Microphone question (again)

bnolsen said:

how do you mic pianos? or you play digital direct to amp/pa ?

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Sometimes, quite often really, I play digital stage pianos provided by the club or the festival where I play. They are plugged into whatever PA system available, usually with good monitoring. I always tell the promoter that if a good acoustic piano is not available, I prefer a Roland RD-800 or something similar. Nowadays, my only working digital piano is a Yamaha p-35, which is actually far, far better than the low price may indicate. I bought it in desperation right before a gig when my last Roland broke down, and I kept it. It works wonderfully for small, intimate gigs and sounds great. As a matter of fact, I played it last night at a jazz duo concert with the Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes, who is currently a member of the progressive rock band Focus.If I get to play an acoustic, the piano is quite often miked with mikes pointing directly at the strings at hammer level; where the hammers strike the strings. For that purpose, a Shure SM58 works quite well, if one of these special instrument mikes that I can't name is not available.

I gave up plugging in last summer, and use a single, large diaphragm condenser mike to pick up uke and vocals. Despite what people (and some sound engineers!) will tell you, these things are fine on stage, you just have to know how to handle them both from an engineer's point of view and as a performer. Bluegrass bands use them all the time.

First of all, don't get too close. Stand at least a foot away. Raise or lower the mic to get the appropriate mix between vocals and uke (though if you hold the uke quite high that won't help much!). You need to project- being timid is no good, you have to move some air! Get used to playing as if there is no mic there and you're trying to fill the room.

On the technical side, ask the sound engineer to turn off the monitors. That's right, completely off. They will just cause feedback. While your at it, also ask for the reverb and compression to go as well, for the same reason. A good engineer will 'ring out' the room- that is they will turn up until feedback occurs, then EQ it out (or they'll have a feedback killer that will do it for them), and keep doing that until the mic is loud enough and feedback free. The final thing to consider is that if it really doesn't seem to be working, there's feedback everywhere, etc. then it's probably just too loud, and the guy on the desk should admit that you are not a thrash metal band and turn it down a bit.

Oh, of course a condenser will need pahntom power. In case the desk doesn't supply it, I carry a cheap little external power supply.

Oh, and make sure whoever set up the PA has put the main speakers IN FRONT of the performer, not behind (the times I've seen that...)!

Dynamic mics really won't cut it. You'd need one for the voice, one for the uke and you need to be very close to both. This is when people complain of being tied to the mic stand and not free to move. I move around a lot and the mic still picks me up. In fact, I move around deliberately in order to change the sound.

I use a pretty cheap generic Chinese mic. It works great and I'm not that upset if it gets damaged as I drag it around the country. It's also easily replaceable. I've also used a Rode NT-1 and it sounded lovely.

Here I am at a recent gig, using the single mic setup.

Phil that was great advice. I've tried plugging the instruments in and I will switch between 1 concert, 1 soprano, baritone, guitar and dulcimer. What a mess with the cables, eq of each due to pickup differences, plugging unplugging. etc.

Two dynamic mics work but it feels like punishment in school, "Young man, you go stand by those mics for the next hour and don't you move".

Feedback is the only issue. I still plug in my guitar as I run it through an effects box, so I need to hear it. Some times I"ll use an ear bud monitor hardwired to the mixer.

I saw Del Rey and Adam Franklin at the GNUF last year.
They played around a single microphone, using the bluegrass style of moving into and away from the mic to control volume. They sounded superb in this large theatre venue.. I asked Del after what the mic was, it was the MCA SP1 which cost about $45!
She also uses a Rode NT-1.
Del has an interesting article on stage mic use here:
http://www.onemicstand.com/
h

ps Nice one Phil!

Thanks!
I played a club with Del and Adam. There was nothing on the stage bar a mic stand and the one mic, which we all used. Me on my own, and as h says, Del and Adam together, mixing themselves live by moving around the mic. It sounded great, none of the horrible, wearing pickup sound that seems to have become the norm nowadays.

Hms said:

I saw Del Rey and Adam Franklin at the GNUF last year.
They played around a single microphone, using the bluegrass style of moving into and away from the mic to control volume. They sounded superb in this large theatre venue.. I asked Del after what the mic was, it was the MCA SP1 which cost about $45!
She also uses a Rode NT-1.
Del has an interesting article on stage mic use here:
http://www.onemicstand.com/
h

ps Nice one Phil!

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Great article.

Phil,
Is that you Rob C taropatch?
Sounds loverly.
H

Yes, it is. Love it!

Is a condenser microphone good for vocals?

puja joshi said:

Is a condenser microphone good for vocals?

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Your question is as broad as "Is a knife good for spreading butter on bread?"

It all depends on which condenser mic, connected into what equipment and for use with vocals where (live performance? studio recording? in the bedroom? karaoke?)

What kind of use are you looking to get from your microphone?


The traditional view is we find more condensers being used for recording in controlled environments (like a room or studio) for their sensitivity, and more dynamic mics being used on the stage due to their robustness. Either types can be used for vocals - it just depends on what specific models you're interested in and how you will use it and what your budget is.

fabioponta said:

Shure PG81. Great for all: voice and uke

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Ditto's on the Shure PG ("Performance Gear") 81 condenser. Takes a single "AA" size battery (which seems to last forever), and will pick up both your voice and your uke nicely if you kind of aim it somewhere between the two and stand back 18 inches or so. Not real expensive either!

Might as well give my answer here. My pick would be a Shure SM57 or SM58 coupled with a Shure X2U (XLR to USB adapter).

I primarily record music on my computer, so that adapter will allow me to connect those mics to my computer.

And they are also legendary mics for performance, should the need arise.

kissing said:

Your question is as broad as "Is a knife good for spreading butter on bread?"

It all depends on which condenser mic, connected into what equipment and for use with vocals where (live performance? studio recording? in the bedroom? karaoke?)

What kind of use are you looking to get from your microphone?


The traditional view is we find more condensers being used for recording in controlled environments (like a room or studio) for their sensitivity, and more dynamic mics being used on the stage due to their robustness. Either types can be used for vocals - it just depends on what specific models you're interested in and how you will use it and what your budget is.

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Okay. Thank you so much for the information.