Sound Design With Contact Mics: Tech Time 006
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- čas přidán 12. 08. 2016
- The care and feeding of piezo contact mics, along with some sound design examples. Links below the fold.
My Patreon: / chrisrandall
Cheap Chinese contact mics: amzn.to/2aR2wCH
Barcus-Berry Planar Wave: amzn.to/2bgzSeX
CR on Instagram: / chris.randall
CR on Twitter: / chris_randall
Analog Industries blog: www.analogindustries.com/ - Hudba
0:28 for anyone wondering: connect the black wire to the sleeve (ring is usually for the right channel's positive input)
I recently learned that connecting a piezo directly to a mixer/recorder actually creates a high pass filter around 200hz because of the extreme impedance difference between the piezo and the input of the other device. Adding a simple preamp can get all those low frequencies back! They're pretty easy to build and schematics (and even kits) are widely available online. Hope this helps!
Yes, that’s right. You can build a single FET “guitar” preamp to buffer the impedance, powered by a 9v battery.
Hey! I just learned that a couple days ago , too. Probly same blog...uhm... lemme look...: andymurkin.wordpress.com/. Very interesting/informative and well over my head, but i''ve read the whole more than once
im looking to get the barcus berry. i assume I'd have to get DI box, along with XLR to 1/4 transformer, and run my pedals through it. Super new to all of this but after 2 days looking into it i believe this it
Really enjoy your content and your commentary. Informative, detailed and entertaining!
Nice! You're also most of the way to building a bad ass spring reverb.
Great tip on the piano pickup!
Getting mine in 4 days! Im excited!
If you are having problems with piezos coming apart on a diy instrument use two part epoxy to encase and glue the mic were you want it.
Yep
to celebrate your first subscriber milestone, I'd like to request an insider industry story that fits into tech time! cheers
love it!!
well done sir
I got curious about contact mics after listening to the cracks and squeaks coming from my local lake as it was freezing this winter. This video was very helpful. I think I'll order some of the cheapo mics to experiment with before trying something more expensive. I'm mostly planning on doing field recordings initially, do you think the preamp in the H4n is up to the task?
Love it.
Hey, I have a bunch of those cheap Chinese contact mics! I love that badly translated packaging.
NoEsUnCZcamsr I’ve seen you in every harsh noise video ever
cool nice to wake upto something a lil less modular
👌
Sounds so much like a horror movie soundtrack
Hi there, I wonder if you could try that cheap piezo mics on bamboo percussion.
Do these cheap Chinese contact mics have the same ground hum in them that normal piezo elements do?
wich module is this where you feed in the contact mic???
what happen if we mount it on our hand or a glove? can we get both kick and snare sound if we hit on guitar body?
Hi have you also yet made a spring reverb by connecting the signal wire through the spring? I imagine thats how it works?
2:24 "Some words of wisdom there." xD wow, such wisdom. Much amaze
What is the device in the second half that you appear to be sampling to? Is it a control surface, or a standalone machine?
It's a control surface, an Ableton Push 2, for controlling live.
What if I stick this mic into instrument like sitar, kalimba, cello or whatever ethnic/classical and use it as oscillator in modular synth, and combine with sampler?
so basically I can buy those, attach to a surface, stick into some kinda effect via jack (guitar, bass, or something like a kaos pad) then into a mixer and voilà right? I'm a percussionist and I'd really love to experiment with something like this + a prepared bass drum (for example)...
Yes!
Yes. One of these mics plus distortion and delay is great.
I think you need a buffer like the one in the video.
I have the cheap ones from amazon. It works on its own. Plug and play.
@@kuromaru9661 apparently tiny ones sound tinny, but you can filter some highs away with a buffer. Or you can make a pre-amp, that also makes it sound fuller, that's what I did. Collins Lab made a good video about it. But if you take a larger 50mm piezo supposedly you don't need a pre-amp. Haven't tried this myself.
#StudioGoals
what kind of gear is the one appearing along with the contact mic? a modular synth?
joaquín gutiérrez hadid
Yes, he said that it was a modular.
velcro sticky shit. you rule.
Where did you find your springs? I can't find them anywhere.
You can get a good selection of springs usually from Lowe's or Home Depot. They are for things like screen doors and such.
would it be better to remove the plastic cap (and the 3M tape) ? I have one of these microphones, but it only seems to work when I press it firmly to the surface
Yeah, it works best if you use double-sided duct tape.
Can you plug the cheaper red ones directly into an audio interface?
Cainapp1e yeah, though it’s not anything special sounding. That being said, it does the job it’s meant to do
I’m trying to build a wine glass installation for my band and the instrument is so quiet that often the condenser mics I use get feedback. I don’t think these would feedback? Im wondering if using a contact mic would make significant changes to the sound of the glass. I’d have to put it at the bass or stem which neither are flat but I could figure something out. I’m thinking a contact mic on each glass and then a figure 8 rode nt2 mic in between every pair of glasses. Only 4. I just can’t have a contact mic on the main part of the glass the top.
Contact mics can reduce feedback as they are as close as possible to source. However, they are very sensitive to surface vibration caused by stage monitors. For this reason, low frequencies from a chello for example will need to be chopped up to avoid surface fed feedback.
Could you transfer the output directly to a DAW instead of a modular synth? I have a pre-amp, so that wouldn't be a problem.
S.C. Wood I think you just answered your own question
What mixer is that? Looks gorgeous!
mixer...
You got that red one from Amazon?
I got one that looks just like that on Wish for around $3. It's sold as an acoustic guitar pickup.
Rough Rider is the shit, btw:)
Wow this is cool! Ever used these on drums?
they actually sound terrible on drums but that's exactly what's inside a drum triggers, and electronic drum pads.
Yes, they are all transient, no body. Basically, you end up with a "tik" sound. Kind of wack.
I've seen metal producers blend the piezo with a mic for more attack. Hate that sound personally.
Sometimes I'll take a contact mic and stick it to a piece of sheet metal infront of a drum. You get some odd reflections picked up from it this way.
So here's a question: would an e-bow work for exciting something as heavy as those steel springs (without dealing with transients)? Has anyone ever improved upon the e-bow design for this kind of use?
No idea. I don't have one. My feeling is "no." An e-bow has a mildly hard time exciting guitar strings. I don't think it'd be able to move these at all.
No. I have a Wond (stronger version of eBow) and it can't even move the springs in a reverb pan. I think not only is it not strong enough, it's not the right kind of metal.
you might be able to take some kind of electric motor with some decent vibration, and stick it on the strings while running certain frequencies through it(aka stepper motor)
have you tried a Dean Markley acoustic guitar style pickup?
No, but I own two Barcus-Berry Planar Wave mics. This video is for people that don't want to spend $500 on a contact mic.
@@AnalogIndustries thanks for the reply. are the barcus berry mics vastly superior or just marginally so? i don't mind spending money for a good reason, but, like you, i would be doing this mostly as a project, so cost is a factor. is there anything you consider a "best bang for the buck" kind of solution?
so.. you do a comparaison by playing on totaly different support :|
that was useful