My Favorite Waste of Time . . .

[MicMaven]

Don't you need a more expensive mic though to understand a Scottish accent for speech recognition? See how I tied the different parts of the thread together? <ducking my head and running for cover now, apologizing to my Scottish friends...>

Great question! Um ... er ... yes, that sounds right.

Funny-You-Mention-It Case 29083 - I used to beta test ViaVoice (R) speech recognition software for IBM in a former life. The development team was in Scotland and I instantly fell in LOVE with the dear sweet young lassie who answered the phone. Oh . . . (heavy sign) . . . I fell in love instantly just hearing her lovely, sweet Edinburgh brogue (i.e., the accent, NOT the type of shoe "brogue.") Oh, to be young and foolish, again - (another heavy sigh) - instead of merely foolish.

And, YES, good segue tying the various elements together. Nice touch, old man.

James

​

 

[pmfalcman]

Hey! Here is a wild idea! What if I posted another example of what I make when I cannot sleep? What if it involved a microphone? So, here goes -- I hereby re-hijacking the thread back to the original topic . . . . .

You hothead, you! And your crazy ideas! Really, mate...
Just pray that the moderators will overlook this post of yours.

I up and quit the whole business because it had become such a Klondike land grab.

No wonder.

So, I herein present my personal revenge; my favorite low cost home-brewed microphone which is very comfortable to wear and works great with the software. (...)

Great stuff. Lovely, canonical, so to say, DIY.

good sounding, low cost head-worn microphone that does the job - my personal revenge against all the hype and BS promulgated by unscrupulous, avaricious microphone retailers overcharging poorly informed, unsuspecting consumers.

Pushing functionally nonsensical expensive gear is bad, no doubt.
But (not defending these scammers!) take under consideration that if you'd want to run full blown production & distribution process of your lovely, simple, cheap and practical mic (no sarcasm here!!) , its price would increase immensely.
Imagine cost of designing and setting up manufacturing process, production and assembly lines, machines, injection forms, place, cost of employees, packing, transport... etc, etc Then several middle men. Suddenly these 1,50 $ of material costs skyrocket into 50 or more.If you sell in thousands. At least..

Of course it pisses me off when I see something that (in materials) costs 0.5-1 $ but price tag shows 50 or 100.

Anyway, your mic is fantastic.
Simple to make, easy and inexpensive to service. Perfect design.

(PS - It is not the complexity or cost of the project that counts - but the utility and value to the user that matters most!)

True.

 

[pmfalcman]

Don't you need a more expensive mic though to understand a Scottish accent for speech recognition?

The mic is no problem here.
You need an advanced DSP.
The expensive kind. Topest shelve.

AI driven preferably.

 

[Disco Volante]

Or, to get really exotic, try Danish? Supposedly one of the languages exhibiting the highest discrepancy between spoken and written form...

(Native Danish speaker here;-)

 

[Khron]

Or, to get really exotic, try Danish? Supposedly one of the languages exhibiting the highest discrepancy between spoken and written form...

(Native Danish speaker here;-)

Weeeeeeeell...

https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-86d...yToSpellPotato_COTT_BWN__17749.1452630481.jpg

 

[MicMaven]

consideration that if you'd want to run full blown production & distribution process of your lovely, simple, cheap and practical mic (no sarcasm here!!) , its price would increase immensely.
Imagine cost of designing and setting up manufacturing process, production and assembly lines, machines, injection forms, place, cost of employees, packing, transport... etc, etc Then several middle men. Suddenly these 1,50 $ of material costs skyrocket into 50 or more.If you sell in thousands. At least..

Serious Reply -

Right! I was a beta tester for manufacturers and retailers, and agree you have merely hinted at the complexity and cost involved. Plastic molds and legal fees alone would put me out of contention. Therefore, I will make more of these, but label them "custom, bespoke hand built examples of the engineer's art" - and charge a fortune for each one!

Humorous, yet True Reply -

I witnessed considerable Marketing Department hyperbole, exaggeration and outright flimflam from retail vendors which artificially increased the cost of goods sold.

Around 1999, Vendors pitched the (then) $145 US Sennheiser ME-3 as the "most accurate head worn microphone" for speech recognition. During field testing, a tester from Toronto and I both reported the stock ME-3 was marred by an omni-directional pickup pattern causing it to pickup reverberation/reflections from nearby walls which adversely impacted recognition accuracy. MY solution was to add a strip of electrical tape over the vent in the capsule housing which worked a treat, and was pitched by resellers as a "Value Added Proprietary Modification" - fostering a substantial increase in price over MSRP !!! Kinda Nervy, eh?

Parenthetically, they also implemented my other "proprietary modification" - using a hammer and socket bit to jam the locking ring on the 3.5mm TRS plug back so it could mate with a normal 3.5mm female jack - which, of course, spawned an additional upcharge! And, I am STILL waiting for my invention royalty check!

They also claimed a similar RadioShack was the same - but it was NOT the same ... see photos telling the truth! Crazy - but this is why I stepped away from all that nonsense.

Happy trails y'all. James

 

[MicMaven]

Weeeeeeeell...

https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-86d...yToSpellPotato_COTT_BWN__17749.1452630481.jpg

BRILLIANT !! That does it!

James

 

[pmfalcman]

Serious Reply -

Therefore, I will make more of these, but label them "custom, bespoke hand built examples of the engineer's art" - and charge a fortune for each one!

Yup! All you need a simple, wooden bending rig for repeteability and speed of manufacturing, side cutters, a soldering iron and a BIC lighter
Of which you only lack the rig. Perfect project for a sleepless night.

Bespoke is a must.
Hand crafted, not "built"!
Artisanal is also recommended.
Do not forget "vegan friendly". Just in case.
And last but not least - set up a waiting list. 6 months wait time minimum.

You give one set to a well known youtuber for a honest appraisal and you're good to go.
Slepless nights monetized

 

[MicMaven]

Bespoke is a must.
Hand crafted, not "built"!
Artisanal is also recommended.
Do not forget "vegan friendly". Just in case.
And last but not least - set up a waiting list. 6 months wait time minimum.
You give one set to a well known youtuber for a honest appraisal and you're good to go.
Slepless nights monetized

Right - good suggestions! But why should I use an honest YouTube reviewer? Won't a cheap shill sell-out type do just as well? James

 

[pmfalcman]

Right - good suggestions! But why should I use an honest YouTube reviewer? Won't a cheap shill sell-out type do just as well? James

1. Honesty works both ways. You're sure you'd get what you want. Good review or a good advice what to improve if need be.
2. A nice one you have within reach here on this forum while for a cheap sell-out you'd need to fish. Economy of time

 

[Disco Volante]

I didn't know they (Youtubers) came in an "honest" version?