Wireless pack mount for Violin

D

Dave Barto

Freshman
Jan 12, 2011
9
0
0
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
For an upcoming concert I am doing the musical director wants to use wireless mics (ATM35's with the velcro mount on the strings just behind the bridge) with a pair of violins. I have not had the chance to talk to the musicians to see if it is ok to put the pack on there belt or if they would like the pack strapped to the violin some how.

My question is does someone make a velcro/elastic setup to mount the pack on the underside of the violin? Or is that usually a custom job?

edit:I did do a google search of the forums for this and came up empty handed.
 
Re: Wireless pack mount for Violin

You probably won't be able to mount the pack directly to the violin - there's simply not enough room in out of the way places. Plus, the entire body of the violin resonates and forms the violin's sound, so adding mass/damping will change the sound of the violin. Your best bet is to work with the players on placement of the pack.
 
Re: Wireless pack mount for Violin

Rob Timmerman said:
You probably won't be able to mount the pack directly to the violin - there's simply not enough room in out of the way places. Plus, the entire body of the violin resonates and forms the violin's sound, so adding mass/damping will change the sound of the violin. Your best bet is to work with the players on placement of the pack.
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Agreed. As a player of said instrument, the last thing I want is extra weight and strapping/mounting hardware compromising the resonance of the body of the instrument. To say nothing of the transmitter compromising your ability to fit the fiddle between your chin and your shoulder.

A very workable alternative, if the player is comfortable with it, is to use a headset mic (not the E-6 type, but the older "make I take your order please" model)
and extend the boom out over the instrument. This allows the player to be completely free to set their instrument down without dealing with it being wired and having to remove and replace the belt-pack once the mic is mounted on the fiddle.
 
Re: Wireless pack mount for Violin

Dick Rees said:
A very workable alternative, if the player is comfortable with it, is to use a headset mic (not the E-6 type, but the older "make I take your order please" model)
and extend the boom out over the instrument. This allows the player to be completely free to set their instrument down without dealing with it being wired and having to remove and replace the belt-pack once the mic is mounted on the fiddle.
Click to expand...

A similar approach (that I've not yet had the chance to try) is to place a miniature omni lav (think Sennheiser MKE2, Countryman B3, DPA 4060) on the inside of the wrist of the player's fingering hand.
 
Re: Wireless pack mount for Violin

Rob Timmerman said:
A similar approach (that I've not yet had the chance to try) is to place a miniature omni lav (think Sennheiser MKE2, Countryman B3, DPA 4060) on the inside of the wrist of the player's fingering hand.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Sort of like miking the feet of an instrumentalist who wants "pedal percussion" by putting the lav on their ankle.

For me, though, I prefer the mic above the body of the instrument, especially for GBF consideration. Tonally it would depend.......
 
Re: Wireless pack mount for Violin

Did that last night with a DPA 4060 wrapped in foam and mounted at the bridge straight into a Shure beltpack. Apart from a minor issue with crosstalk (Metal band+ acoustic instruments....), it worked just fine.

The girl performing had the beltpack in her bra strap.
 
Re: Wireless pack mount for Violin

Dick Rees said:
Indeed, but the OP has the use of the AT mics. DPA's are definitely the way to go if you have a choice. I don't believe Dave has a choice.
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Thanks for all the help guys. I figured that putting the pack on the violin would affect the sound too much but wanted to see if there was something out there that was designed to work around it.

I have used headworn mics to pick up violins before, with mixed results.

I would love to get the DPA's but we already own 6 ATM35's and 6 Pro35's and they have worked well for us in the past.
 
Re: Wireless pack mount for Violin

Dave Barto said:
I have used headworn mics to pick up violins before, with mixed results.
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Every mic I've ever used or owned has given me "mixed results" depending on the situation........

As usual, sound guys "problems" are a matter of compromise. Mount a mic on the instrument and you're going to get a nice, strong signal. However, if the player switches instruments or wants to be able to freely set their instrument down without dealing with taking the transmitter on and off their belt/pocket/bra strap, mounting the mic on the player themselves is a very, very good compromise.

How it sounds in the end will depend on a whole bunch of factors including the attitude of the performers regarding technical matters and the ability of the sound tech to make sense of the whole waxen orb.
 
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Re: Wireless pack mount for Violin

Dick Rees said:
Every mic I've ever used or owned has given me "mixed results" depending on the situation........

.
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don't think I would put it on Joshua Bell's head though......Joshua Bell recording The Four Seasons on Vimeo I'm dizzy already.....

Seriously, we've also used velcro'd arm bands with the smaller sennheiser packs, and of course the already suggested bra strap and hankerchief coat pocket.........Although some "shoulder rests" have enough space to allow for a mic pack to be placed there...in the end it might well depend on the performers choice and comfort level


Ray
 
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Re: Wireless pack mount for Violin

Ray Soly said:
don't think I would put it on Joshua Bell's head though......Joshua Bell recording The Four Seasons on Vimeo I'm dizzy already.....

Seriously, we've also used velcro'd arm bands with the smaller sennheiser packs, and of course the already suggested bra strap and hankerchief coat pocket.........Although some "shoulder rests" have enough space to allow for a mic pack to be placed there...in the end it depends on the performers choice and comfort level


Ray
Click to expand...

Bold section edited to reflect reality.......
 
Re: Wireless pack mount for Violin

I recently did an orchestral gig with a guest violinist as the featured artist. I used a DPA d:fine omni headset mic to pick up her violin, and the results were excellent. I heard the whole instrument, very natural sound. Good GBF. She wore the mic on her right ear, positioned slightly wider than you would for speech. I think the omni pattern had a lot to do with the sound quality (along with the DPA mic itself).
 
Re: Wireless pack mount for Violin

Rob Timmerman said:
Some of the other micro packs will also fit under a shoulder rest. But many professional players do not use *any* shoulder rest, so that isn't always an option.
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Not to mention that if it touches the back of the instrument it dampens some of the vibration and alters the tone. And an additional weight will likely cause problems keeping the darned thing on the fiddle as they're a friction fit and prone to coming off on their own.
 
Re: Wireless pack mount for Violin

Rob Timmerman said:
Some of the other micro packs will also fit under a shoulder rest. But many professional players do not use *any* shoulder rest, so that isn't always an option.
Click to expand...

That's what they did for Martie Maguire's violins a few years back using our SM transmitters. Agreed - you don't want the transmitter touching the violin. More than dampening the sound, a brief intermittent touch or if just a corner of the transmitter is touching, it will cause a rattle.

In cases where I'm amplified, I just use a 4061 hung behind the bridge or a 4099 with that nifty violin/viola mount. I really do like the idea of using a headset mic, though. That's cute.
 
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