Samson Al1 micro-transmitter

[jkowtko]

Has anyone used the Samson Airline 77 wireless with AL1 micro-transmitter?

I'd like to consider using them for the "extras" in our musicals, specifically because the AL1 is a small clip-on transmitter that has an integrated mike, making them ideal for passing between actors from scene to scene or hiding in props, which will allow me to get every last line of dialogue under sound reinforcement.

I've heard mixed reviews on these units. They're fixed frequency in the 800+ range, so not sure if there will be interference problems. And I don't know how good the built-in mikes are, whether they pick up well or are prone to feedback.

Again, this is only for the one-liners so I don't have to worry too much about leaving the mikes up the the entire scene or getting the best quality ... I mainly want people to be able to hear those lines!

Shotguns are somewhat out of the running ... our theater is small and when the band is playing it will drown out anyone who is more than 3 feet away from a mike.

Does anyone out there have experience with these Samson AL1 mikes, or know of any other clip-on micro-transmitters with built-ins?

Thanks. John

[JSFox]

I've never been a fan of Samson. Audio quality and S/N is low, interference and maintenance problems are high. I'd much rather get a few good Shure or Sennheizer and move them from performer to performer. However, for what you're talking about they may be a good and more affordable alternative. I'd be curious how they work for you if you use them.

[PhantomD]

We've got a piece-of-junk Samson at church here.

Go for a Shure.

[avkid]

I have a general disdain for Samson. We have several signal processors made by Samson that have a ridiculous noise floor.

[SHARYNF]

Wireless is an area where IMO it is not a good idea to attempt to save money. The issues that result from poor performance are very obvious and reliability is very important. I think that if you look at the sennheiser or shure lines prices have become economical enough that going budget in this area is not a good idea.

Sharyn

[jkowtko]

I already have a nice set of AKG wireless ... 12 units work pretty well together.

My issue is that I need easily transferrable mikes that secondary actors can clip on and off at a moment's notice as they run on and off stage. Lav cords seem a little clunky in these cases, so I was looking for something without a lav cord. The Samson AL1 is the only transmitter on the market that I've seen that is really small in size, and has an integrated mike.

If the Samson are going to be poor audio quality (which is what I'm hearing), then is there an alternative way to solve this issue of frequent mike handoffs?

Now I could just take my AKG transmitters, loop and tape the lav cords so that the mike head sticks just above the connector ... but they're still pretty big to hide on the backside of your lapel.

Or should I just hook up the lapel clips and ask the costume designer to make inside pockets on everyone's clothing? This might be the only reasonable solution -- I was just hoping for something a bit slicker that wouldn't involve cords that can catch on things and get pulled and kinked.

Thanks. John

[SHARYNF]

If cost is no object (which it rarely is) the you could get more transmitters.

I think trying to tape up is not going to work, the inside pocket probably will work, the thing to remember is that those mini connectors tend to be more fragile, so you might increase your chance of failure. If you can quickly pocket it and swap the pack/cable/mic all as one unit, then I think the pocket idea will work best

the other alternative is to use area/boundary mics so that some of your talent is not being directly wireless connected, but that of course raises all sorts of other issues.

You could always try the Samson and see how it works in your application, I think it is a combination of low quality build, reliabilty issues, and sound that is below par for a lot of applications that causes the warning. Samson tends to go after the budget market, some are used with camcorders etc, all with mixed results.

It is cheap enough that you probably could try one out.