What type of adhesive works with contact mics?
There are a number of strong commercially available adhesives that we recommend, varying from from semi-permanent bonding to easy-peel removal. On the strong side, our reigning champion is suction cup tape. This is a residue-free adhesive that can be used repeatedly. We love it so much that it's the key anchor for our Magnetic Personality Mic. Other adhesives come in the form of double-sided tape, ranging from the stuff one gets at office supply stores to heavy duty carpet tape. If you're stuck with too many choices (haha) we recommend a product called TopStick. This is a double-sided tape used for keeping that vicious wig in place. TopStick is also a film industry fave for affixing mics to flesh. Rumor has it that it's very effective for sticking wireless mics onto sweaty police informants, too.
What type of preamps work with contact mics?
We cover this briefly in our general overview of contact mics. We feel that there is a strong inclination to overthink the contact microphone in terms of its frequency response, etc, and that one needs to be throwing down hundreds of bucks in gear in order for it to work. This could not be further from the truth, or at least has been the case in our own personal objective reality.
A contact microphone is a passive transducer and as such, requires a pinch of signal boost in order to be audible. In our early days, that would've meant plugging a contact mic into a guitar amp and messing around with effects pedals. When we started recording, ye olde four track recorder did the trick, plus any portable cassette recorder featuring an external mic jack. Following that, small mic/line mixers. While equipment has changed and there are seemingly bajillions of options, the basic principles have not. Here are a few budget (under $100) pieces of gear to get you well on your way:
- EQ pedals. We cannot overstate how vital the humble EQ pedal is! Not only will an EQ bump a low impedance signal up to line level, it also provides multiband frequency tweaking.
- USB interfaces. Check out Zoom and Behringer. Both brands offer a veritable smorgasbord of cheap, reliable, plug and play workhorses.
- Field recorders. Our favorite digital recorder models are made by Zoom and Sony. These companies excel at portable recording equipment, from tiny shirt pocket digital dictaphones to pro models that resemble handheld tanks.
- Mixers. Behringer, Mackie, Yamaha. All are lovely and well made. We've used them for decades.
Do the Barky Box, Town & Mouth Report, and Depth Charge Gamelan devices require preamps, too?
Yes. The Barky and T&M are also passive mics, and can be treated just like contact mics - sprinkle some fx pedals and you're off and hollering. The Depth Charge Gamelan also loves to be boosted; being that it's a shaker box, we recommend infusing it with as much ampage as possible: distortion, fuzz, gain, EQ; anything high volume and fuzzy will transform this shaker box into an audio nightmare.
What about the Magnet Opus?
The Magnet Opus is a unique device in that it's a wire coil transducer and thereby reponds to signals quite differently than a piezo; it is designed to pick up electromagnetic frequencies. We've found that the best results have been by simply cranking up the mic level gain (aka "trim") on our mixer, sometimes all the way. Other preamp methods will do the same thing. Think of it as a way of "activating" the transducer. It helps to have lots of EMF objects in the room laying in wait. These can be anything from wallwart AC adapters (which can sound pretty boring) to battery powered drills and laptops (which can sound uh-mazing).
I'm new at this and would like more help. What are some resources I can look into?
Look no further than here!
We are happy to offer consultations. Click this link for more information: Consult with Crank
Where can I use my Immersion Sturgeon Waterproof Contact Mic?
The first answer is the water, silly. Here are a few more tricks that will certainly get heads scratching.
- Ice. Stick the Immersion's mic element in a small plastic tub of water and pop it in the freezer. Be sure to wrap the microphone's plug in cloth in order to reduce frost/condensation. Once frozen solid, let the plug come up to room temperature, plug it into your recorder, and behold all the random pops and hisses of melting ice!
- Seltzer. Yup, bubbly water, alka seltzer tablets, you name it. Any place with bubbles is a fun place for an Immersion.
- Chalk and water. Regular classroom chalk will emit high pitches and squeals when dunked in water.
- Ponds. If you live in an area where it gets below freezing, then you probably know how cool a frozen pond can sound when it expands and contracts. Unfortunately this can be hit or miss, as well as risky venturing out onto frozen bodies of water. Proceed with caution!
Can the Immersion be used in boiling water?
No.
How long will these microphones last?
Time, entropy, human activity, and environmental conditions - all provide fertile ground for electronics to degrade. Metal parts can rust, plastics can suffer from dry rot, and we have read that even certain types of sillicone can eat away at electronics! And yet we can reach into our closet and cabinets and find plenty of contact microphones that have served us for well over a decade. We also run into folks at shows that tell us that they've been using our mics for years and years. Perhaps everything is relative.
Who is Test Dept Lad?
Test Department Lad is an old man that lives down the street from us. We met him one day wandering around our backyard, very likely drunk and sweating profusely through an already-stained business shirt and tie. To top it off, he was wearing this odd, triangle shaped headpiece. We were transfixed! We suddenly felt compelled to give him a contact mic to play with and knew right off the bat that he was a natural at it. Test Dept Lad has been our employee ever since.
Why do you refer to yourself in the plural, we?
There is no i in Crank Sturgeon.