Wii - Want a Different Microphone

[Boggus]

Tried an XLR mic + Lightsnake cord = no work. What is everyone else doing?

[Mr-TyK]

Most people just stick with the RB mic.
There is a way to get what you want but it depends on how handy you are with a soldering iron.
That little "blister" in the RB Mic cord is the analog to digital converter that you need. It you cut the cable several inches up from that blister, you can put a
1/4" Phono jack in line. Put a female 1/4" jack on the "blister" side and a male 1/4" jack on the mic side. Solder the center mic conductor to the tip part of the jack and the shield or outer braided wire to the sleeve part of the jack. For times when you want to use the RockBand mic, it just works like normal.
When using the XLR mic, you'll need an unbalanced XLR to 1/4" mic cord.
Just unplug the stand RB mic and plug in your better mic

***THIS WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY***
You run the risk of destroying your RB mic if you mess up.

[Bront20]

Any USB mic will work. My cousin swears by the one that came in the High School Musical sing along game.

[jwebb1970]

Any USB mic will work. My cousin swears by the one that came in the High School Musical sing along game.


I have that one as well - bought it used. Keep in mind that said mic is the same Logitech USB mic that comes w/ RB - just branded w/ the Disney logos (which those RB stickers that often come w/ the instruments come in handy for covering up a HSM logo!)

[Boggus]

So, I can return my XLR Shure Mic and purchase a USB mic and it should work?

[Mr-TyK]

Yes.
Like the others pointed out, the mic that comes with RB, GH and most other games is the Logitech Vantage USB mic.

Personally, I'm using a Shure SM58 with an XLR to 1/4" mic cable and the bottom end of an old GH mic for the analog to digital conversion

[0Sk8r0]

Any USB mic will work. My cousin swears by the one that came in the High School Musical sing along game.

I have this one too. So in total I've got a RB mic (got it free w/something), a GH mic (got it when I ordered a game from the GH store), and the Disney Logitech mic (got it with 'Disney: Sing it! High School Musical 3'...don't ask... :rolleyes: ).

I have used all three for the harmonies in Beatles RB

[Bront20]

I have this one too. So in total I've got a RB mic (got it free w/something), a GH mic (got it when I ordered a game from the GH store), and the Disney Logitech mic (got it with 'Disney: Sing it! High School Musical 3'...don't ask... :rolleyes: ).

I have used all three for the harmonies in Beatles RB
I have occasionally thought about grabbing a game just for the mic because it was on clearance cheep.

[Boggus]

I understand that the GH and Disney mic will work, but will a "Guitar Center" USB mic work with the wii? I wanted a better mic to use and haven't decided to chop my current RB2 mic up.

[0Sk8r0]

I understand that the GH and Disney mic will work, but will a "Guitar Center" USB mic work with the wii? I wanted a better mic to use and haven't decided to chop my current RB2 mic up.

I personally don't know, but since no one has answered yet , I'll give it a go :rolleyes:
Sometimes things like that are hit and miss. It's usb so I don't see why it wouldn't work. Then again, I've seen people say on here they bought a certain usb mic and it didn't work. OR, they say they bought a mic and it worked but their friend bought it and it did not work (or the other way around). Still with me? Good. :p
I guess what you could do, is buy it try it and see if it works and if it doesn't, then return it. GC has a good return policy.
But unless, someone else can tell you otherwise, idk and it's worth a try...
and if it does work, other people will know for future reference :D

[0Sk8r0]

Also, I forgot to tell you.
Sometimes when I'm looking at RB/GH stuff on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/) and I look at mics, they have better, higher quality mics. Some are more waited and bigger than standard RB/GH mics to feel more real.
If I come across some I'll post the links here.
oh yeah, and because they're heavier and/or bigger, they might be more money. They also have wireless ones that supposedly work really good.
I'll let ya know! :D

[HMXtronaut]

Hey guys, (Boggus in particular)

Before you go out there and buy a new USB mic... Currently, only microphones with the Logitech USB ID are able to interface with the Wii. All of those aforementioned mics from other music games are simply re-badged Logitech mics.

Generic XLR to USB converters and non-Logitech ID'd microphones won't work with the Wii. The good news is the the Rock Band microphones are platform independent so that takes one variable out of your search.

[Boggus]

So buying a new USB or XLR mic - chop off the box end of the RB mic and re-connect may work? Similar to the mods others have been doing.

[Boggus]

So buying a new USB or XLR mic - chop off the box end of the RB mic and re-connect may work? Similar to the mods others have been doing.

[Mr-TyK]

It does work in my experience. I've used a Shure SM 58 with a standard (unbalanced) XLR to 1/4" male jack cord. (Those are readily available at a radio Shack) When modding the RB (GH, or any logitech) mic, (you can get the jacks you need at Radio Shack) Put a female 1/4" jack on the USB end above the "blister" I went about five inches above. Strip the wires carefully. Put the center conductor to the tip connector and the shield braided wire to the sleeve. Solder these connections! Audio connection are very sensitive to bad connection. If you put a male 1/4" jack on the mic side of the cord, the original Logitech plugs right back in and works as always. Same deal applies,(center conductor to tip, braided shield to sleeve, solder it) and it works well.
Here is a picture of a modded mic cable.
Thanks to Shrubbo on Doc Socal's boards for the idea and posting an image!
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o305/AUSaNTa/Rock%20Band%20Vox%20Mod/IMG_2150_smal.jpg
If you really like making things yourself, you can even make up your own unbalanced XLR to 1/4" male mic cord. Again, the parts and cords can be had at Radio Shack. This is what it looks like.
http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/connection/images/XLR-monojack.gif

[Bront20]

I understand that the GH and Disney mic will work, but will a "Guitar Center" USB mic work with the wii? I wanted a better mic to use and haven't decided to chop my current RB2 mic up.
Try turning up the mic sensitivity. I found that helped quite a bit with responsiveness. It's default is pretty low.

Hey guys, (Boggus in particular)

Before you go out there and buy a new USB mic... Currently, only microphones with the Logitech USB ID are able to interface with the Wii. All of those aforementioned mics from other music games are simply re-badged Logitech mics.

Generic XLR to USB converters and non-Logitech ID'd microphones won't work with the Wii. The good news is the the Rock Band microphones are platform independent so that takes one variable out of your search.
Wow, good to know. Thanks Xtronaut.

[Boggus]

I believe I have it figured out, Thanks T

[Mr-TyK]

First, check the switch on the mic. I know it sounds simple but you'd be surprised how easy it is to overlook.
Is your cord the unbalanced type? The matching transformer won't work.

Which mic is it?

After that, check the ohms of the mic. I'm using the Shure SM 58 which they call Hi Z but it meters around 600 ohms. Ditto on the Shure Prologue12H.
The Low impedence mics should be Ok, but the standard RB mic meters out at 600 ohms.

Does your mic require phantom power? If you have the type that needs 48V phantom power from your mixer or PA system, that won't work with the RB setup.

[Mr-TyK]

Cool, glad it worked out.