I expect these have XLR jacks, no?
This is another very common nasty surprise. You’re producing one simple show with several people talking, but connections have to go to all of the headphones, the house and the computer. Given two people, that’s two connections going in, but four going out.
This is where more complex sound mixers become handy. They can route the show in a controlled manner to wherever it’s needed. If you don’t do that, you turn the headphones down and the house feed goes away.
If you want to rethink feeding the house, this gets a lot simpler…
Koz
I expect these have XLR jacks, no?
Sorta. She’s wearing a radio transmitter behind her butt. No wires. There is a radio receiver back somewhere off-stage and that, in fact, has an XLR connection to the mixer.
That would seem to be perfect, right? No wires. The ones that work reliably are stunningly expensive. The AKG I posted does have direct XLR connections. That’s a wired microphone. I’m not advocating the particular model numbers. I’m getting the idea across that this is a good idea.
There has to be a battery somewhere for microphones like this. In the case of the AKG, it’s also on your butt or hooked to your belt.
Past all the exotic equipment, you can make very good use of the Shure SM58. Those are the rock concert microphones. They work mostly from the front, are relatively inexpensive and if you hold them close, it sounds exactly like the average bar band.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SM58/
The bar may already have some and you wouldn’t have to buy anything.
Koz
Let’s revisit the show. Banter? Can you get closer? Are you going to do standup – but seated? Once you’re on the stage, someone in the audience is going to expect you to be more entertaining than watching the top of their beer. Are you the mayonnaise sandwiched between the regular acts, sort of introduction before and interview after the show where you find out more about the artist who just performed and that they wrote a best-selling book and will next be headlining at the Schenectady Forum for the Arts, first week in August? That’s not an awful idea, by the way. I’ve never seen that done anywhere.
Given two hosts, that’s two headsets and a hand-held microphone for the guest, and you would have to rapidly be able to fade each mic in and out as needed in real time. And prevent feedback from the house. Oh, and not overload the recording. During all this, you’re not allowed to clip or overload the recorded sound channel. Clipping/overloading can kill a show.
How big is the house? Will you be able to see the Sound Guy? That’s the guy that fades you out of the house system and goes back to the juke box when you’re done. Is it easy to contact him? Or do you just walk over and and fade it down yourself – remembering you have to climb out of your headset to do it.
Koz
I appreciate the scenarios, as it sounds you have much experience in this arena. However I think we might be to the point of now over thinking the operation. And I think it might take me a lot of words to explain why, so I’ll save you the trouble 
Post back when you get something to work and/or point us to the podcast.
Koz
Will do. I’m getting really excited as the pieces are starting to come together. I’m sure I’ll run into more problems than I think, but I’m excited to + learn.
Don’t let me roll over you. We’re going to need play by plays. We collect stories and data to benefit other posters. If you have work that doesn’t fit on the forum or your blog, I can host it on my web site.
We still point to a simple posting by one of the elves, bgravato, who wanted to know a good way to record his acoustic guitar. I think it’s still the longest discussion thread – 18 chapters – and over months we got him cranking out top quality recordings of his work. It didn’t hurt that he was a world class performer and all he needed was a way to get it all recorded.
We can do this.
Koz
Well, I’ve been doing another layer of research. Here’s the deal, here’s the more likely scenario of “3” people at once on the podcast.
Me, the co-host and a caller from states away. If my reputation builds due to success, that’s when I’ll start thinking of inviting a “guest” to the live recordings. And yea, if that happens there will likely be a sharing of microphone between me and the guest, letting my co-host keep his headworn mic on at all times, or perhaps like mentioned before, maybe he just motions me when he wants to ask a question, and maybe he sacrifices his mic during interviews. Whatever, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
Back to the me + co-host + caller idea. I’ve found these two products:
http://www.jkaudio.com/bluedriver.htm
http://www.jkaudio.com/daptor2.htm
But it would appear to me that I still need someway to get my output sound of my mic to the cell phone. It would appear to me the two devices above would only let me hear he cell phone out put as if it was only another microphone on the mixer board.
We were just congratulating ourselves; “Thank goodness he doesn’t want to involve Skype/Telephone/Cellphone.”
Me, the co-host and a caller from states away.
D’Oh!
We need to sit down and read through that.
The grownups do this kind of thing with a mix-minus panel. The person on the cellphone has to hear the whole show without their own voice.
The mixed show minus their own voice. Mix-Minus. If you don’t do that, the person on the cellphone will not be able to talk. They will hear their own voice returning to them, but up to half-second late. I don’t know if you’ve ever been a party to a faulty conference call or ratty cell call, but that is intensely annoying and most people can’t continue a conversation.
Note that’s all above forcing a cellphone to work at all. But I think there’s ways around that. There are terminals that plug into your cellphone headset jack and manage the sound.
Koz
I think the cell interface thing is what that does:
http://www.jkaudio.com/daptor2.htm
I need to read through it.
Koz
When you put it in those terms, that makes even more sense. I was thinking there was a way to modify a cell phone headset to plug into the mixer.
I want to check out the link you provided first though.
My favorite mini-mixer has a service called Effects Send. You can select any of the inputs and send the sound out to an effects generator, echo generator, or other sound processor. You can do this completely independently of the show mix. That’s the sound that would go to the cellphone for enjoyment at the far end. You would send all the microphones, headsets, music, etc, but not the channel containing the cellphone voice.
Meanwhile, the whole show with everything including the cellphone goes to the headphones, computer, and anybody or anything else who needs it.
I don’t remember, did we introduce the idea of a headphone amplifier with individual volume controls? That can amplify and distribute the show to everybody who needs it.
This is the one we use.
http://www.samsontech.com/samson/products/miscellaneous-audio/miscellaneous-audio/q5/
Koz
page 2, steve mentioned the headphone amplifiers.
The “Daptor 2” seems to be pretty much the exact thing you need to plug the mixer into the cellphone. They did get my attention with this note:
? Can I send and receive audio at the same time?
! Yes, but be aware that on most phones, whatever
audio you send into the phone will come
back mixed with the receive audio.
Traditionally, cellphones do not have sidetone – your own voice coming back to you in real time during the call like telephones do. This lack of sidetone gives you the cell phrase, “Hello? Can you hear me OK?” The sidetone on a telephone gives you the reassurance that the call is going through because you can hear a live channel. Not talking into a bar of soap.
Cell system delays prevent sidetone, so I don’t know who’s right there. If some of the mix-minus comes back from the cellphone into the mixer, that can cause a feedback loop.
“…talking to Joe Smith, in Lancing, Michigan. Joe, are you there?” “Yup, I’m here. mumumumumumMUMMUMUMUMUMUMU.”
I don’t know any way to prevent that with this equipment. The technology layer that interfaces with the phone company is always the worst.
Koz
My cellphone has a 3.5mm connection, not 2.5. I know you can get adapters, but some of them are not simple stereo connectors.
Never mind. The box comes with one of each.
Koz
So your task is to figure out if it’s going to work with your cellphone. Sometimes, if the device is $30 and I have a use for it, I will buy one, inspect it and write it up. But not for $175 USD. I don’t need to record a cellphone that bad. Find someone who’s using it and speaks the same languages you do.
Koz
I’m actually in position to start buying equipment soon; likely a slow process as it will take time, but should be ready to go by mid August I would think. Yea I will see if I can’t figure out a way to find someone using one of those things already. That’s a great idea.
Cellphone connections are magic. Your problems and shortcomings show up at the other end. Many conferencing system work like that. My echo cancellation problems drive you crazy.
I so want to record someone who’s in love with one of those microphones built into the headset cable. They’re terrible. You get to listen to all their clothing rustling, swishing and thumping, but they they think everything perfect and it’s the best thing since sex.
Let me show you what you sound like to me…
Do you have a shipping list? Generally where are you? Will you be shopping in Euros?
Koz
I’ll be shopping in USD.