Heck just plug it into a mic pre and see, nothing's going to catch fire! If that doesn't work try using line, or a DI box. Something will work! Who cares if it's not electronically correct, as long as the sonic goal id realized. Again, I love the idea.

7th January 2012	#11
rcrowley Gear maniac Joined: Sep 2006 Location: Portland OR USA Posts: 298	The Astatic D-104 ("Silver Eagle") appears to be an unbalanced high-impedance crystal microphone. It would be more suitable for an electric guitar input and probably would not put out a decent signal into a typical low-impedance mic preamp. Astatic's Final Edition D-104 Silver Eagle

7th January 2012	#12
Dreamsindigital Gear Head Joined: Sep 2011 Posts: 52	But terminating this with a TS connector and putting it into a DI or instrument input should work ok, yes? Crystal microphones don't require power correct?

7th January 2012	#14
OzGizmo Gear nut Joined: Feb 2011 Posts: 116	Converting CB mics to an XLR o/p is easy....in a CB mic there are actually 2 circuits the first is the mic circuit and the second circuit is the TX on / off switching. You actually need it get into the mic and re solder some connections. Firstly the mic will have 2 connections these will need to be terminated to pins 2 & 3 of the XLR plug. (this then gives you a constant working mic) The switch will be wired for CB use to a "normally open" position for the TX control circuit, this needs to be changed to the "normally closed" connections of the switch, these 2 switch wires then need to be connected to pins 2 & 3 of the XLR as well (doesn't mater which way around). So you will now have a mic with its o/p sorted together UNTILL the switch is pressed which "un-shorts" the connections and the the mic will work. Doing it this way there will be no "splats" when the mic is turned on, it will be oblivious to phantom power if it happened to be on that feed. The older "trucker" type mics work well as they are just a dynamic mic, the newer small CB mics are electret and would be tricky if not difficult to modify for this sort of use. I actually have 2 CB mics to XLR's on my OB kit, they are great problem solver..... I often have one in in the last channel of my desk which can be used to feed AUX sends, testing to groups, outgoing feeds or IFB feeds etc. I have used them feeding into a radio mic TX which then goes to the mixer and gets routed to the talent IFB feed so a floor producer can feed info to the talent like in a Dr. Phil type show etc.