Re: [Harp-L] Good cheap microphone

["Vern Smith" <jevern@xxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <holcomb.michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Mike said:
>.......... A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a tie-clip microphone from
Radio Shack for about $25 - the type a presentation speaker would use.  The
microphone is a little
bigger than a pencil eraser.  I threw the tie-clip away and hold the
microphone between > the middle and ring finger of my left hand, winding the
thin cord around those two fingers once or twice to help hold them together.
There is about 4 feet of thin cable to a tiny power supply with a switch,
which fits in your pocket or clips on to your belt, then some more cord
ending in a 1/8" jack.  I bought a 20' cable with a 1/8" female at one end
and a 1/4" male at the other, and plug straight into my amp.

It is an electret condenser mic with a flat response from 70hz to 16khz. The
battery has a very long life and is used to power the integral
field-effect-transistor (fet) pre-amp.   It will give you a "clean" hi-fi
sound so if you want uneven frequency or distortion effects you will have to
add then downstream.  I have one built in to my harp rack and love it
because a bigger mic would be very awkward.   I have also used a similar mic
held as Mike describes and plugged in to the house PA system for gigs
playing classical pieces with my community orchestra.

For only $25, you get good fidelity, tiny size, and a strong output signal.
IMO, a great deal all around.  Electrets are usually the built-in mics of
video cameras and tape recorders.  They are tiny electronic marvels that
deliver a helluva performance/price benefit. You can buy bare electrets as
components from Radio Shack for about $6 but you must provide your own
cable, plug, battery, and on/off switch. If you can use quantities of 100,
you can buy bare electrets on the net for $2 each!

Vern

Visit my harmonica website: www.hands-free-chromatic.7p.com