Budget Clip On UHF Radio Mic System ?

[jonathang]

I am producing a stage show later in the year in venues of about 100 to 150 capacity, and require 5 clip on radio mics

 

Can anyone recommend a system that allows 5 clip on radio mics to work simultaneously ?

 

We have a very low budget - can you get this stuff for <£300, or is this unrealistic ?

 

Are there any reputable online second shops where I could look for such equipment ?

 

Thanks for your help

[Simon Lewis]

There are low cost systems out there, but I'm not aware of any that will give you five frequencies in the free to use portion of the UHF spectrum. That means you will need to either buy a licence to use other UHF frequencies or use the free to use VHF spectrum. Neither of these free to use sections are interference free - other users have just the same right to broadcast.

 

If you are looking for <300 per unit, there will be low cost radio systems available. Try the Blue Room archives for details. If £300 is your total budget, then I'd suggest you need to look at hiring.

 

Second hand may be an option, but you'd need to carefully check whether the units worked perfectly, and you might have to replace the mics. Radio systems are a very weak link in the audio chain, and fill many engineers with dread. Trying to do it with a very low budget may simply lead to tears before bedtime ;-)

 

Simon

[WiLL]

To be honest it would be tricky to hire a set of five and receivers of any decent quality for a week at under £300.

[jonathang]

We are looking at doing 7 or 8 non-consecutive performances, so maybe second hand may be the better option ?

 

Can anyone recommend a good second shop ?

 

Thanks

[pumphouse]

I would be very wary of using cheap radio microphones - they are much more trouble than they're worth and you are unlikely to get 5 working together.

 

You may get some second hand units, but be wary - at that kind of price they are likely to be trashed.

 

As a rule I dislike working with any radio mics that cost less than £300 per channel - even for amateur shows.

 

There are some people that hire at good rates (as low as £35 per week each for reasonable systems) but this still won't fit your budget.

 

You may need to revise your expectations or your budget a bit.

 

Jason

[Guest lightnix]

Have a scroll down the Sound FAQ thread - there have already been a few discussions on this subject and the answer you seek (or at least some useful suggestions) may already be here :)

[tekhieboy]

The JTS mics are getting good reviews but it depends on how small you want the mics to be.

 

try looking here they have the best prices I've found for JTS mics. This is for the new 1000 series, but if you look on here you can get the 901 series which are well reviewed.

 

http://bluearan.co.uk/menu/index.php?id=JTSUS1000DB

 

Tek

[Shez]

Do they absolutely have to be radio mics? Are float mics out of the question?

 

Granted, you're unlikely to be able to buy more than one decent one (PCC160) for £300 but if hiring, you could get two or three for each show easily within budget. As has been said above, cheap radio mics are a nightmare - avoid at all costs!

[jonathang]

We are actually staging a play, so not sure if Float Mics would be appropriate....

[WiLL]

so if it's a play, and excuse me for asking this, but why are the radio mics required? Do you need to mdoify voices (like add reverb) or are the venues acoustics really that terrible? If it's just simple amplification then no reason why float mics wouldn't be suitable, probably less noticeable than radios to be honest.

[paulears]

and float mics tend to be set and left, sound op wise - radios also need a skilled op if they are to sound natural and not constantly take off (which they do, with very lttle provocation)

 

Cost wise - don't forget that batteries are not cheap, either!

[jonathang]

We are staging the play in pub venues - the reason why we need mics at all is that we are expecting more general background noise than performing in, say, a theatre venue

 

Out of interest the play is called Shang-a-Lang and is about a group of women who go to Butlins for a 70's weekend and get involved with a Bay City Roller tribute act.....

[paulears]

it's getting worse, radio's in their usual form will pick up all thast noise too - boom, maybe with cardioid mics may be the saviour - it's getting more problematic with each post. Trying to use lavs to get over background noise is going to give your sound op kittens - AND basic PA, desk and mic kit is not going to help one jot!

[jonathang]

The Crowne PCC 160 float mic certainly looks like its worth looking at for the show - does anywhere sell them second hand and are there cheaper equivalents ?

[paulears]

I'd have to say that with the new info about the non-theatre setting, float mics won't work! The trouble is, they allow amplification of whatever sound is there - and in your case, this may not be the actors! Gain before feedback, due to distance is also not that good, so you won't be able to turn it up loud enough.

 

When I was involved in this kind of thing, the actors simply had to 'over' project. I suspect the only way of doing this is boom headset mics.