I'm re-designing the harp holder I introduced here on the forum a while back. The original one in my video has a Shure SM57 mic enclosed in it. It gets a pretty decent sound on my equipment--but it is played on a rack, and it weighs just under 12 ounces--which gets heavy after a while.
So, my main drive on this next generation holder is to make it a lot lighter. I now have a prototype that weighs about three ounces. The problem is, I need a good mic element to stick in it that doesn't weigh much, is HiZ, isn't too expensive, and is 1 1/2 inches or less in diameter.
Does anybody happen to know if such a critter exists? If so, where might they be available?
I will also need a volume pot for it--so, if you happen to know what value pot it would need--that would be very cool and yes--all of this information is way far above the call of duty for any forum people and I will appreciate any responses very, very much. . .
@oldwailer An often overlooked source of good dynamic mikes and therefore elements is from old rel to reel tape recorders. They can be extremely good for harp and cheap as.Even if you have to buy the recorder as well you can get 'em for 20-30$. I have a sixties Aiwa one that is about 2" long so the element would be less than that. Also have swopped a telefunken element into a tailight for a shell..awesome. Just a thought..good luck with the rack.
@Jehosaphat--good idea--I know a thrift store that has stacks of littler mics from who knows where--I'll try that. I'm also looking for a source of new elements though, so I could reliably make these things for others. . . ----------
@Jehosaphat I have an Awia also which is an absolutly awsome harp mic! I bought mine off ebay and got one of the deals you hear about. I am not bragging hear! I have bought many things harmonica related and most have not been very good. Or even worth what I payed, but I bought this mic for $14 and with shipping wasless than $20. It came from a lady in South Carolina. Her husband had recently pssed away and she was going thru his stuff and found this mic that he brought home from Vietnam with a reel to reel player. The reel to reel player broke years ago and she said that she didn't even know they still had the mic. So I thought OK I'll bit. Well every bit of it was true. When I got it in the mail it was the original box that was wrapped in a newspaper from 1969 from Columbia South Carolina. The mic is almost brand new! But Its work GREAT for harp. No noise has a nice tone I mean real nice tone. Its not dirty, its not bassy and its not bright. Its like a SM57, but far better! I know this doesn't help you any Oldwailer, but I never get any great deals so I just had to share this one. And yes I kept the the original box with the newspaper.
@ chromaticblues,.. The AWIA & AKAI are some of the best harp mics out there. Hard to find but if ya get one with the original element ya won't give it up. ---------- Simply Unique Kustom Mic's By Rharley
Awai and Akai mics are easy to come by. One of the best is the Akai DM-13. The mic itself is very light. It uses a transformer but the element and the trans would weigh next to nothing. Here's some clips of the DM-13 in action. I've got one that I'm not attached to. Send me a massage if you want it.
Akai DM 13,yeah i have one ,I got it NOS in the original box..for 10$! They are perfect for playing high energy Rock/Blues style harp they can really cut through the mix..though maybe not quite 'brown' enough for the more trad chicago style.Just in imho anyway. But if you see one anywhere cheap enough buy it for sure. Another great Jap mike is an Aiwa DM14 about two inches long and put outs a great cupped sound.These are getting known as great Harp mikes and so are going up in price. Tape recorder mikes (60 &70's)can be very hot but ver cool at the same time ;-0
Yeah you guys nailed it! I have an awai and an Akia. The Akia DM-13 is the mic I was refering to in my earlier post. My DM-13 has a nice sweet tone, doesn't feedback easily and doesn't drop out on the highend. It has pretty even frequency response and most mics that are like are to bright (for my liking). This isn't like that at all. It says its 50,000 ohms on the box, it isn't hot like many other mics I've had. I also like that because it is very manageable in a live jam situation. Alot of mics sound great at home, but when your at your local blues jam with 7 people playing at once it becomes a howling pain in the ass! Anyone considering trying thses cheap mics. A word of caution that I have learned the hard way. Some of these (or many) have very cheap transformers and they will hum when you hold them in your hand. They weren't built to be held. They came with little stands to record room sounds. My Aiwa is one of these humers. I have had a few of theses little mics hoping to find a good one. The Akai DM-13 is a good one and I'm sure there are others. I have had 3 or 4 that sounded great, but were (IMHO) unuseable!
electret condenser elements are very cheap and have very flat response http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~wkdodds/How%20to%20Build%20Harmonica%20Microphones.htm
However, they are prone to feedback, but so cheap you may be able to modify the setting to get them to work, and mess with the capacitor value to get the roll off right
out of town now, but might have one i could send you. i do not think the other elements have the weight advantage you requested at first. try me this weekend if you have not come up with a better solution
just repost to this thread so it hops to the first page
I haven't tried any of them yet, but the guy at harpmicshop.com has a lot of elements, all different shapes and sizes. He also sells stuff on eBay - screen name technobird.
I'm sure people will jump all over me for suggesting this, but you might try the much maligned Kobitone 25LM022 crystal cartridge, available from Mouser for $4.77. It's hi-Z (50K), about 1.4" in diameter, and very light. It's (rightly) criticized for sounding tinny, but can be made to sound much better by mechanical means (foam or even cardboard in front of it, also setting it about 1" back from the mic grill helps a lot) or electrically--put a small cap from the positive lead to ground to bleed off some of the highs. This is reportedly the element used in the current Hohner JT30 Blues Blaster and Roadhouse mics. I've been playing around with these for a while and while they'll never be an R7 or MC-151, they can actually be made to sound pretty good (to my ear, anyway). For $5, you might give one a try. If you're using a volume pot, you'll want at LEAST 1M, 5M is much better.
@mrdon46 I think that is a very good idea! I always try as many cheap (inexpensive) alternatives as I can. Hey you never know unless you try! MC-151 were very inconsistant elements. I've owned and tried alot that were useless! Those small elements that your talking about fit nicely in the 70's table top CB mics. Turner made a mic that is the perfect size for those. They made a million of them and they are always on ebay cheap.
