Rip-off gear (with alternative suggestion,...perhaps)

[hywyn]

Ok, this is more of request for help than a simple, sharing, "me too" thread but here goes. My downer right now is:

DPA mini-mic accesories

There are more but I'm instinctively a minamilist.

Any suggestions for alternatve mounts for DPA mini-stuff?

[rumleymusic]

Two words: Gaffers Tape

[DannyL]

Alligator clips, heat shrink, solder and 10 guage solid core electrical wire and some sort of clamp or mic clip.

Fit heat shrink over the jaws of the alligator clip, strip of 1.5 cm or so of the jacket on the wire & solder the clip to it. Solder the other end to a clamp or fix it to a mic clip. Clip a Lav with about 25 -30 mm of cable between the mic's grommet and the clip. This will act as a shock mount. Position as needed.*

Danny

*I got this from Carl Countryman of Countryman mic fame. It works beautifully with isomax II's and many other lav-type mics.

Danny

[hywyn]

Originally Posted by rumleymusic

Two words: Gaffers Tape

It's a bit beefy for the delicate danish mic. Also, nast residue which is a PITA to remove. I use Rycote stickies on instruments (and people as they're hypo-allergenic):
Rycote - 065506 STICKIES

I know I'm answering my own question here to a point but it's the stuff like mini-windjammers and croc-clips (£32 and £15) that I need to find alternatives for.

Cheers!

[DannyL]

Alligator clips are about US 50¢.
This kind of stuff is available from hobby and/or electronics shops and electrical supply outlets.


SparkFun Electronics - Alligator Clips

Alligator Clips, Alligator Clip


Danny

[DannyL]

See also Windtech:

Olsen Audio Group: WindTech Microphone Windscreen & Mic Muff Home Page

Danny

[hywyn]

Originally Posted by DannyL

Alligator clips, heat shrink, solder and 10 guage solid core electrical wire and some sort of clamp or mic clip.

Fit heat shrink over the jaws of the alligator clip, strip of 1.5 cm or so of the jacket on the wire & solder the clip to it. Solder the other end to a clamp or fix it to a mic clip. Clip a Lav with about 25 -30 mm of cable between the mic's grommet and the clip. This will act as a shock mount. Position as needed.*

Danny

*I got this from Carl Countryman of Countryman mic fame. It works beautifully with isomax II's and many other lav-type mics.

Danny

sounds cool Danny.

I'm a little confused as to why the heat-shrink? Do you use the croc clip to attch the mic(I presume so but you haven't made this explicit)? Also, is the mics grommet another heat-shrink strategically placed?

Forgive further questions, but this sounds worth pursuing...

I might fix a DPA 4060 to a gooseneck and glue it permanently into place, - I have one which has a connection fault at the capsule end, - impossible to re-connect, so at least I may get some further use out of it this way.

As these DPA mini-mics are impossible to maintain (and ain't exactly cheap) I'm on the lookout for alternatives. Are the countryman mics good? They aren't used so extensively over here, but I know good recordists who carry them.

Cheers,
Hywyn

(I was in Sao Paolo this year, shooting in a Watermelon shaped hotel. It had an amazing panoramic of the skyline from the rooftop, as if we were in a volcano bowl!)

[hywyn]

Originally Posted by DannyL

Alligator clips are about US 50¢.
This kind of stuff is available from hobby and/or electronics shops and electrical supply outlets.


SparkFun Electronics - Alligator Clips

Alligator Clips, Alligator Clip


Danny

Originally Posted by DannyL

See also Windtech:

Olsen Audio Group: WindTech Microphone Windscreen & Mic Muff Home Page

Danny

Cool!, checking em out now,...thanks.

[DannyL]

The heat shrink is to protect the mic cable from the teeth of the clip.

The Grommet is the flexible gasket at the end of the mic head where the cable exits.

Permanently gluing a mic is a mistake, IMHO. Se if you can's use some kind of compressible material to hold the mic in place. If not, then use silicone, which you can scrape off, if you are careful both in the installation
and retrieval.

I assume you have done a flex test on the cable at the point of failure.

If merely holding the cable fixes the problem, why not use heat shrink to prevent the cable from faulting?

Countryman mics are GREAT, IMHO. They are pretty durable, (though the Isomax II's don't like water) and are not too expensive. They sound really good and can take loads of SPL. There are hundreds of applications:

1) Hypercardioid: excellent instrument mics, also work well mounted on small steel plates at an angle of 45º or so for Podiums, on the front of stages, behind goals (soccer), as corner mics in hockey, and as announcer mics when mounted on headset booms. Also ok in ORTF configuration.
2) Omni's : nice spaced pairs, very good inside kick drums, excellent on pianos: fold a matchbook cover in half, and fix the mic to it so the element is clear of obstruction. Tape this assembly to the lid of a piano, 1 over the best sounding hole and 1 over the sweet spot of the harp. Pan Hard L/R...amazing, AND: invisible for TV!! Excellent crowd mics too.
Insert an Omni in the (rubbercollar) windscreen of an SM57 so that the mic will be above the SM57 capsule. Use the assembly as a side address mic for vocals. (I had to do this once in a pinch and it worked remarkably well.)

Isomax II's come as bidirectional and cardioid also,

Sorry to sound like an advertisement, but these mics are really useful and very well priced. One word of caution: I would avoid the long (10 meter) cable versions that were designed for choir lofts.... the signal before the connector is unbalanced, and is therefore subject to EMF noise. I have never had a problem with the normal 1 meter cable lengths.

I have 6 hypers and 4 omnis and they get a LOT of use.

Danny

Originally Posted by hywyn

sounds cool Danny.

I'm a little confused as to why the heat-shrink? Do you use the croc clip to attch the mic(I presume so but you haven't made this explicit)? Also, is the mics grommet another heat-shrink strategically placed?

Forgive further questions, but this sounds worth pursuing...

I might fix a DPA 4060 to a gooseneck and glue it permanently into place, - I have one which has a connection fault at the capsule end, - impossible to re-connect, so at least I may get some further use out of it this way.

As these DPA mini-mics are impossible to maintain (and ain't exactly cheap) I'm on the lookout for alternatives. Are the countryman mics good? They aren't used so extensively over here, but I know good recordists who carry them.

Cheers,
Hywyn

(I was in Sao Paolo this year, shooting in a Watermelon shaped hotel. It had an amazing panoramic of the skyline from the rooftop, as if we were in a volcano bowl!)

[hywyn]

Ok, I understand the grommet location but the heat shrink is still confusing as is the role of the alligator clip. How are you attaching the lav-mic to this rig? Sorry,...I just don't get it

Good idea re: silicone.
The fault lies within the capsule so it's a little tricky but I go with your suggestion and will heat-shrink the cable into place. The only way to be sure of longevity for this most fragile of mics IMO is the gooseneck.

Thanks for the info re: Countryman. I was thinking of the B6 as a more direct replacement for a DPA than the Isomax 2, but really interested to read your comments. I already have Trams for that shape mic, - good selection of clips and also a handy hf boost inherent in the design which is useful for bringing out a voice when concealed under clothes. However, the Countryman Isomax 2 is cheap(ish) here too, so worth an audition.

I'll bear in mind the 10 metre cable, unbalanced scenario.
Cheers,
Hywyn

Originally Posted by DannyL

The heat shrink is to protect the mic cable from the teeth of the clip.

The Grommet is the flexible gasket at the end of the mic head where the cable exits.

Permanently gluing a mic is a mistake, IMHO. Se if you can's use some kind of compressible material to hold the mic in place. If not, then use silicone, which you can scrape off, if you are careful both in the installation
and retrieval.

I assume you have done a flex test on the cable at the point of failure.

If merely holding the cable fixes the problem, why not use heat shrink to prevent the cable from faulting?

Countryman mics are GREAT, IMHO. They are pretty durable, (though the Isomax II's don't like water) and are not too expensive. They sound really good and can take loads of SPL. There are hundreds of applications:

1) Hypercardioid: excellent instrument mics, also work well mounted on small steel plates at an angle of 45º or so for Podiums, on the front of stages, behind goals (soccer), as corner mics in hockey, and as announcer mics when mounted on headset booms. Also ok in ORTF configuration.
2) Omni's : nice spaced pairs, very good inside kick drums, excellent on pianos: fold a matchbook cover in half, and fix the mic to it so the element is clear of obstruction. Tape this assembly to the lid of a piano, 1 over the best sounding hole and 1 over the sweet spot of the harp. Pan Hard L/R...amazing, AND: invisible for TV!! Excellent crowd mics too.
Insert an Omni in the (rubbercollar) windscreen of an SM57 so that the mic will be above the SM57 capsule. Use the assembly as a side address mic for vocals. (I had to do this once in a pinch and it worked remarkably well.)

Isomax II's come as bidirectional and cardioid also,

Sorry to sound like an advertisement, but these mics are really useful and very well priced. One word of caution: I would avoid the long (10 meter) cable versions that were designed for choir lofts.... the signal before the connector is unbalanced, and is therefore subject to EMF noise. I have never had a problem with the normal 1 meter cable lengths.

I have 6 hypers and 4 omnis and they get a LOT of use.

Danny

[DannyL]

I would put a piece of heatshrink on each of the jaws of the gator clip.
This will protect the cable of the mic from the teeth of the clip when the clip closes on the mini cable.

The alligator clip is soldered onto a piece of heavy guage (10) solid core copper wire I use black or white wire depending on where the mic has to go. This acts as a mini gooseneck that allows precise positioning of the mic.
The other end of the wire is attached to a clamp and clipped into place. I use clamps that have rubber padding so I can attach them to Violin tail pieces, banjos, saxophones or other horn bells, etc. I have also clipped them to drums, machines, cars, people and animals. (though I avoid clipping them to large predators.)

To "grab" the mic: open the alligator clip. Insert the lav cable into the open jaws. close the clip. Voilá! (Grab the mic cable so that there is a little bit of cable between the clip and the end of the mic. The cable will then act as a shock mount for the mic.)

Danny

[hywyn]

Understood! I was thinking that you were placing one piece of heat-shrink over the alligator clip, which would render it useless for its intended purpose.

With what animals did you use this rig?!!! In vision or just recording f/x?

Cheers,
hywyn

Originally Posted by DannyL

I would put a piece of heatshrink on each of the jaws of the gator clip.
This will protect the cable of the mic from the teeth of the clip when the clip closes on the mini cable.

The alligator clip is soldered onto a piece of heavy guage (10) solid core copper wire I use black or white wire depending on where the mic has to go. This acts as a mini gooseneck that allows precise positioning of the mic.
The other end of the wire is attached to a clamp and clipped into place. I use clamps that have rubber padding so I can attach them to Violin tail pieces, banjos, saxophones or other horn bells, etc. I have also clipped them to drums, machines, cars, people and animals. (though I avoid clipping them to large predators.)

To "grab" the mic: open the alligator clip. Insert the lav cable into the open jaws. close the clip. Voilá! (Grab the mic cable so that there is a little bit of cable between the clip and the end of the mic. The cable will then act as a shock mount for the mic.)

Danny

[Petrus]

I attach the DPAs to the ends of the carbon fibre tubes with BlueTac and secure with a thin strip of Gorilla tape. If you remove the tape within a reasonable time (like few days) there is no glue residue.

Some tapes are really hard to get off the thin cable, always afraid of breaking the cable.

[nanogeek]

I have found that (black) pipe cleaners are a very versatile way of positioning the DPA 406x mini microphones. The idea is actually not mine, I found it mentioned on some forum thread, I forgot where. I tried it when I read about the idea, and now I use this method all the time. If I needs some more stiffness in the assembly, I take 1mm black iron thread (original use: flower decoration) alongside the DPA 4060 cable and then I tie pipe cleaners around the cable+thread. You have then an 'inforced' cable of perhaps up to 0.5 meters length that you can bend and fixate in any way you want. It works for me certainly. However, if you want to be able to reproduce accurately positions of the microphone, it gets tricky - this is not mm-precision positioning, of course.