50AE Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 A rock band wants to have their microphone on fire. It will be on stand, it won't be held or used during the fire. So I need to know about a inflammable gel sticky substance to cover the microphone with it. It must burn slowly and preferably to not evaporate fast.
Richtee Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 A rock band wants to have their microphone on fire. It will be on stand, it won't be held or used during the fire. So I need to know about a inflammable gel sticky substance to cover the microphone with it. It must burn slowly and preferably to not evaporate fast.Not sure what it is, but it's pretty much replaced Sterno cans in those chafing dish thingies... it's a oily feeling liquid, and does not evap very fast, burns fairly clean and leaves no residue.
homebrewed77 Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 (edited) Wont it ruin the mic? I mean it's a really neat idea..BUT, I think it would cook it. Maybe have them try it with one of there junk back-up mic's. That way they can see how long it will last. That way they have a basic idea of how many second's the mic will work, before it give's up. Just my opinion, I think it would look really cool..But i just dont see it working very long. EDIT- I was just thinking, maybe wrap a strip of fiber glass clothe around the mic body..Because it pretty fire proof...just make sure to keep the flame away from the mic head..and the cord. I will talk to my music buddy and see if he has any idea's. Edited June 21, 2009 by homebrewed77
Miech Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 That microphone is definately going to be wasted completely. I don't see a way a 3 micron membrane is going to survive such heat and fuels. When the membrane gets dirty it's for <300 dollar microphones usually cheaper to replace the whole mic than have it revised. (Unless you have a very much sought after one like a '50s ribbon or Sennheiser MD241, which would be a shame to burn anyway.) If the microphone actually needs to work before it gets burned, no idea how that should be fixed. Anything inside that doesn't belong there destroys the sound of it. I once had a microphone that sounded like crap because there was a dead insect in it. I'd say, take a defective microphone and unscrew the ball on top. Take out the actual microphone and wind screens, and put a ball of cotton cloth in there. Soak it in lamp oil with a small percentage gasoline (to get it going) and put it back. Then use a different microphone for actually picking up the singer.
Arthur Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Go about it another way! If you have a competent gas flame SFX crew, then rig the mic stand with a butane canister at the base and a flambeau burner near the actual mic clamp. The gas sfx crew will have to sort out all the permissions and all the safety interlocks. You must not use spark ignition because the spark will be picked up by the mic and cause inteference on the sound (or damage).
Richtee Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 If the microphone actually needs to work before it gets burned, no idea how that should be fixed. Anything inside that doesn't belong there destroys the sound of it. I once had a microphone that sounded like crap because there was a dead insect in it.I assumed it was a dummy mic... I would HOPE it's a dummy mic!
50AE Posted June 21, 2009 Author Posted June 21, 2009 Thank you for the advices ! I will ask him if the micro will be a dummy or no. To give you the exact idea, he wants something like this at 2:40 ( watch the video in high quality, because it's bugged )
Miech Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Ah, burning like that is easier, but still take a mic that can be replaced (like a SM58 for example). Just wrap the stand in lamp oil soaked cotton cloth and you're good to go. It will get damn hot, so figure a way to prevent the microphone cable from burning and melting. If you take a SM58 (which is pretty standard) I wouldn't be surprised if the wind screen inside the 'ball' will melt anyway, but you better burn that away than the membrane. I thought you meant burning like at 1:15, which is quite a lot harder to achieve.
Arthur Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Separate the trick mic with flame gel from the real sound mo on the hairline. The mic stand fire is likely done with flame gel on some tape fired by an igniter from the bottom. The firing ball mic is also a dummy and has a squib wire up the stand and some flame gel or some alcohol in the dummy body. For stage pyro fxmake really certain that it is safe and approved by the venue! Think Great White Rhode Island. One ill advised pyro and hundreds dead.
psyco_1322 Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 In that video you can clearly see they coated the mics with Al foil before hand, and the only thing exposed was the mic head, which was not burning. It also looked like the ran a length of black match or something up the stand to make sure it all got lit up fast. The flaming mic head would actually be easier, they just threw in some camera shake to add to the exploding ematch when it lit.
50AE Posted June 22, 2009 Author Posted June 22, 2009 He also told me that he has many non working microphones, so we can experiment without big damage.
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