Clip-on mic liberation

[dooce]

After years of blowing into a fixed mic on stage, I finally dug into my moth-infested wallet and bought a PRO35 microphone from saxophones.co.uk, and played the first gig with it a couple of weeks ago.

Very impressed with the sound - it seems crisper than I used to get with a fixed Shure SM58, although it needs an impartial ear to tell that properly.

But the biggest change is being able to move around and express myself more. I swear I was more confident and ambitious in my playing (read flashy and incomprehensible :whistle: ). I certainly felt far more involved in the band - usually I play with both eyes glued to the bell of the tenor to make sure the mic stays well within range, but it felt very liberating to be able to wander round the stage, point the thing at the ceiling for the high notes, and all those usual sax-solo cliches.

I'm working on playing flat on my back, but I'll need some help to get back up on 2 feet again, at my age.....

 

[richard_perks]

Sounds great , I used a wireless mic and hated the wire to the transmitter as I would forget about it and pull the lot off when I went off stage!!! (talk about age) Anyway the reason to answer your post was I saw a sax player on stage with the wire rapped around the end of the horn and the transmitter mounted there.!!! well I had to do that !!! so I used a velcro circle (now if you hate sticking stuff on horn close your eyes) stuck to the side of the horn and lo and behold (thats old english) I was free!!!!! Used it for about 4 years. BUT I did also have a Sennhauser (spelling???) 421 as well because that band was loud!!! and nothing is better than 2 mics!!!!!! with the stage one being cranked.....
Anyway now with Blues Band (no pay!!!) so Shure 80 is in case, anyone wanting to buy?
Enjoy your mic 8)

 

[Bobby G]

The only disadvantages of clip-on mics that I can see are possible damage to your horn if you're fussy, and not being able to turn yourself down/off if you don't have an inline volume control, other than that great! I remember the liberation of playing a plug-in acoustic guitar on stage for the first time. There are always going to be those times when you just can't keep still 🙂

 

[dooce]

Well, I haven't gone down the wireless route yet - only because the size of venue our band plays can usually be covered by a 10 metre lead, so wireless technology would be technical overkill! I've seen the transmitter strapped to the sax though, and wondered if that would make the sax feel more unwieldy and unbalanced? I guess you would get used to it......

 

[Jules]

dooce wrote:
Well, I haven't gone down the wireless route yet - only because the size of venue our band plays can usually be covered by a 10 metre lead, so wireless technology would be technical overkill! I've seen the transmitter strapped to the sax though, and wondered if that would make the sax feel more unwieldy and unbalanced? I guess you would get used to it......

It's better than putting oyur sax on it's stand and walking off to the bar- forgetting that you're still attached to it!

 

[richard_perks]

The Shure transmitter is about the size of a cigarette package and weighs not much more. When we played larger venues, but mainly we played bars, it was nice going out and doing my own sound check, don't get in front of speakers, you can never rely on guitar playes!!!!! :erm:

 

[mfox]

wirless is only good if your prepared to pay for good equipment...so buyer beware and try them out at full whack with the band otherwise you will be for ever tweeking trying get it sound like it did in the shop..

 

[jools]

hmm. Being connected at the hip to one's gear is indeed a problem. I have used a radio mic for the flute and on more than one occasion put it down, walked away and pulled the whole stand over, sax and all. VERY embarrassing when you hear audience laughter as you have a 'Norman Wisdom' moment, fumbling about and tripping over stuff. It cancels out all the kudos you picked up playing the solo (imagine Lee Evans doing it and you can get an image of how I felt)

I've also used velcro ties (available from B&Q and other good hardware stores) to strap the transmitter round the left side of the sax bell, which works fine, with a small piece of foam between it and the unit. It didn't make it heavier nor unbalanced. It just made it much harder to put back onto the stand. AGH.. adaptations and modifications. Is there no end to it!

The only real problem I've ever had with instrument mounted microphones (apart from the fixed volume issue) is that they all seem to pick up a fair bit of key clatter. Plus, with a mic on a stand, you can still turn away from the mic and have a bit of a noodle to yourself to get up to speed with the tune if you wish.

But yes, as Mfox says, if anyone wants to try this route - get a good one. Cheap will make you sound.. cheap.

Take a look here

SAX.CO.UK
The Audio Technica versions affix to the left side of the bell quite smartly. But look at the price!!