Antiseptic spray for mics

[Len_derby]

One of the band last night said his mic 'smelt of wee'. It made me decide to get some spray to give our mics a healthy clean.
Does anybody have any suggestions or experience on what to use and how to use it please?
The mics are SM58s.

[ikay]

How about this - [url="http://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/Vocal-Care-Microphome-Sanitizing-and-Deodorizing-Microphone-Spray/I4W"]http://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/Vocal-Care-Microphome-Sanitizing-and-Deodorizing-Microphone-Spray/I4W[/url]

[Dr.Dave]

We take our own mics everywhere. We did a festival thing in Pontefract once with a huge hired in PA and my mic stank of some other herbert's stale breath , disgusting. Needless to say I caught a throat infection. Since then we insist on our own mics. I carry mine in my bass gig bag so I can't forget it.

With a '58 ( wouldn't give them houseroom myself but there you go) it's an easy job to unscrew the pop shield and rinse the foam out in a drop of disinfectant then squeeze it dry once in a while. I clean the pop shield on my AKG's with a toothbrush and listerine mouthwash.

[Dad3353]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1382787371' post='2256540']We take our own mics everywhere...[/quote]

Just a quick 'hijack' to say '"Welcome back, Doc...".

As you were...

[dudewheresmybass]

You'd be surprised how many sound engineers get funny when you ask to use your own mike!

[ezbass]

My eyesight is going, I thought you wanted some antiseptic spray for mice.

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='dudewheresmybass' timestamp='1382800215' post='2256713']
You'd be surprised how many sound engineers get funny when you ask to use your own mike!
[/quote]

I doubt you'd be surprised to hear how many sound engineers with that attitude that have crossed my path have been told to either wind their necks in or pack up and sod off !

Sound crew are important folk who can be of the greatest help to musicians - we need to be able to rely on them - BUT , the relationship is one of manager to support service employee. Pecking order. We are the fountainhead and they take their instruction from us.

Edited October 26, 2013 by Dr.Dave

[FinnDave]

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1382801183' post='2256722']
My eyesight is going, I thought you wanted some antiseptic spray for mice.
[/quote]

So did I, in fact I had to read it three times before I understood it correctly. Probably a good thing I quit my job as an English teach last year!

[paul_5]

unplug it and dip the end in ethyl alcohol?

[skej21]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1382802487' post='2256743']
Sound crew are important folk who can be of the greatest help to musicians - we need to be able to rely on them - BUT , the relationship is one of manager to support service employee. Pecking order. We are the fountainhead and they take their instruction from us.
[/quote]

Interesting... I have the completely opposing view. No matter how good my music/playing sounds, it's those guys who dictate how the audience hear it, so I try to keep them sweet. To be fair though, most engineers know a LOT more about how to make you (the musician) sound good and any that I've encountered have always been more than accommodating when I've requested to use certain bits of my own gear.

Then again, they might only object if they feel the instrument/mic being provided by the act is unsafe/untested or will be a poor sound source compared to the gear they have ready to use!

[Mr. Foxen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdxvVNlRiKs

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1382830607' post='2257110']
Interesting... I have the completely opposing view. No matter how good my music/playing sounds, it's those guys who dictate how the audience hear it, so I try to keep them sweet
[/quote]

Hmm, at most of my recent gigs, the reason there is a mic in front of my cab is so I can indicate the engineer is to blame for me being too loud out front. This is a lie, I file under 'showbusiness'.

[krispn]

I read somewhere a good tip is to bring mouthwash and unscrew the head off the mic and give it a rinse with the mouthwash, dry off and replace. Pretty cheap option in relative terms and also use the mouth wash pre/post gig to ward off/kill germs from the mic. If you can't verify the mic is 'clean' at least you can protect yourself!

[dudewheresmybass]

I understand the points made, but I suspect the point about quality of mike is key.
Once I point out that my mike is not a £10 maplin karaoke mike they do pipe down.
I use a pretty expensive sennheiser that is one of the few mikes that leave my foghorn voice sounding reasonable

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='dudewheresmybass' timestamp='1382868111' post='2257272']

I use a pretty expensive sennheiser that is one of the few mikes that leave my foghorn voice sounding reasonable
[/quote]

Which is odd because I use a mid priced AKG D5 to deliberately make my reasonable voice sound like a foghorn !

Seems to me your average PA crew uses 58's partially on reputation but mostly because they think - correctly - that it will impress bands because folk in bands don't usually care a toss about mics but they've heard of 58's. I can assure you that my D5 suits/helps my shouty voice and Rod's Beyer suits/helos his talk/sing voice far better than any weedy old 58.

And I can't understand some people'sattitude towards PA crew. Of course they're important as I said - but WE employ THEM to do what WE want !! Like any employer our responsibility is to tell them what we want of them. Drawing on and listening to their views as experts in their own field is important but we remain with the final word. The last time I was swayed by a PA crew was in front of 2 BC witnessess and a couple of thousand others at Colne Blues Festival. I wrongly allowed them to use a silly active direct box which they didn;t know how to use and they managed to shoot 48v of phantom power into my Shuker - frying the electrics. If I'd had my hands on the strings at the time... God only knows !

[EBS_freak]

Common practice in the hire world is to put the ends of the sm58 in the dishwasher. Deadly serious!

[Telebass]

I too like to use my own mike (a '58!), but I have used and like those D5s. If I need to replace the 58, that's what I will buy.

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='Telebass' timestamp='1383214633' post='2261561']
I too like to use my own mike (a '58!), but I have used and like those D5s. If I need to replace the 58, that's what I will buy.
[/quote]

And have a halfway decent ruby murray ... WITH peshwari nan ... with the change. No brainer !