Strange Looking Grateful Dead Vocal Mics ??

[Packy]

They also started using pressure pads to automatically turn mics off & on; step away from the mic to play & the mic goes off, step up to the mic to sing & it turns on.
jwp

Haha yeah, I think the story goes Dan Healy got the idea for those when walking through automatic doors at the grocery store. I believe they actually used floor mats from those types of doors to trigger the gate. Seems quite a bit more practical and sonically manageable than differential mics, no? And does anyone know if those are for sale anywhere??

[;ivlunsdystf]

They also started using pressure pads to automatically turn mics off & on; step away from the mic to play & the mic goes off, step up to the mic to sing & it turns on.
jwp

Haha yeah, I think the story goes Dan Healy got the idea for those when walking through automatic doors at the grocery store. I believe they actually used floor mats from those types of doors to trigger the gate. Seems quite a bit more practical and sonically manageable than differential mics, no? And does anyone know if those are for sale anywhere??

I always had heard that the pads came from burglar alarms. My house came with some of those; we ripped them out when we redid the flooring. I guess I should have kept them so I could build my own backyard wall of sound someday.

EDIT: I think those pressure pads first showed up around 1984 or so. That's when there started being MANY verses with the first few words clipped off due to somebody hustling back to the mic at the end of an epic noodling Garcia solo to sing another verse.