Does anyone have any experience with these. Are they ok for playing whistle and flutes with or are there major problems.
They work very well for recording whistle…haven’t tried flute.
-Brett
I use one (Shure WH30) for flute and whistle, and am very happy with it.
I used one for a while, but it was more of a hassle than it was worth – a good level for my flute was too low for my speaking voice or my whistle. Plus someone told me it made me look like one of the Borg. I use a regular old Shure SM57 now, and it suits me fine.
“Space cadet” was one of the more polite comments I got. If you can stand that, they work OK for the whistle. I think mine is an Audio-Technica or something.
But a drawback for the whistle is that you cannot come closer to or back away from the mike to control your volume when you need to. With the insane difference in volume from low D to high b, this is a real problem when you’re playing with other melody instruments.
Plus you can’t share juicy observations about members of the audience with your band members without switching off. Easy to forget!
You also need a good spherical popping shield if you don’t want the entire crowd to hear air exhaling from your nostrils and other head noises.
I think there are better options for the flute - mikes that clip onto the instrument.
Steve
Ahh…I hadn’t thought of it from a performance point of view. My comments were made mainly of it’s usefulness for recording whistle reviews, posting tunes to Clips-N-Snips etc.
For that use, I found the constant distance from the mic to be a positive aspect because folks could get an idea of the volume difference vrom low D to high B. I agree in a performance situation that wouldn’t be so good (unless you have a very balanced whistle, in which case, please let me know what kind you have!).
-Brett
You could possible use the headset mic in a live situation in conjunction with a compressor to lower the volume for you on the louder notes.
But how is a mic that clips to the instrument itself any different froma headset other than you can pull it away from your mouth to make comments?
I think it’s better in terms of the position of the mic. With it clipped to the instrument itself, the distance will always remain a constant. Also, you might bump the mic and push it out of position a lot easier with a headset. Most of the folks I’ve seen on stage that use a mic in this fashion work with it clipped on the instrument itself (both flute and whistle).
Thanks for all the comments. Maybe a clip-on mic is a better option for me. Are there any clip on mics that are recommended. I assume they are reasonably easy to move from instrument to instrument?
Here are some that I’ve found:
http://www.sdsystems.com/frame.html?frame=1&url=/70/70.htm
http://www.sennheiser.nl/sennheiser/icm_eng.nsf/root/04520#
I’ve also seen people use various lavalier mics on whistles. Not all of them have the perfect mount for a whistle but I’ve seen people rig things up pretty easily.
Thanks for all the help. I’m on track now.
Hi. I tried a headset mic for a while and while it was wonderful to be able to move around on stage the quality of the mic itself wasn’t great. Also, I don’t think the audience liked it much – i had this black thing in front of my face all the time that they couldn’t get used to. I later switched to a Beta 57. It’s a drag that I have to stand in front of it all the time, but the sound is really superior.
I’ve been using a headset mic for about 8 months. You really have to buy quality or you’ll have sound problems. I started out with a cheaper Audio Technica which didn’t have much power and there were times that the whistle couldn’t be heard over the other band instruments. I bit the bullet a few months back and got an expensive Shure headset which I haven’t had any problems with at all.
There is a learning curve involved with using a headset. It helps if the mic has a gooseneck so you can position it differently between tunes. I’m at the point now where I’ll pull it in closer for a solo or an interlude right in the middle of a song but it took a while to get used to. I play better when I’m not in front of a mic stand and I love that I don’t have collisions with the mic anymore when I close my eyes. 
I use a decent quality Audio Technica headset for my gigs, and it works pretty well. I went with it, because I change instruments quite a bit in the show I do for retirement communities, so I go from whistle to melodica to ocarina, etc. I found that the headset gives me the ease of being able to move around and the gooseneck easily adjusts from instrument to instrument.
I agree with others that you lose the ability to “work the mic.” One way I’ve found to work around this is when I’m playing a low whistle in the upper octave, I move it to the right side of my mouth (I wear the mic on my left side), and get it a little bit away from the mic. Or, if I’m going from low to high whistles, same thing - I play the higher whistle on the right, away from the mic.
The freedom I found in the headset, and also not having to put up another stand for a mic, is worth the tradeoff one makes by using a headset. But, that’s just my experience. 
I remembered posting to this thread a while ago and thought I’d supply some info to anyone interested…
I found a piece of equipment that helps with the “working the mic” issue when using a headset. Check the web for “Digitech vx400” Vocal Processor. I bought this a few months ago and it’s great! Basically it’s a vocal processor for adding effects to the mic. I really don’t use it for this (maybe just a little reverb and delay where appropriate). The best thing about it (for me) is the floating volume pedal that you can easily work. It’s not cheap…(I got mine thru B&H for $219) but it beats messing with the goosneck in the middle of a song…
Any reason why you couldn’t have a foot pedal for volume and other effects?
Edit: NoMatch seems to have a good answer.
What model do you use? I have limited funds for one, but feel the need. I can’t afford to buy one that won’t do the job, and can’t afford to buy the ones that I know would do it. 
I appreciate the input!
After decades of just using an instrument mic on a stand for my flutes, whistles, and uilleann pipes, I switched to a headset for the flutes and whistles. I really like the ability to move about and not be stuck in front of that mic.
I still have the mic on the stand by the stool for when I play the pipes.
I a band where I played one flute only (an Irish ceilidh dance band) I used a Barcus-Berry alto flute pickup and the sound was fantastic.
About the problem between the talking vs playing in the headset, in the band I use the headset I don’t talk much!
Annie,
…I know what you mean. My father always says “Only the rich can afford to buy cheap.” I broke down and bought a Shure PGX14 and it 's been durable and has great sound/reception/versitility. It was expensive but I’m coming up on my 3rd year with it and I’ve had no problems.
Cranberry Dog,
The problem with most other foot pedals that I found were that they didn’t have XLR connectors for the mic cables. Since the Digitech VX400 is for vocal processing, it has the inputs for XLR. You could probably be ok with a pedal that has a standard guitar cable, then use a direct box for the XLR conversion, but I don’t like to do that when I don’t have to (although I have to with my concertina). I try to eliminate points of failure since I’m not overly knowledgable of electronics… 
Matt