Core Sound Microphones For Musical Instruments
Guitarists, fiddlers, banjo players, upright bass players and other acoustic musicians have searched long and hard for tiny, rugged, and easy-to-use microphones that faithfully preserve the sound of their fine instruments. To date the search has yielded half-solutions: Piezo elements are convenient but often have a metallic tone, and while miniature electret condenser mics are small and easy to use, they tend to distort when the music gets loud.
Core Sound is pleased to introduce its line of miniature clip-on musical instrument condenser microphones. Offered in matched pairs and singles, and with omnidirectional or cardioid (directional) pickup patterns, Core Sound's microphones offer the highest fidelity, widest dynamic range and lowest distortion available at their price point. They capture both the softest finger brushes and the loudest strums and thumps with uncommonly fine sound quality.
Core Sound microphones have been sold to customers all over the world, including the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Germany, England, Norway, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Serbia and many others.
Musical Instrument Microphone Description & Mounting Options
Each Core Sound microphone cartridge is mounted in its own satin-black metal shell. The shell is approximately the size of a jelly bean: roughly a quarter-inch (.6 cm) in diameter and a half-inch (1.2 cm) long. Being all metal, the microphone mounts are very durable. Removable black foam windscreens are provided.
We offer two mounting options: with a clip or without a clip.
The microphone with a clip has a miniature alligator clip attached to its base; the cable exits from the side of the shell. The clip is used to attach the microphone to any convenient mounting surface, including the soundhole, a bridge pin, the bridge itself, an internal brace, a microphone stand, the back of a chair or anything else that works! The alligator clips are finished in black and their handles are covered with a pliable black plastic.
For the clipless microphone the cable exits the shell from the bottom of the shell, on the surface opposite the microphone face. They have no alligator clips so you have to be creative about how you plan to mount them. You can use velcro strips, double sided foam tape or whatever you can dream up!
Our microphone cable is made especially for us. It's very flexible and durable. It's very well shielded against electromagnetic interference and is a flat black color.
We offer both single microphones and matched microphone pairs.
For single microphones, the cable from the microphone runs for ten feet (other lengths are available) and terminates in a multi-pin locking connector for the connection to the battery box. Also connected to the multi-pin connector (in a "Y") is a two foot cable terminating in a gold-plated mini 1/8" (3.5mm) phone plug. Other plugs (e.g., gold-plated 1/4" phone plug, XLR plugs) can be supplied on request.
For microphone pairs, the cables from the two microphones join into a single cable roughly twelve inches from the microphones. (The distance can be adjusted with a collar on the cable.) The cable runs for ten feet (other lengths are available) and terminates in a multi-pin locking connector for the connection to the battery box. Also connected to the multi-pin connector (in a "Y") is a two foot cable terminating in a gold-plated mini-stereo 1/8" (3.5mm) phone plug. Other plugs can be supplied on request.
If necessary, the cable can be easily split for its entire length, so that the microphones can be separated as much as 20-feet apart. This is especially useful if you use the microphones for interviews: one microphone can be mounted on the interviewer and the other on the interviewee.
The microphones are powered by a battery box. The battery box contains a common nine volt "transistor radio" alkaline battery, associated electronics (top quality metallized polypropylene capacitors hand matched to 1%, and 1% metal film resistors) and a high reliability, locking multi-pin connector. The battery box itself is roughly half the size of a cigarette pack, is made of sturdy die cast aluminum, and is finished in a durable black crinkle finish. The battery lasts approximately 500 hours when powering two mics and should be replaced at least once a year. The battery box can power up to two mics simultaneously.
Musical Instrument Microphone Pickup Options
Core Sound microphones are offered with two different pickup patterns: omnidirectional and cardioid ("cardioid" means "heart-shaped").
An omnidirectional ("omni") microphone picks up sounds from all directions more or less equally. Omni mics typically have a natural sound. Their transient response is clean and fast, and they provide very solid bass and crystalline highs. You'd use an omni when you need to pick up sounds from all around, specifically at the soundhole, in the interior of an instrument, or at the bridge.
A cardioid microphone picks up better in the direction to which it is pointed. It tends to reject sounds that come from its rear and reduces the level of sounds that comes from its sides. When you have a feedback problem, a cardioid can help. Cardioids tend to have poorer bass response than omnidirectionals. Cardioids also are much more susceptible to wind noise. You'd typically use a cardioid mic outside the instrument from some distance.
Musical Instrument Microphone Specifications
Omni Specifications
The Core Sound Omnidirectional MI microphones are based on a pair of Matsushita (Panasonic) miniature omnidirectional electret condenser cartridges. They are electrically and mechanically modified so as to record extremely loud sounds with very low distortion, and to eliminate mechanical resonances in their bass response.
Before Core Sound's modifications, the Matsushita cartridge's frequency response is specified flat within 1 dB from less than 40 Hertz to more than 15 kiloHertz. Typically they are within 1 dB up to 20 kiloHertz and down less than 5 dB at 30 Hertz. After modification, the modified cartridges (especially the battery box version -- see below) sound better than that, typically within 1 dB from 20 to 20,000 Hertz. We match the pair to within one dB of each other. Sensitivity of the modified cartridges is approximately -66 dB (0 dB = 1 Volt per microbar). The microphones are nominally omnidirectional but their pickup pattern is modified by the absorption and reflection characteristics of surfaces close by. Their noise level is typical of 1/4-inch electret condenser microphones, approximately 30 dBA. This is comfortably below the ambient noise level just about everywhere except the quietest recording studios. The microphones have a dynamic range of over 90 dB. They are designed to operate into a nominal impedance of at least 4.7 KiloOhms.
Cardioid Specifications
The Core Sound Cardioid MI microphones have a frequency response of from 40 Hz to 18 kiloHertz. They are relatively flat over that range with the exception of a slight (2 dB) peak between 9 kHz and 12 kiloHertz and a bass response fall off of roughly 6 dB per octave starting at 100 Hertz.
The Core Sound Cardioid MI microphones are specifically designed to record extremely loud sounds without distortion.
We match the microphone pair to within one dB of each other. Sensitivity of the cartridges is approximately -70 dB (0 dB = 1 Volt per microbar), making them very suitable for recording extremely loud sound sources without danger of overloading your mic pre-amp. The microphones have a cardioid pickup pattern, rejecting sounds that are 90 degrees off-axis by at least 6 dB and at 180 degrees by at least 20 dB (measured at 1 kHz).
The mics have a dynamic range of over 90 dB and are designed to operate into a nominal impedance of at least 4.7 KiloOhms. (If you need other impedances, please contact us.) Their self-noise level is approximately 35 dBA. This is far below the ambient noise level everywhere except in very quiet recording studios.
Should I Use An Omnidirectional Microphone Or A Cardioid?
In general, the Core Sound Omnidirectional MI microphones have a more natural frequency response and are easier to position. We recommend them first except when feedback or external noise is a problem -- then we recommend the Core Sound Cardioid MI microphones.
If you need a bass roll-off or a slightly emphasized treble response, we'd recommend the Core Sound Cardioid MI microphones.
If you prefer the Omnidirectional microphones but need to roll-off the bass response, please contact us. We can provide a battery box with a fixed bass roll-off filter at no additional cost.
What Should I Use; Single Or Pair?
For the best sound, we recommend that you use a pair of mics and feed the two signals into a mixer.
A well-positioned single mic can sound very good but it takes a bit more effort to achieve a good balance.
Musical Instrument Microphone Ordering
We are happy to accept orders via phone, email, mail or FAX.
The Core Sound Cardioid MI microphone set (two microphones, battery box and all cables; either mounting option) is priced at $255. A single microphone with battery box and all cables (either mounting option) is $185.
The Core Sound Omidirectional MI microphone set (two microphones, battery box and all cables; either mounting option) is priced at $235. A single microphone with battery box and all cables (either mounting option) is $165.
Payment
Payment is via any major credit card (Visa, Mastercard or American Express), a PayPal account, personal checks, money order (available from the Post Office or bank), traveler's checks, wired funds, cash or certified check, US funds only. Please allow some additional time for personal checks to clear the bank prior to shipment. COD shipments are available in some situations -- contact us for details. You may wire funds directly to our bank account -- please contact us for details.
PayPal handles our credit card processing. You need not have a PayPal account to pay with a credit card.
We also accept purchase orders from pre-qualified US universities, corporations, and state and federal governments.
Checks should be made out to "Core Sound LLC" and sent to:
Core Sound LLC
405 Cedar Lane, #1
Teaneck, NJ 07666
USA
Orders are typically shipped within two or three days but delivery times vary with our order load. We can usually accommodate "rush" orders, including same day shipments -- call and ask!
If you have questions, call and ask for Len Moskowitz. He can be reached at (201) 801-0812. His electronic mail address on the Internet is:
moskowit@core-sound.com
Customs Taxes
If you are ordering from outside the United States or Canada, your government may (or may not) charge you import taxes. Those taxes are your responsibility. If you are not certain, please ask your local Customs authority for more information.
VAT and Sales Taxes:
Core Sound LLC collects only State of New Jersey sales tax. We do not collect UK/Europe VAT taxes or any other taxes
Musical Instrument Microphone Trial Offer
To give you a chance to try them out and decide if they're for you, Core Sound provides a 30 day trial period. All microphone sets returned within 30 days of shipment qualify for a full refund (minus shipping and handling charges) provided that they are returned in as-new condition.
Musical Instrument Microphone Limited Warranty
The microphones are sold with a one year limited parts and labor warranty. If a Core Sound microphone set requires repair during that period, ship them back to Core Sound postage paid with a description of the problem. We will repair or replace them and ship them back to you at no charge. No consequential damages are covered by this warranty.
Musical Instrument Microphone User Comments
S.M. wrote:
“I have received the MI mono omni mic - had not had a chance to work with it until after Christmas - must say I am impressed. It does not have boom effect and frequency response is very much workable for micing the Native American flutes and ... well I could go on and on about it. Suffice to say it will be a major part of my recording and performance setup and that over the next months I plan to add a few more of these to my toolbox.”
M.S. wrote in the Internet's Mini-Disk mailing list:
“...I've also used these [omnidirectional] mics to record acoustic guitar by clipping one to the bridge and another pointing inside the guitar...by setting the MD to record in mono it blends the two signals perfectly into what rivals some of the best studio acoustic guitar recordings I've heard (ie Tracy Chapman's self titled debut album). The mic on the bridge picks up the crisp strikes of the string, and the mic in the hole adds the depth of the lower tones.”
M.S., a MiniDisc user, wrote on the MiniDisc mailing list:
“Just a note about [how] my brother & I use our MD decks to chronicle his progress as an aspring acoustic guitarist. We've used 2 setups for recording his songs: ...”
- -- USES: MZ-R3 and Len's CORE SOUND BINAURAL MICROPHONES