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Microvox Question


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Folks - I've gone thru 2 Microvox concertina mic setups and now need to buy another.

 

What I'm wondering: are other people having the same problems I've had, and is there any way to avoid them?

 

What has happened with both my microvoxes: they work fine for a while, but then get noisy. Moving around causes static and popping noises in the system; the volume control gets scratchy. (And I'm not talking about noise from the velcro attachment to the instrument).

 

Are others experiencing the same problems, or have I just been unlucky with sub-par units? Is there any way to avoid these kinds of problems? Would I do better with the cheaper mixer, without the volume control, which seems to be one source of the problems?

 

I prefer using 2 regular mics, but in many situations this isn't practical (not enough inputs in the system, etc.)

 

I've looked into gooseneck mics, but I switch instruments a lot during dances, and switching the mics isn't practical. For my particular situation, it seems microvox is the only solution, but it's getting expensive replacing them!

 

Any suggestions?

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When you switch instruments during a dance, are you un-velcro-ing your two Microvox mics from one instrument and then attaching them to a second? Aaron Marcus uses a two-mic system for his concertina, using two Audio Technica Pro-35 clip-on microphones, clipped to the bellows. I would not have believed this would work, but I've watched him play for an evening and I've tried playing like this myself on his instrument, and it works great. Changing instruments would be just as simple and fast as with your Microvox kit.

 

The one downside: they don't come with a personal mixer. Aaron takes up two mixer channels, one for each mic. But I think you could get Jack-in-the-Box Input Expander which would do the job of supplying phantom power to the AT Pro-35s, taking the XLR from each AT Pro-35, summing them (no ability to adjust balance, but you don't need that for two sides of a concertina, do you?), and send out a single XLR to the mixer. It wouldn't be a cheap kit -- $600 or so for the mics and expander -- but it might do just what you need and with better quality than the Microvox?

 

Added bonus: you can lend them to other concertina friends, who wouldn't need to put velcro on their instruments to make use of them :-)

Edited by wayman
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When you switch instruments during a dance, are you un-velcro-ing your two Microvox mics from one instrument and then attaching them to a second? Aaron Marcus uses a two-mic system for his concertina, using two Audio Technica Pro-35 clip-on microphones, clipped to the bellows. I would not have believed this would work, but I've watched him play for an evening and I've tried playing like this myself on his instrument, and it works great. Changing instruments would be just as simple and fast as with your Microvox kit.

 

The one downside: they don't come with a personal mixer. Aaron takes up two mixer channels, one for each mic. But I think you could get Jack-in-the-Box Input Expander which would do the job of supplying phantom power to the AT Pro-35s, taking the XLR from each AT Pro-35, summing them (no ability to adjust balance, but you don't need that for two sides of a concertina, do you?), and send out a single XLR to the mixer. It wouldn't be a cheap kit -- $600 or so for the mics and expander -- but it might do just what you need and with better quality than the Microvox?

 

Added bonus: you can lend them to other concertina friends, who wouldn't need to put velcro on their instruments to make use of them :-)

 

How does it clip on? Isn't there a risk of damage to the bellows? (says the guy with two instruments with great newish Jowaisas bellows).

Phantom power may be a problem - my powered mixer lacks it.

 

FUnny: I have the predecessor to the Pro-35, which I had in my kit for the fiddler in a long forgotten band.

Edited by Jim Besser
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  • 6 years later...

Hi!

I'm coming on this old topic...

I'm trying to record some tunes on my concertina. I've been using Microvox mics for years in live playing, and very happily. Now for my recordings, I have a question : on my soundcard, do I have to switch on the phantom power ?

Thanks!

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RAc has providede good support already, but no don’t use phantom power on your Microvox! If you’re not getting sufficient gain I’d look into your sound card settings first, but also consider getting a USB interface (I use a Focusrite Scarlett Solo with excellent quality results).

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