Rumberger WP-1X Mouthpiece Pickup Mic

Drill a hole in my mouthpiece?! Are you #$*+@ NUTS?

If you've got a priceless Kaspar Cicero mouthpiece, and you can't play on anything else, you're right. Move along; nothing to see here. However, for you, there's always this pickup.

But for everyone else, suspend disbelief and read on:

Rumberger is a German company that manufactures high-end pickups for hard-to-amplify instruments, especially woodwinds. And their pickups are some of the very best in the industry. Here's how they work: instead of amplifying sound waves in the air, like regular microphones do, they amplify the vibration of the instrument itself, which means two things: 1) the instrument can be amplified a ton without speaker-microphone feedback, and 2) no sound other than the sound of your instrument can get picked up by the mic.

So, imagine this: you're playing outdoors and want to be heard over the ambient noise, you can plug into a portable speaker* (*that supplies 48-volt phantom power, more on that in a moment), and you've got a great-sounding live-performance system. Or, if you play in a loud band, and want to be heard over the drums, singer, electric guitar—whatever—you can turn yourself up to 11 and blow them all away. Or, another use-case: you want to do live-looping, and you don't want the sound that's coming out of the speakers to blend in with the loop you're currently recording, this is the ticket.

Here's one use-case that it doesn't fill: if you're recording yourself and want to sound like it's being picked up by an $11,000 Telefunken, this ain't your mic. It definitely colors the sound a bit; you can record with it, but I'd recommend using a little EQ, and effects. In fact, this thing is built for effects.

Now, that note on 48-volt phantom power. This is what all condenser microphones require, so if you have a system where you've used one of those, you're all set. Every audio interface and mixer on the market, along with many personal amplifier speakers have phantom power.

Now, I can sell you just the pickup, and you can have it installed by your tech (installation instructions are included and are also online). Or, I can install it for you, either in a mouthpiece you send me, or one I sell. Installed correctly, it seals perfectly, and the mouthpiece feels like it did before...just with a little plug sticking out of the back. Cross my heart.

If you want me to install it in a mouthpiece I sell, just select "Install in the mouthpiece I'm purchasing," and then add a mouthpiece to the order. If you've got a mouthpiece you'd like me to stick this thing in, select that option, and I'll be in touch!