Need advice for a professional head mic

Irish Flute
1

Hi all!

Getting bored to be stocked behind a stand, I now want a mic that would let me move as I want around the stage. And since we will performe more and more … it’s time to make a move!

For the curious: http://www.rosheen.net/ is the band.

And since I play two flutes and several whistles during the show, I think the best option is a head mic (a mic that is fixed on the head instead of on the flute itself).

And I’m looking for something professional, a mic I can be confident to always have a good sound with.

Any advice, experience to share?

Leo

2

This is a link that might help. There’s a forum populated by pro recording types.
http://www.soundonsound.com/

3

I have an AKG C420 head-mounted mike that I like quite a bit:

http://www.akg.com/products/powerslave,mynodeid,186,id,280,pid,280,_language,EN.html

It does require phantom power, but I’ve found it to be a good mike for whistle and flute.


Cheers,

Michael

4

I have used a head mic off and on for a long time. I have tried a number of different ones and the Shure Beta 53 (WBH53) head mics are the best I have found - for flute:

http://www.shure.com/microphones/models/beta53.asp

Pluses:
You can move about on stage and not be locked into a mic. I like this very much. There is also no problem switching instruments if the mic is on you rather than the instrument.

Minuses:
I have found the head mics are acoustically less “flexible”. You can get the flute EQ just right, but it may be quite different for the whistle and voice. For instance with a good vocal mic on a stand I can play into it with the flute, whistle (move a little closer), vocal (very close) etc. …and it all sounds ok. However, with my head mic if I speak into it when EQd for the flute my voice is so boomy I can’t be understood. Also the head mic is very sensitive to distance from the sound source. A very little movement makes a very big difference in volume and quality.

My conclusion:
During gigs where sound quality is really important (concerts or intimate gigs) I always go with my Shure Beta 57A on a mic stand. I can fine-tune the sound considerably by just moving closer or farther away. During a gig I may play as many as three flutes in different keys (D, C, A), various whistles both low and high as well as sing. I know just how far away I need to be for each of these to sound just right.

For noisy pubs full of drunks where sound quality is sometimes beside the point I’ll go with the Shure Beta WBH53 head mic so I can move around more.

One further complication that has come up is that I’ve started to use a wireless in ear monitor that I’ve rigged up (a wonderful experience for a somewhat hard of hearing musician). Anyway the plethora of wires sprouting from my head has had me turning back to the mic on the stand option more, just for the sake of simplicity.

Food for thought.

Clark