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your i-Mic
Michel Triste is a harp player from the Paris area, and a
electronics fanatic. He developed this little beauty that is the i-Mic for us, with second
hand stuff that anyone can find in their local supermarket plus a few components that can
be found in any electronics shop. At the worst the parts should cost around $8.
The results are so impressive that today Greg Szlapczynski uses an i-Mic
on tour ! And all the testers on our panel found the i-Mic to be one of the most
interesting mics they tested ! So if you're worried about spending the $60-$100 that's the
minimum entry price for a harmonica microphone, why not build one yourself first ?
Plan of the i-Mic
1. Mono 6.35 Jack
2. Mineral Water Plastic Bottle (ex : Badoit)
3. 10 kohm b (Log) Potentiometer (small)
4. Potentiometer button
5. Dynamique microphone capsule
6. Mic Head (Cap and part of a plastic bottle of milk with holes drilled in)
7. Not shown : red/black isolated copper wire
(On the drawings Rouge or R means Red and Noir or N means Black)
A few bits of advice :
The components can be found in any decent electrical or electronics
supplier for roughly $8.
The place to cut the plastic mineral water bottle in order to obtain the
length L is to be determined by the diameter of the milk bottle used for the mic head,
xhich itself should be sufficiently wide to host the capsule.
The capsule can be attached with 1 or 2 strips of 5 mm adhesive foam as
used for isolation of doors and windows. Alternatively you might want to put the capsule
further away from the head in which case you might need a plastic tube of a diameter
corresponding roughly yo that of the milk bottle. Another top of mineral water bottle with
the cap on might do the trick.
Expect to spend at least several hours of work. The parts that are the
easiest in theory (like drilling holes in the milk bottle cap) are the longest and most
delicate.
You will need a drill, welding utensils and a lot of patience and
inventiveness. If you're not the type to spend hours doing home improvement, you might
hire a bandmember, family member or friend who is to help you out the first time.
By using a Badoit bottle and green capped bottle of milk you'll have the
original i-mac look. But just like the new i-macs, you can vary the color codes by
changing brands. Please send us photographs of your finished models.
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