I just purchased a few Audio Technica lavs.e.g. 898 I'm puzzled a bit by the proper use of the 'mounting clips'. For example, how do I properly use the vampire clip, and when? The magnet clip? (I assume to not punch hole sin delicate clothing?)

And why the 'clip heads' which hold two mic wires? Is it common practice to mount two lavs on one person? Redundancy? Omni/cardiod?

It looks like a good assortment of nicely made mounts. It's very unfortunate that AT did not provide any instructions on proper use.

If this is somewhere in the forums please point me at it! I've enjoyed reading a wealth of info on lavs and audio in this forum, but have not encountered this info.

Thanks very much.

Brett

The vampire clip should have two pins that somehow fold out, kind of like a safety pin. The magnet clip can be used where a vampire clip would be, but you don't want to punch holes in the fabric. Usually news anchors have two lavs for redundancy. If one goes down the other one is already on them.

I used Vampires for a long time and they worked really well except I could never get a loop in the cable. I hate, no, strongly hate the standard AT clips so a couple of years ago I got some Sennheiser clips and they are the best thing ever. Not only do they keep the mic off the clothing but have a wire clip in the inner part of the alligator jaws for making a loop. They're not cheap (I think about $18.00 each at B&H) but IMO well worth the money.
I still use Vampires if the situation calls for it though and the tiny little hoes the pins leave are so small unless it's a piece of silk, you can't even see the the holes. the don't fold out they're in the plastic and they DO hurt when you poke yourself with them. I have scars to prove it. ;-)

I used Vampires for a long time and they worked really well except I could never get a loop in the cable. I hate, no, strongly hate the standard AT clips so a couple of years ago I got some Sennheiser clips and they are the best thing ever. Not only do they keep the mic off the clothing but have a wire clip in the inner part of the alligator jaws for making a loop. They're not cheap (I think about $18.00 each at B&H) but IMO well worth the money.

Thanks for the tip Don. I've been using the Sennheiser G2 for a few years now, and I thought the alligator clip on that was not too bad. I don't think it's quite the same one as you are describing so will look that up.

I still use Vampires if the situation calls for it though and the tiny little hoes the pins leave are so small unless it's a piece of silk, you can't even see the the holes. the don't fold out they're in the plastic and they DO hurt when you poke yourself with them. I have scars to prove it. ;-)

I think I was someone mention pain somewhere else too :-) It does seem that they will cause little material damage, being as tiny as they are, and holes would disappear in the next wash.

Edward: Gee; Do lav mics fail often? I can understand the highly visible problem with one failing in the middle of a newscast, as opposed to middle of a take, or ordinary interview session. So: 2-mic clips no real practical use for ordinary people?

Brett

The Sennheiser clips I use which appear to be the clips of choice for many TV stations around the country or at least here in Chicago and the National news etc, are the MZQ 22 and similar. I say similar because I couldn't find the single mic clip but the double mic clip is about $16.00 so the pricing seems to have dropped a little. What I like is the clip can be turned either horizontially or vertically and the mic is SECURELY held AND there are 3 holes to mount the mic plus of course the clip in it for a loop.
Do lavs go out a lot? I've used a lot of different systems over the years with a bunch of mics. Some have been well cared for and some not so much. I've only had 1 lav fail and that was due to operator error. I forgot to change the battery in the mic pak. That's one of the few reasons I can see for a mic failing. A broken wire, a bad connection, frequency being accidentlly changed (that would be hard for me to understand how but regardless) or someone inadvertantly switching off the mic pak are all things that could happen but being realistic about it, a dead battery, switching off the mic pak or cutting the wire are the things to worry about and if you replace the battery, cover the on/off switch and take all sharp objects away from the people wearing the mics you should be OK.

Just because things are double mic'd it may not be for just for mic failure, the network TV studio I do some freelance work for, double mic the news tallent... 1 mic goes to the main audio console the second mic goes to a second console which is a backup, complete with separate signal paths right through to master control. It means if anything fails anywhere in the chain the backup system can be used.
So with less than 5-10 seconds an independent chain is on air...
On many sporting OBs' one mic will go via a fibre path and the other will go copper, fibre systems are great but often rely on house power to power the remote end.. yes the same power feed that the fridge, microwave oven and pie warmer are plugged into.

The Chief Engineers' attitude for that station is the backup systems must be even more reliable than the main systems......Because if you are using the main you have a backup and if you are using the backup chances are you have nothing left if that system fails.

Digital audio consoles often take a lot longer to get back on line than analogue consoles after a power bump or drop out.