Mic with momentary switch??

Recording Techniques, People Skills, Gear, Recording Spaces, Computers, and DIY

Moderators: drumsound, tomb

Matt C.
suffering 'studio suck'
Posts: 434
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:43 am
Location: saint paul, mn

Mic with momentary switch??

Post by Matt C. » Mon May 08, 2017 8:47 pm

I'm looking for a handheld mic with a momentary on/off switch, to be used in the control room as a talkback mic. I need something handheld with a reasonably long cord so it can be passed around and used by other band members in the control room.

I haven't come across any so far, and it seems like too tight of a squeeze to add a switch to an existing mic. Maybe a CB radio mic would work, but I can't tell if those units have regular line-level outputs or not.

Any ideas?

User avatar
vvv
zen recordist
Posts: 10139
Joined: Tue May 13, 2003 8:08 am
Location: Chi
Contact:

Post by vvv » Tue May 09, 2017 4:23 am

Older Shures like the 545SD or newer like the PG48, older EV's like the 664 have such switches, so do some older Senns.

But easier and cheaper?

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Musical-Instrum ... ch&_sop=15
bandcamp;
blog.
I mix with olive juice.

User avatar
ubertar
ears didn't survive the freeze
Posts: 3775
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2004 7:20 pm
Location: mid-Atlantic US
Contact:

Post by ubertar » Tue May 09, 2017 6:04 am

Most of those older mics with switches have slide on/off switches, not momentary pushbuttons. Why not make a small box with XLR ins/outs and a momentary pushbutton? Then you can run any mic you want with a short cable in and a long cable out.

User avatar
Nick Sevilla
on a wing and a prayer
Posts: 5555
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:34 pm
Location: Lake Arrowhead California USA
Contact:

Post by Nick Sevilla » Tue May 09, 2017 6:22 am

They already make lots of these:

http://procosound.com/interface-devices ... ng-devices

Good company.
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

User avatar
vvv
zen recordist
Posts: 10139
Joined: Tue May 13, 2003 8:08 am
Location: Chi
Contact:

Post by vvv » Tue May 09, 2017 7:30 am

ubertar wrote:Most of those older mics with switches have slide on/off switches, not momentary pushbuttons.
:oops:

Didn't catch, "momentary ".
bandcamp;
blog.
I mix with olive juice.

User avatar
I'm Painting Again
zen recordist
Posts: 7086
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 2:15 am
Location: New York, New York
Contact:

Post by I'm Painting Again » Tue May 09, 2017 8:18 am

Rolls MS111 $44 from B&H

footswitch can be used while both hands are free to work on other things

use it w/ a mic than can pick up everyone in the room and no need to fumble around passing it off to band members

Matt C.
suffering 'studio suck'
Posts: 434
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:43 am
Location: saint paul, mn

Post by Matt C. » Tue May 09, 2017 9:09 am

the issue I'm trying to solve is that right now the talkback circuit on my console works walkie-talkie style - only one person can be heard at a time, so I can't just leave it on all the time. So if the person in the live room is trying to have a conversation with someone in the control room other than me, I have the challenging job of predicting when each person is gonna talk and pressing/releasing the talkback button accordingly. Giving them their own mic solves that problem. Making it momentary means that extra noise or private conversations won't make it into the headphones.

That said, I'm switching to a new mixing board so maybe this situation will change anyway.

User avatar
I'm Painting Again
zen recordist
Posts: 7086
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 2:15 am
Location: New York, New York
Contact:

Post by I'm Painting Again » Tue May 09, 2017 12:45 pm

hmm

Neutrik #NC3FX-S connector has a rotary on/off switch - you could wire that to the end of an xlr and put your pass around mic on it

the rotary action might be annoying though

then you have to worry about someone not disengaging it after they talk

same with a mic with on/off switch though but that seems more ergonomic

something like the AKG DST 99 S mic has a momentary "on" and wired XLR but also might be awkward to pass around in the way you intend ? seems more of a two handed thing at least in my head

is it possible to wire a relay of momentary "on" footswitches (or buttons) at different stations in the control room and having one omni in the center that can pick up everything ?

User avatar
vvv
zen recordist
Posts: 10139
Joined: Tue May 13, 2003 8:08 am
Location: Chi
Contact:

Post by vvv » Tue May 09, 2017 2:25 pm

I'm still thinkin' one of the karaoke mic's I linked above is the easiest/cheapest and should/could/would work...

That, or wire up a old C.B. radio mic:

Image
bandcamp;
blog.
I mix with olive juice.

Matt C.
suffering 'studio suck'
Posts: 434
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:43 am
Location: saint paul, mn

Post by Matt C. » Tue May 09, 2017 3:34 pm

finally found one. Shure makes a line of mics with momentary "push to talk" buttons. Thanks for the ideas guys.

User avatar
vvv
zen recordist
Posts: 10139
Joined: Tue May 13, 2003 8:08 am
Location: Chi
Contact:

Post by vvv » Tue May 09, 2017 6:27 pm

Damn! I was hoping you'd dig hearing, "Breaker 1-9" ...
bandcamp;
blog.
I mix with olive juice.

User avatar
A.David.MacKinnon
ears didn't survive the freeze
Posts: 3819
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 5:57 am
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Wed May 10, 2017 7:02 am

vvv wrote:I'm still thinkin' one of the karaoke mic's I linked above is the easiest/cheapest and should/could/would work...

That, or wire up a old C.B. radio mic:

Image
I've done this a bunch of times at various studios. They make great talk back mics and it's got an element of fun that the bands always like.

User avatar
Gregg Juke
cryogenically thawing
Posts: 3544
Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2010 10:35 pm
Location: Buffalo, NY, USA
Contact:

Post by Gregg Juke » Wed May 10, 2017 11:58 am

That's probably the only thing out there with a true "momentary" switch, I'd imagine (?). We use one of the Shure desktop talkback models, with the switch in the base. But even that is "on/off," not momentary. And the switch does eventually burn out, so now we just have it on a fader for up and down (leaving the switch open all the time).

GJ
Gregg Juke
Nocturnal Productions Music Group
Drum! Magazine Contributor
http://MightyNoStars.com

"He's about to learn the most important lesson in the music business-- 'Never trust people in the music business.' "

RoyMatthews
re-cappin' neve
Posts: 778
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2005 12:07 pm
Location: Sunnyside Queens, NY

Post by RoyMatthews » Fri May 12, 2017 11:07 am

What I've done when I've had to jury rig a talk back, I'd run a mic through an aux in Pro Tools and had it automated with the volume down so I could leave it up open between takes but it'd be off when the track plays.
"If there's one ironclad rule of pop history, it's this: The monkey types Hamlet only once."

User avatar
A.David.MacKinnon
ears didn't survive the freeze
Posts: 3819
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 5:57 am
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Fri May 12, 2017 1:09 pm

RoyMatthews wrote:What I've done when I've had to jury rig a talk back, I'd run a mic through an aux in Pro Tools and had it automated with the volume down so I could leave it up open between takes but it'd be off when the track plays.
There's a plug in called Talk Back that will mute that channel during playback/record and I mute it when you stop. I think it's by Massey.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 59 guests