Cheap Mic Trick

For those of us who don't have a million pesos (5 bucks) to spend on recording equipment, here's an easy trick to make your mic work harder for you. Take two pieces of white copy-paper, and make a cone. The smaller end should be wide enough to snugly fit around your mic grip, with the paper fitting around the ball. This should leave you with a 10 inch cone.

Why would I do this, you may ask. If you are asking this question, you probably have never looked into binoculars backwards, or screamed into a stethoscope in an attempt to blow out your friend's eardrums.

Practical benifits that I've noticed: The vocalist creates a more consistant signal without having the problems of being 1 inch from the mic versus 3 inches. Secondly, it helps isolate the mic from feedback problems. Thirdly, the cone seems to reduce the need for a higher preamp level, thus reducing enevitable background noise. Finally, it looks insanely stupid when set up next to $5000 equipment, but it Works!

As for me, I currently do not work at any famous studio. I am a college student at The University of Illinois, USA. I spend 10% of my time studying philosophy, and the other 90% making noise/music in my little studio. The only formal connection I have to the music industry: I once saw Garth Brooks on tv. He sucked. Bigtime.

Thanx-
Nathan Degler
URH 209 Townsend
1010 W. Illinois St.
Urbana, IL 61801-3095
degler@uiuc.edu