I have a Countryman headset and no matter how I bent the wire and the cable, the mike won't stay in place. If I use the included clip, it would stay for a while but if I moved my head or body a little strong, the mike will move out of place. Does any one have the same problem or is it just me who doesn't know how to bend the wire properly so the mike can stay in place from the beginning to the end of the show?

Any input/advice/criticize is greatly apreciated.

Thanks
Ken

Most importantly, fasten the wire to the back of your collar, giving the perfect amount of slack to turn your head left and right without pulling. It will take some experimentation. This will allow the headset to sit balanced with less need for tight fit on the ear.

Good luck.

Jimmy

Ken...your two main options are to tape the boom to your cheek or to get the wrap around over both ears EarClip.


http://www.countryman.com/store/product.asp?id=95&catid=10

Hope that helps,
Kevin

Jimy, I did what you adviced me to do, however, it's still move some time. I guess one day I'll get it to right spot.

Kevin,
Thank you for the link...Dang..that's clip is expensive..Just the clip alone ...77 bucks..WOW!

Thank you both, any one else has other suggestions?

You can find the clip much cheaper.
Do a search.

I don't have a countryman, however, I do have something similar. I use a rubber band to hold it on my ear.

I use flesh colored bandaids to hold mine in place when needed. You don't need the entire bandage, just trim a off the pad part and discard and you will have two perfectly sized adhesive pieces.

The best stuff I've found to tape a mic boom to the face (or behind the ear, etc.) is Nexcare Flexible Clear Tape from 3M. You don't need a big piece (I use 1" long, half-width strips on the cheek when rigging earpiece mics), but it IS important to first wipe sweat, makeup, etc. off the area to be taped. Also, as mentioned by Jimmy, it's vital extend your neck before taping/clipping to the back of your collar or back of the neck. My method: Lower your head all the way (touch your chin to your chest) and then turn it away from the side that has the mic wire attached. This elongates the neck to the max, allowing for full movement. If you forget to do this and attach the wire firmly but too short, it will feel like a chain yanking your head back when you reach the end (picture a cartoon dog getting to the end of his leash!). Everyone is different - I've seen people with a neck extension of less than 1" to more than 6" (rare but true)!!

http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/catalog/shop_p......vCount=3

Note: Oddly, I couldn't find the NexCare Clear tape on the 3M website, but it's still available as far as I know (at most pharmacies).

Ken

Thanks all for the suggestion/tips/tricks. I actually made one clip out of the coat hanger then use electrical tape to make it black. Cheap but it works. I also fot the Nexcare tape from my local CVS store and it works fine too. The tip of extend the neck is helful. Thank you all again for your advice.

Ken

I, too, use one end of a small bandaid to secure the mic to my cheek. I no longer have to fiddle to put it back in place every few seconds. Works great!

It took a good month or two for me to get used to mine. For a while I taped it to my face with surgical tape, but I don't even do that anymore. I don't have issues with it falling off.

I did have issues with "thumping". Especially with "P" and "S" words. After some serious internet research I discovered the following website that helped a lot. Perhaps it will benefit you as well.

http://www.northernsound.net/Sales/mics/......ons.html

I'd like to try a lavalier taped by my ear. I suspect that it would work well, but I don't have the money to invest right now. For now the Countryman's work well. I've been using them for over a year and they've held up fine, but I still worry about their long term durability.

Hello, Matthew!
The Coutryman E6 is almost exactly that. It's a Countryman B6 lav that's attached to a little boom arm. Putting that mic back by the ear would result in a noticable decrease in loudness, and a noticable increase in the likelihood of feedback. That's not to say it can't work: I'm just pointing out the inevitablilities.
Cheers from Toronto!

I wonder why Countryman didn't have that instruction included in the package. It would help a lot. Thank you very much for the link.

I have another question, maybe someone can help. Which cap do you use? I have 3 caps that come with the mike (Very Bright +8db, Bright +4db and Flat +0db). I tried them all and didn't "hear" the difference. I just talk so which one you recommend to use. Somrtime I found that I had to move the mike very close to my mouth or even touch my lips to hear my own voice loud enough. I know I donb't do it correctly yet, so any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Ken

Ken...when you say you didn't hear a difference, what do you mean by that? Did you have someone else try the mic with YOU sitting at FOH, Front of House position?

That is the only way to tell the difference. You can't tell from you being in the house and trying the mic yourself...and one certainly can't tell from the stage.

As far as which cap to use...I'll let Dan chime in and lay out all the scientific jargon.

Kevin

From the Countryman Web site.
"The E6 should always be used with a protective cap in place to keep sweat, makeup and other foreign material out of the microphone. The three omni caps each have a different high frequency response characteristic that controls the amount of “crispness” or “sibilance” (response at 15 kHz).
The omni ships with the +4 dB protective cap fitted to the mic. We have found that this meets the needs of the majority of users, slightly boosting the presence in your sound while leaving the lower frequencies unchanged. If you experience problems with high-frequency feedback, you should switch to the 0 dB cap."

Short = Flat, +0dB
Medium = Bright, +4dB
Long = Very Bright, +8dB

Another suggestion is to make sure the round part of the mic that clips around your ear is pinched tightly around the ear. It doesn't have a lot of flexibility in this area but what it does have can make Abigail difference.

The only reason I thought of that is because I've seen it done in live theater (which I love, but I digress). Usually the actor or actress has what appears to be a lavalier taped by their ear or near their hair line.

Are they using a specific mic designed for this purpose? I just really liked it because there was nothing blocking their face.

Thanks in advance for your help!

That's a very god observation, Matthew. It's just a regular (albeit expensive), omni-directional lav mic. Such placement (so far from the mouth), however, must be predicated by performance-specific & venue-specific audio system design, and careful operation of the PA system. Design & implementation of musical theatre audio systems is very no mean feat, and specifically, making the voices loud-enough without feedback, is tremendously difficult.

This is not to say that it is not possible for a hairline mic to suffice for you in some situations, but I do not exaggerate in saying that it will NOT suffice in a good chunk of your shows.

The choice between these types, weighing the balance betwen feedback resistance and visibility, boils down to this:
- A full-size headset will be momentarily noticed by a small portion of your audience, but every audieince member will hear you all the time, assuming your PA is powerful enough.
- A tiny headset/earset will be momentarily noticed by a smaller portion of your audience, but in some venues, you will not be heard by some portion of the audience, because you'll have to keep the mic turned down in order to avoid feedback.
- A lav mic, on the chest or hairline, will be noticed by almost noone, but you will have even more venues in which you will not be heard by an even larger portion of the audience, because you'll have to keep the mic further turned down in order to avoid feedback.

These facts are tremendously challenging to the world's greatest musical theatre sound designers, who have at their disposal the best microphones, the best PA systems, many years of experience, many months of performance-specific & venue-specific PA system design, and speakers dispersed all throughout the venue with individual control over each speaker.

It is my opinion that every magician can afford minor audience distraction as the result of microphone visibility.
It is a fact that no magician can afford for any audience member to not hear them clearly.

Further, our job is to entertain. If our microphone attracts more attention than our stage illusion, or our lovely assistant, or our sealed prediction, or our Magic Colouring Book, or our cups & balls, or our D'Lite, our our Hippity Hop Rabbits, or ... you get the point ... then my opinion is that the problem is not our mic: It is our ability to entertain.

Whenever I guide a friend in the purchase of a wireless mic system, if they want a tiny headset/earset or a lav, I also insist that they also purchase a full-size headset. This way, whenever they are not able to get by with their low-visibility mic, they have a sure-fire back-up. (By the way, I do NOT make brand recommendations here ath the Café, even in private messages.)

For more tips on mic selection, speaker placement, and so on, check the Web site in my signature.

Cheers from Toronto!

Thanks Dan! I really appreciate your guidance!

I actually do have a full size headset that came with my Sennheiser wireless system. I always keep it with me just in case my main Countryman gives out. I'll have to keep it in mind next time I run into a situation with feedback issues.

It sounds like my money and efforts would be better directed at other aspects of the show as opposed to experimenting with Lav mics.

Thanks for your help and I'll be sure to check your website!

You're very welcome, Matthew! Please note I try to differentiate between facts and my opinions.
Cheers!