Contact Microphone |
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| Accusound Contact Microphone System for all stringed instruments (and most percussion) Used by Leading Musicians, Groups and Studios The Accusound Contact Microphone is very light and flexible, and will conform to curved surfaces easily. There are many options for attaching the microphone to the instrument enabling easy removal and repositioning without permanent fixing to the instrument. Exceptional transient response and immunity to ambient sounds make the Accusound Contact Microphone the ideal choice for amplifying or recording a wide range of acoustic instruments.
As with all the Accusound products, the
contact microphones are also available as wireless
systems. Suitable for
Accusound Contact Microphone Basic Principles The Accusound Contact microphone (transducer) is suitable for all musical instruments that have a soundboard. It is attached to the soundboard using the double-sided tape provided. The transducer, being
up to 7 inches in length, responds to many of the
vibration nodes set up in the soundboard it is attached to. This results in a more accurate reproduction of the these vibrations than a ‘hot-dot’ or smaller device. An in-built transistor (FET) converts the normally high impedance of the device to one suitable for connection to our phantom power adaptor and subsequently to the standard microphone input of a mixing desk or PA system. Most microphone inputs will provide phantom power to power the contact microphone but we can alternatively supply a phantom power adaptor which runs off a battery. If you wish to connect your contact microphone in to a back-line or guitar style amplifier we can supply a version without the built-in transistor. It should be noted that this is not recommended to use this device with cables longer than 5m.
Attachment Most modern soundboard instruments are finished with polyurethane varnish, which will not be affected by
low adhesion double-sided tape. We supply a small
roll of this tape and further supplies are available
as spares. Many stationers also stock a similar tape.
Although we recommend the tape we supply, all tapes should be carefully tested
with your instrument before fastening your contact
microphone. The tape should be applied to the transducer first - removing the backing paper exposes a lower tack side for attachment to the soundboard. It is advisable to use a fresh piece of tape each time the transducer is used and double-sided tape should not be left on either the transducer or the instrument. The moulding between the transducer element and its lead is fitted with a resilient adhesive pad and care should be taken that this does not come in contact with the sound-board which is why it is covered with PVC. The transducer should not be removed by pulling on its lead but by lifting the free end remote from the lead attachment. An alternative method of mounting, for the violin, is available with a carriage which holds the transducer in contact with the instrument without using double-sided tape. A special ‘slimline’ model, for the violin, is available to special order which reduces the attenuation produced by the protective PVC wallet. This version is
particularly delicate and extra care should be taken
when mounting and dismounting this device. Connections The FET contact microphone is terminated in a standard 3 pin mini-XLR socket. This fits our phantom power devices and wireless systems. The high impedance contact
microphone is terminated with a standard 6.35mm
(1/4") 2 pole in-line jack socket. Placement All Instrumentalists have a unique conception of what their instrument should sound like and diagrams are therefore provided to illustrate several possible positions for the transducer and for a variety of instruments. All these have been successful for an individual musician on a particular instrument. It is however recommended that every user should experiment with his or her own instrument and, when the opportunity arises, why not listen to your own instrument being played by someone else over a PA system? The transducer is uniformly sensitive over the full audio frequency range, the end result is heavily influenced by the positioning on,
and size of certain instruments and their soundboard, e.g. piano, harp. hammer dulcimer.
These larger instruments can benefit from the use of two transducers fed through two separate amplification channels, thus enabling
optimum balance to be achieved. Separation &
Feed Back (Howlround) Because the transducer is closely coupled to the source of excitation, excellent separation between a number of instruments in a group is obtained. For the same reason, sound levels in both monitor and main PA loudspeakers can be very much higher than with conventional microphones. There comes a point, however, when
even this system becomes susceptible to feedback. In some cases this can be minimised by
moving the transducer inside the instrument or on the frame instead of on the soundboard, although this will usually involve come sacrifice in tonal quality.
Feedback and coloration is also influenced by the dominant resonances, which is a feature of
most acoustic instruments. These can be reduced by the use of graphic and/or parametric equaliser.
Great care should be taken if this is done as the
use of equalisation can change the tonal quality of
the amplifier sound. User Support Any Accusound Contact microphone
user is invited to contact the manufacturer in the
event of any difficulty or for further advice or
application guidance. Accusound cannot accept responsibility for any damage, which may occur during use and reserves the right to modify the product without notice. The Contact microphone should not be subjected to extremes of temperature or mechanical shock. Suggested placings of our Contact mic
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