Radio Shack Lavelier Mic

Tyler Bolles

Hi Gang,

New member here and bassist-turned-pomper-in-training. Half our q'tet moved to Europe, so I took over rhythm duty so we can do two-guitar gigs rather than lead guitar and bass!

Anybody using one of these mics? http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2102927

I picked one up for my bass because of a long thread on the talkbass forum I frequent, and it sounds surprisingly good for a $33 mic! I've tried it a bit on the loaner Gitane I'm using with good results, and might try it at a coffeehouse gig tomorrow. I don't have any guitar gear, so I'm running it through a little class D Euphonic Audio head into various bass cabs I have around.

Good times.

Here's the bass forum thread if you feel like wading through it:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f4/micing ... mp-882780/

Jazzaferri

I have one that I use for sax atm. In a shootout on a sax forum they came in third behind two mics costing thousands , ahead of 2 other mics costing hundreds.

Interested in your toughts on them as a guitar mic

Welcome aboard. Great group of folks here.

Tyler Bolles

First gig report: it works, it sounds pretty good! I think it sounds better than the internal pickup (don't know what the pickup is). I'm not good at describing nuances of sound, but to my ears it pretty faithfully reproduced the acoustic sound of the guitar, at least as much as the 57 I pointed at it at the previous gig! I was going into a Euphonic Audio Doubler head, into a subwoofer box from Parts Express loaded with an Eminence Basslite S2010, (a la this thread http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/low-c ... 5D-736360/).

I mounted it by taping (with painters' masking tape) a small piece of foam with a slit cut into it and the mic stuffed in to the top, a few inches bellow the fretboard. I'm probably experiment more with placement, and it was suggested I try placing it on the lower bout of the guitar, below the string after-lengths.

For $30, I seem to have found a satisfactory solution that will at least get me through the duo restaurant gigs I'll be mostly doing! For gigs where we need a larger band, I usually switch to bass. I'll probably pick up or make a smaller cab (8", 2x5?) in the future, or spring for a little combo amp.

lacrossehotclub

When I first started playing out several years ago I used the same Radio Shack mic with the alligator clip attached to the knob of a small clear plastic suction cup positioned on the upper bout, mic pointed up and back toward the sound hole. Surprisingly good results considering the money. I've since upgraded to a Pro70 and bring the old mic as a backup.

Shawn

How did you get this lavalier mic to work with an amp? I have a very similar mic, an Audio Technica Lavalier, that just doesn't seem to work with an amp. I have a 1/8 to 1/4 inch jack converter and then I'm trying to plug it directly into the amp, but there is no sound (even with the phantom power "thingy" turned ON). Do I need something else to help power it or am I just not doing something right...any ideas?

Also, I came up with a great home-made way to make a lavalier mic clip holder that works for Selmer style guitars. I'd be more than happy to share pictures and a brief tutorial with you guys if you want the information.

jimvence

Shawn wrote:

How did you get this lavalier mic to work with an amp? I have a very similar mic, an Audio Technica Lavalier, that just doesn't seem to work with an amp. I have a 1/8 to 1/4 inch jack converter and then I'm trying to plug it directly into the amp, but there is no sound (even with the phantom power "thingy" turned ON). Do I need something else to help power it or am I just not doing something right...any ideas?

As I read this, I keep thinking that the set-up you describe would benefit from a pre-amp to drive the signal. Perhaps you've already tried that.

Shawn

jimvence wrote:

As I read this, I keep thinking that the set-up you describe would benefit from a pre-amp to drive the signal. Perhaps you've already tried that.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm beyond an idiot when it comes to electronics, so I really don't know what I'm doing to be honest. I bought the mic for recording purposes on the computer, which it works great for, but I'd also like to be able to play it through an amp if possible. There is a little power switch on the mic which turns the mic "ON", so I assumed that functioned as a pre-amp, but I really don't have a clue. Are you thinking if I ran it through a pre-amp into an actual amp that it might do the trick? I don't own a pre-amp per se, so I might need to try this out at a guitar store beforehand to see if it works.

Tyler Bolles

I just plugged it in and it worked! I then cut the cord and attached a 1/4 female jack to be able to get more length with a normal instrument cable. Did you check the battery? I'd be curious to see your mounting setup.

jimvence

Shawn wrote:

jimvence wrote:

As I read this, I keep thinking that the set-up you describe would benefit from a pre-amp to drive the signal. Perhaps you've already tried that.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm beyond an idiot when it comes to electronics, so I really don't know what I'm doing to be honest. I bought the mic for recording purposes on the computer, which it works great for, but I'd also like to be able to play it through an amp if possible. There is a little power switch on the mic which turns the mic "ON", so I assumed that functioned as a pre-amp, but I really don't have a clue. Are you thinking if I ran it through a pre-amp into an actual amp that it might do the trick? I don't own a pre-amp per se, so I might need to try this out at a guitar store beforehand to see if it works.

Here is a link to discussion on microphone vs. line level signals:

https://soma.sbcc.edu/users/davega/film ... 0LEVEL.pdf

Shawn

Luckily I took the day off today, so I went ahead and made a quick tutorial on youtube showing how to make a lavalier microphone clip (see below). Also, I'm adding some close up pictures of the finished product. My apologies for the rushed nature of the video, but regardless, I hope this helps you guys in some form or another 8) . I should also mention the audio gets slightly out of sync toward the end for some reason.

Shawn

My apologies, the video and sound quality were absolute bollox so I took it off youtube. I'll make another video and post it up tonight on how to make the sound hole mic clip. Again, my apologies for anyone remotely interested in it.