Digigram Midi Microphone (Very Rare) Collectors Item

Very Rare French Midi Tech

THE MIDIMIC COMES in its own dinky, pale grey, plastic briefcase, complete with snazzy logo and looking a little like something from Star Wars. It's basically a pitch-to-MIDI system in a mic, with a switchable audio in/out and a MIDI out. Plugging the Mic into MIDI In on a sound source allows you to control patches or samples solely with your voice. The audio out allows the MIDIMic to function as a conventional mic, but can also be switched to become an audio input for converting a signal from a pickup for use with an acoustic instrument. The MIDIMic is longish, matt black and roughly mic-shaped, with an unusual sloping head to sing into. One side of it is adorned with a diagram to explain the various functions (at least it's intended to) and four LEDs which light up as you step through various functions. A series of membrane switches are also located on the side of the MIDIMic, which are used to access these functions.
The manual (more like a 19-page booklet measuring 5"x3") reflects its origins - half of it is given over to operating instructions in French, and the other half to instructions in that much-neglected tongue, Franglais. To be honest, detailed info is a bit thin sur le terre. Just because vocalists are the most likely users of this device doesn't mean we don't need to know what's going on. A real manual wouldn't go amiss.
Thinking about it
THE FIRST THING you'll want to do when you switch on the MIDIMic is to set the level of tone and pitch recognition for whatever you're going to put through it. This is really just setting the appropriate speed of tracking for your voice or instrument. At a higher level, the mic is designed to detect even wrong notes and transitions more easily. The main functions are accessed by pressing either one, or a combination of membrane switches on the Mic; to set the preset tracking level, you need to press the membrane switch labelled Preset, and wait while an LED cycles through the three Preset options. When it hits the level want, just take your finger off the switch and your choice remains in memory. Digigram advise Preset level 1 for instruments such as guitars, flutes and saxes, Preset level 2 for singing voice, and Preset level 3 for a "slow singing voice". In practice, this is more or less correct. A guitar tracks most accurately at level 1, but if you sing into the Mic at this level, I guarantee a severe blow to your professional vanity. Incantation fans will be relieved to know that level 1 also proves the best bet for a clay flute.