Microphones

The Redback C0383 "Drop Proof" Mic has been our preferred
"Cheapie" for a few years now. While nothing out there is truly
drop proof, the C0383 seems to last the distance a bit longer than
the others, and is still cheap enough so that when they do cark it,
replacing them is not a problem. Perfect for daily school assembly
and school hall use. Retails around $60 inc. with 5m lead.

The Redback C0392 is one of the better '58 copies we've come
across in recent years - to the extent that you can happily screw
the mesh head off this mic and onto a genuine '58 and it will fit
perfectly. Sound quality and handling noise are just about as good
as the original. It's a great choice for schools that want that standard
but dont really want to have it in the hands of students getting thrown
around the school hall. Retails around $120 inc.

The genuine Shure SM58 (Right) is pretty much the industry standard
for a vocal stage mic, but that doesnt mean there aren't alot of other
mics that are just as good or better. Retails around $250 inc.

The Neatron NPM260 is a great "Pencil Condenser" mic ideal for those
more sensitive tasks such as picking up sound from "whispering" school
choirs and kids. It's an "electret" mic meaning that it needs a mixer with
"phantom power" to work. Buy a few and put them in the office drawer.
Get them out for Education Week and the end of year Chrissy pageant.
And.. wow! You'll actually HEAR the kids without the system erupting
into feedback when you turn it up. Retails for around $189 Inc.

At $100 inc. retail, the Neatron ND1400S Vocal mic is a great alternative to the
SM58 or it's copies. More versatile, can be used for almost anything with good results.
Not too expensive to put on a school stage. Best Bang for Buck in our opinion.

The Chiayo SDR5000 series still represents excellent value and reliability, and is
our choice for single radio mic applications at around $340 inc. There are alot of
cheaper units out there but don't expect warranty service with them.. they
come and go almost as fast as the distributors that import them. At least with
Chiayo you know that they'll still be around next year.

The Chiayo SDR1816 series use the same transmitters as the 5000's
above. The receivers are fully featured, and include antennas that can be
remotely mounted from the receiver. This is essential for reception reliability
if the receiver is to be mounted in an enclosed steel rack. Around $500 inc.

By popular request we're now stocking an ultra low budget dual radio
mic package. Despite an almost insane retail price point of only $200 inc,
the UHF2 finds a good home in school applications where users want the
flexibility of two low cost radio mics and don't want to cry too much if they
get lost, stolen or broken. Its been hard but we've now made our choice.

In our opinion the sound quality of these cheapies is not adequate for
stage vocal use as they lack the companders and frequency stability of the
Chiayo range. They also chew through batteries faster than the better products above. But as a general budget buster, they're great. And the range
is particularly good too - in some cases even beating the Chiayo. As a
"fete yeller" or MC special, you can't beat them.

One product we've NEVER compromised on is Microphone stands.

That's because we don't have to.

At a retail of only $89 inc, these genuine "Koneig & Meyer" (K&M) German brand
boom mic stands are excellent value.

The cheap "plastic base" mic stands stocked by the music shops out there don't
last one show in a school. These last for YEARS. That's why most professional
hire companies also use them in their hire rigs (including us).

And at this price you don't have to compromise either. These come in much less
when you buy a bunch of them as part of an install job!