Somebody on a comment thread somewhere wrote that the headset mic is the equivalent of wearing socks with sandals. So which is the more egregious affront to good taste? Show your work.

What's really wrong with socks+sandals? Ok I don't see the point since I'd wear sandals precisley to have my feet free but it never bothered me.

And headset mic =



= not crap

Screw good taste. There are a number of practical reasons for headset (or more accurately, head-worn) microphones:

- Most talkers and non-professional singers don't know how to properly use/hold a handheld mic, or correctly wear a lavaliere. Head-worn mics allow the tech to control placement, without variation in use and without the need to use an omni capsule lavaliere (only fools use cardioid lavs).

- The name of the game live is gain before feedback. Head-worn mics allow this to happen in a controlled effective manner.

- Head-worn mics allow talkers to gesticulate, performers to perform, and players to play - all without worrying about their microphone

- Head-worn mics almost disappear when used for dramatic and musical theater, and can be set into/taped into hair, headwear, etc... Often I'll specify a mix of tan, light brown/brown, black units to match the demographics of the clients' users or community to have a good array to match the wearers' skin, hair, or costumes.

- With the preponderance of IEMs in-use in much theater and live performance: If a performer is gonna wear a wireless receiver for IEMs, they might as well wear a belt-pack transmitter with a head-worn mic.

- Head-worn mics get a lot of use in athletic spaces for use by refs, coaches, and class leaders for things like spin, pilates, dance, etc... Sweat/waterproof head-worn mics can be specified that stand up to the rigors of these uses.

- Head-worn mics can have excellent performance, often exceeding that of handheld or lav (depending on the user and application). There are excellent head-worn mics from DPA and Countryman that I'd put up against any wired handheld live mic.

I'm not sure what the deal is with the dork in the catcher's vest, with the 1990s heart rate monitor and half of a producers/directors production intercom half-muff, but he definitely looks like a socks & sandals fellow in his off hours. Probably German too - from the northern part.

(Edit: I just did a GIS on the photo above: Front 242 from 1985, very nice. Almost ancient now - especially as far as live reinforcement equipment goes. Like posting a picture of Al Bowley with the question: "Singing into a Megaphone vs Spats with Loafers (or Sleeve Garters with Tailored Shirts)".)

I kept seeing footage of recent David Byrne performances with his headset mic. He seems to have used freeing up a hand as an opportunity to occasionally clap his hands and do some general arm focused wavy dancing. That guy can do whatever he wants after his musical contributions, but decades of singers forcefully clutching a mic has trained my brain to see that as what performance looks like. There's something off about a rock/pop singer who's not clutching anything. It's kind of like how after decades of guitar players, seeing a front person trying to 'rock' on a keyboard doesn't click the same way. It should. You shouldn't have to have a guitar, but a keyboard stand just doesn't have the same stage presence.

Socks with sandals is also harmlessly dorky. I believe in an individual's right to engage in both of these behaviors without a deluge of mockery, yet I find both aesthetically inferior to the typical approach.

It's a tie. A clip on tie.

I think the late Steve Jobs employed both of these simultaneously.

Wearing sandals with socks makes perfect sense. Cotton socks allow your feet to still breath AND keeps the filth off your feet, and foot sweat off your sandals. I wouldn't go out to dinner like that, but I would go to a bar-b-que. Sure your disgusting bare feet in flip-flops on a nasty subway platform are SOOOOOO sexy, but I guess I just can't pull off that look.

If someone has a problem with either of these things… it’s their problem.

No vote. Both are fine.

(To take it back to the "MKI..." days for just a moment...)

I guess it is all gonna depend on exactly how Reptoid fit into this.

numberthirty wrote: Mon Apr 17, 2023 6:26 pm (To take it back to the "MKI..." days for just a moment...)

I guess it is all gonna depend on exactly how Reptoid fit into this.

^^^came here to post this

Not crap.