For the pitch folks out there, I just saw that Magic Warehouse is carrying a Gim Crack microphone holder once again. Click HERE for more info.

This is a handy little gadget if you use a wired mic. And even if you use a wireless mic, one day something will go flooey and you will need to use that wired mic backup. (You DO have a wired mic backup, don't you?) That's when you'll need the gimcrack, so you can work hands-free.

I have carried a small wired backup mic for several years, and fortunately have never needed to use it. But it's there, along with the gimcrack, just in case. SETH

I purchased a similair one from Malloy Modern Magic several years ago. I've only had to use it once, but I was glad that I had it! A small investment for piece of mind!

Mark

That's called a "lobaleer" (spelling) we used to make them out of a wire coat hanger.Straighten out the hook stick your head in the hanger and bend it to fit around your neck than bend the hook so a mic will be right where you need it.Than use electrical tape and tape the mic to the wire end where the hook used to be.

Back in the day you had to be "inventive" and make do.I don't remember once a MARK saying "because your mic holder is made out of a cheap wire coat hanger I'm not going to buy a magic deck of cards from you" (smile)

Don

When I worked at the Kentucky State Fair a few years back, there was a guy who did the Jam auction who had just such a coat-wire gimcrack. Usually you could hear him but sometimes, he'd have his head to one side or the other and you couldn't...so I much prefer the head mike, tho I seldom use one. My voice is plenty loud enough for the indoor shows I do.

When I DO use a mic I have a set-up that hangs on my waist. The wire runs from the mic to the 'belt' (I throw my wire over my shoulder so it doesn't get in my way) and there is a speaker and a volume control as well as batteries in the 'belt'. The batteries are rechargeable but can also be plugged in and used that way too. Obviously, it's not gonna call someone in who is at the other end of a football field but it works just fine for me, close in.

I saw this at the RV show in Hershey one year..the girl had an extra she'd sell for $100. I bought it. That night I found the same thing on Ebay for $39. Live and learn.

Jon

You NEVER have a strong enough voice and the belt PA is usless.If you have two speaker up high and pointing out in both directions.It pulls people in walking near you.Your gross will go up sufficiently.

Don

I bought a 30 watt wireless cordless portable PA system a few years ago. I have found that it was worth its weight in gold, and that it more than paid for itself almost immediately. Wireless means you have no mic cords to get in your way, and cordless means you don't have to worry about being near an electrical outlet, or whether electricity is available in the first place.

For outdoor shows, it's almost a neccessity, so that you can be heard over the DJ/band/strolling musicians, as well as the Sno-Cone machines, gas-powered generators and general noise level. But you have to make sure that your sound only covers the front of your booth and isn't too loud or annoying for adjacent vendors. The PA is great even for indoor shows, because it allows you to talk at a normal volume and save your vocal chords, while still amplifying your voice slightly so that everyone in the tip can hear you clearly.

Don is right (as usual!!) on speaker placement --- get those speakers off the floor and up to "ear level." This allows the sound to get directly where it needs to go, with the least interference and the most efficiency. I got a small tripod speaker stand with my little PA, and I just set it up next to the pitch table -- a perfect arrangement. SETH

Glad to see these are back on the market. I need to pick an extra one up. I'll keep it in the glove box incase I forget to pack my main one.

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