Miscellaneous Instruments

Installation

You should find the indications relating to your instrument in this knowledge base, however not all instruments are listed there, so you can, if this is your case, take inspiration from the recommendations below, or from similar instruments. of yours in their design, or contact us.

For ethnic instruments, rare etc ...

The placement of the microphones is different for each instrument, however certain rules emerge:

Contact microphone:

• In general, it is placed near the bridge of the instrument to benefit from the power due to the proximity of the strings while benefiting from the sound amplified by the soundboard.
• Many instruments are built with dams which are reinforcements but also concentrators and sound stabilizers, the microphone is therefore generally placed near or more precisely at the edge of the dam.
• The tonal balance is often located in the center of the bridge, so we can start from there to search and then move the microphone to bass or treble depending on the result obtained.
• You will generally find a softer sound moving away from the bracing or bridge and a harder or more dynamic sound when approaching it, the same for the proximity to the bridge.

Aerial microphone: 

• It is generally placed as close as possible to the sound source in order to maximize the input power, so it will be very close to the strings, on the edge of the soundhole or gill, or in between if a balance is necessary.
• Check that it doesn't interfere with the game or that it is too close to an unwanted source.
• In the case of a system with Contact + Aerial, the mix can be adapted to the stage conditions with more aerial microphone for very acoustic scenes and more contact microphone for noisier scenes. In this case, it is recommended not to put the aerial microphone in return, only the contact microphone and make a facade mix with 65% contact and 35% aerial.

General installation rules:

• As a reminder, it is important to properly prepare your contact microphone for installation, do not hesitate to reread the advice below depending on your model:
• Original C1 contact microphone preparation page
• C2 and C3 contact microphones preparation page
• Plan your cable route and system placement.
• Clean the gluing spots. The location of the microphone should be clean, smooth and lint-free.
• The transparent double-sided provided is quite powerful but can be used on a recent varnish in good condition without damaging it. Try it out. Turn the part to peel it off. Cut small pieces suitable for the part of the microphone kit with good scissors and avoiding touching the sticky part as much as possible. Replace it after each test.
• If necessary, carry out your first tests without fixing the system so that you can easily adjust the low cut if necessary.
• Place the contact microphone in the desired location, a first 3 cm cable clip fixed with a little putty adhesive, then do your first tests. Adjust the mic placement if necessary several times. See above.
• If the sound is too bright, try resting the mic in the same spot with the gray putty for a duller sound in the highs and rounder in the bass.
• Adjust the compression if necessary. If the notes or strings are still more or less strong, try to press the microphone again in order to compress the sound which can correct these problems of note power, strings but also overtones too present.
• If your system is removable, attach the Jack with the supplied transparent double face or Velcro
• If your system is fixed, do ppractice the instrument by your favorite luthier, if you want to do it yourself read these tips: Drilling an instrument
• You can use the adhesive putty to fix the Jack on very fragile varnishes, but it is much less stable.
• Attach the 9v battery pouch
• To attach the volume knob, make a 15 x 12 mm rectangle hole. Then move the potentiometer from the inside to the outside. Then fix it using the supplied plate.
• For the volume wheel, attach it to the edge of a gill with the Velcro so that only the wheel protrudes.
• Secure and retract excess cable using the cable ties provided. You can make loops with the 3-wire pliers.