Monolina Pickup Mic
We're thrilled to now offer a custom-designed contact mic for our feeltone Monolina Monochords!
We've long been asked "what's the best way to amplify the Monolina?" and until now it wasn't easy to answer that question. The delicately quiet and nuanced overtones of the feeltone Monochords can't be heard well with regular instrument contact mics which can also add distortion and noise to the sound. Using condenser microphones doesn't always work well either as they pick up many other sounds along with the monochord and don't amplify the body of the instrument.
But now we've a super high-tech way to amplify the monochord with this amazing piece of equipment custom designed for us by David Enke of Open to Source Sensors. Based in Colorado, David has developed "super sensitive polymer film sensors with bandwidths exceeding 2 gigaherz and cutting edge microphone line arrays bring exciting new possibilities for capturing and amplifying your instruments to the highest levels of audio purity and fidelity." These are new technology pickup mics are pioneering innovations based on 35 years of research and product development to discover the best way to naturally amplify acoustic instruments.
With exceptional tone, harmonic sensitivity, high feedback resistance with recording quality sound, this Monolina pickup mic offers exceptional performance in small, low noise circuits that buffer and amplify signals to whatever gain is desired. They run on simple 3volt button cell batteries and have a volume attenuator.
The pickup consists of a copper ribbon mic woven out of space-grade materials that runs the length of the left side of the Monochord. To install, the Monolina strings must be slightly loosened, so that the metal tension rod may be swaped out, the ribbon mic laid, and an identical hollow metal bar cover inserted over the mic before tightening up the strings. A quarter inch jack with the battery and volume knob is attached with strong double-stick tape to the side of your instrument. You will also need a quarter inch jack and an amplifier (speaker) to plug your instrument into. A variety of amplifiers may be used based on your budget and needs, and we can make some recommendations to you.
For musicians who are comfortable loosening and tightening the strings, we offer a self-install kit that can be shipped to you to install on your own, guided by the instructions in this video:
We also have a luthier located in Beacon, New York: Eric Alfredo of Hudson Valley Guitar Fix who is trained to offer the full installation to our standards. Monolina pickup installation is $175 plus shipping (you are responsible for packing and shipping the instrument to the shop and back to you). Once you make your purchase we can ship your pickup directly to him and make the introduction to you. Note: Hudson Valley Guitar Fix is a top luthier in New York and turnaround time varies based on customer availability. Expect around two weeks time for return delivery of your instrument to you. (A work time quote will be offered at the time of booking.) While other regional guitar shops in your area may be able to install the pickup, we can only guarantee the work of Hudson Valley Guitar Fix who has been trained by our team, so your experience with other shops may vary.
Note: While the pickup mic will amplify the Monolina, you will still need to supply a quarter inch cable and an amplifier to plug your pickup mic into. Based on your needs and budget we can make amplifier recommendations for you. Your pickup will be able to be connected to any quarter-inch female plug on a mixer, speakers, or audio interface for online use.
For consulting and support setting up your audio equipment for live or online use, we recommend working with audio engineer Sean Savage of AR Media who is familiar with our monochords and has helped many feeltone instrument players with their tech setups.
