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Problem with keyboard and radio mic also what mic?


hairyswaff

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Posted

Hi all,

was at a church today and they have a problem with their radio mic (an AKG UHF kit) being picked up through the speakers of their keyboards. The radio mic receiver is about as far away from the keyboard as possible and generally the radio mic transmitter is the opposite side of the room when in use. There are no cables from an output on the sound desk going in the keyboard and no speaker

leads or foldback anyway near the keyboard or going through same multicore.

Does anyone know what could be causing this and any idea of how to solve this??

 

They have a lot of problems with the sound system at this place, hence why I've been asked to help out, I think one of the problems is the very old XLR leads so am in the process of making up some new Van Damme ones for them.

 

Also the mics are very old and have been dropped way too often on their heads. They have agreed to part with a small amount of cash to purchase three new vocal mics, I would like to get them to purchase SM58s but at £65+ they aren't too keen on this idea and would like something cheaper, can anyone suggest any makes or models (or direct me to a previous topic concerning this as I have been unable to find a helpful one on the search function (before people jump in and tell me to use it)) which are around the £30-40 mark. We want decent ones because they do have some great singers there and they want to start doing more with the band as opposed to just worship in church services. Or do you think nothing compares to an SM58 and to just persaude them to part with the extra cash?

 

Many Thanks

Luke S.

Posted
Hi all,

was at a church today and they have a problem with their radio mic (an AKG UHF kit) being picked up through the speakers of their keyboards. The radio mic receiver is about as far away from the keyboard as possible and generally the radio mic transmitter is the opposite side of the room when in use. There are no cables from an output on the sound desk going in the keyboard and no speaker leads or foldback anyway near the keyboard or going through same multicore.

Does anyone know what could be causing this and any idea of how to solve this??

It is likely that the RF signal from the radio mic is getting into the keyboard rig through a bad solder joint either in a cable, or in the amp. It is also possible that it is just a bad design in the keyboard or amp. Replacing the cables with new ones is a good place to start.
I would like to get them to purchase SM58s but at £65+ they aren't too keen on this idea and would like something cheaper, can anyone suggest any makes or models (or direct me to a previous topic concerning this as I have been unable to find a helpful one on the search function (before people jump in and tell me to use it)) which are around the £30-40 mark. We want decent ones because they do have some great singers there and they want to start doing more with the band as opposed to just worship in church services. Or do you think nothing compares to an SM58 and to just persaude them to part with the extra cash?

 

Many Thanks

Luke S.

I have had good results with the Sennheiser 835. I think it sounds better than a 58 in many cases. It is often sold as a 3 pack for considerably less than SM58s.

 

Mac

Posted
LOok in Maplin for the Sennheiser range, I've had 828s for £15 each as their prices vary, and I actually LIKE the Senn.. range for sound and durability. I also like the Midnight Blues 4000 for sound, durability and signal level it has an AA cell inside so the signal is GREAT.
Posted
with the keyboard not connected to any other kit, then it is possible for the keyboard internal amp to function as a primitive receiver and superimpose the radio mic audio on the output. However, with the transmitter accross the room the field strength should be really low - I wonder if anyone has tweaked the transmitter pack in an attempt to up the power output. people often attempt this to get greater range, but normally end up with loads of unwanted spurious outputs on odd frequencies - tweaked transmitters often cause all sorts of strange interference issues, that shouldn't happen. More investigation required for us to diagnose further. Even if the keyboard amp has become receptive, distance should make the problem livable with - but accross the room? worrying.
Posted
Out of interest, do you know what keyboard they're using? It might be worth looking to see if anyone else has had problems over at a synth review site like HarmonyCentral.
Posted

For mics, I've used a Yoga FX-528, not so often heard of, but they retail from IIRC Maplins for about £35 with a case and clip (maybe even an XLR to jack as well).

They seem to be quite good for vocals, they have a strong and solid response, with a slight bass boost IMHO.

 

HTH

Chris

Posted
Single, cheap, radio mics often seem to work well - but fall over when you need more - even if you can get versions that work on different channels, the receiver design is normally quite 'simple', sensitivity is fine, but selectivity is quite poor - if you want good multi-channel performance, then the major players are the way to go for reliability and quality. Sennheiser, Shure, Trantec, AKG and Audio Technica (my preferred order) haven't let me down yet. No doubt there are others, but I haven't had personal experience.
Posted
Also the mics are very old and have been dropped way too often on their heads. They have agreed to part with a small amount of cash to purchase three new vocal mics...

What type of mics are the old ones? If they are old SM58s, you could just replace the capsules & grilles...

 

That way you get a decent quality mic for about £20 - 25.

 

Just a thought.

 

I've never seen the 3 packs of Sennheiser mics in the UK, like they often sell them in the US...

 

I would say that ducking far below the SM58 price range, quality starts to take a big dive. OTOH, if the money isn't there it just isn't there.

 

That said, the Sennheisers are decent mics for the price, but for an e835 you'll still have to pay £50 ish.

 

Good Luck!!

 

Dave M

Posted

Thanks all, will make investigations into the keyboard problem and let you know!!

 

Mics wise I will look into the Sennheiser e835 because they have one of those already (I'd forgotten that!) so for uniformity purposes might be an idea to get them, will look into the others as well! What are the Sennheisers like for instruments i.e. micing a guitar cab like SM58s are good for, just think about multi use of the mics! Cheers

Posted

Luke

 

Re the breakthrough from the radio mic to the keyboard. I would suggest that you move the mic a bit closer to the keyboard so that the breakthrough is severe. Next turn down the volume control of the keyboard. If the volume of the breakthrough directly follows the volume control then the breakthrough is only happening in the early stages of the keyboard, if the breakthrough is worse at low volume settings the breakthrough is happening after the volume control. Remove any input leads and see if that helps. The simplest step to reduce the breakthrough

is to wind the speaker and mains leads around a ferrite ring. PM me if you want details.

 

You didn't indicate what the breakthrough sounded like, for instance can you hear what the radio mic is broadcasting? does the strength of the breakthrough vary much as you move the radio mic, does the breakthrough vary as you change the radio mic aerial from vertical to horizontal. What channel is the radio mic?

 

Brian

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
Deffinitely look at some of the cheaper sennheisers, they are quite good for what you want. SM58's are such old hat now, if you want 58's however get the Beta! Sennheiser 835 and above generally kicks sm58s up the ass.

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