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Old 03-12-2011, 12:58 PM
alohachris alohachris is offline
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Honolulu
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Default Wow! That Was Great Eric! - Some MIC thoughts for Dantuts

Aloha,

Thanks Doug & Eric for sharing those clips of excellent acoustic guitar performances using mic/pickup combo's. Great interpretations, Eric! Wish I coulda been there.

Dantuts:

RE: Live Mic's. I always feel you need some guitar mic in a LIVE mix to make it sound acoustic. Before pickups came along in the late 70's, acoustic musicians HAD to use mic's for gigs. Sure it was tough in some rooms, but it also taught us how to work a mic live & to quickly assess how to use a mic in a problem room. I'd rather use a mic alone anytime - if the venue will allow you to pull it off (most don't).

Now, with all the choices available today of multi-source pickup systems & great EQ & pre's/mixers/DI's, you can use different sources for different frequencies, & blend, pan & sum them. Using a combo instead of just a mic alone works better for many players, me among them, for getting heard in & being able to control many rooms. I mean, let's face it, the people at Eric & Doug's concert type gig are there for the music & are more respectful. In a world of cellphones, most of us play in terrible rooms, & too often for less than respectful audiences.

For example, using the parametric EQ on an SPS-1 preamp, I use the pickup for a bit of lower mid presence & the round bass (farther back in the mix) while using the mic for upper mid's & more natural trebles. Then I blend & sum them for the room, But the only way to achieve that in a variety of rooms is to use GREAT EQ (don't scrimp here - especially if you're into live mic's).

The key to using a mic live is control & placement. You achieve it through great EQ, creative speaker/monitor placement & awareness of the needs of a given venue. Armed with that equipment & experience, you can make many mic's work almost anywhere.

After decades of using many mic/pickup combo's & mic's alone, I now use a K&K mini pickup/AKG internal hypercardioid mic combo in my three gigging guitars. I also add a JW-modded AKG 460 cardioid condenser external mic live sometimes at quieter gigs (a great mic, succeeded by the 480). Very natural acoustic sound.

Other guitar mics I've used live & recommend are:

External mic's

AKG 535 (vocals or guitar)
AKG 414 L/D (haven't tried the 214 yet) - if it's quiet
AKG 451 S/D
Mojave MA200 L/D condenser -if it's quiet
Shure SM-81 S/D - built like a tank
Neumann KM-140 S/D - great live mic! Better & less edgy than the 184, IMO.
EV N/D 967 Dynamic - great sounding feedback buster
DPA 4099 Clip On (tried it @ friend's gig - loved it!)
AT Pro 35 Clip On

Many brands of S/D condenser & dynamic mic's work well live. You should go have a listen at some stores. Hypercardioids work best in feedback control.

Internal mic's

Audix Micro D or F90
Shure 98
Crown GLM200
Sony ECM-55
AKG - 500 series, many choices (516 is best)
AT - 831R
Countryman Isomax E6
GHS Pro Acoustic or A137
DPA 4061 - great mic!
K&K Trinity or Silver Bullet

Internal mic's won't provide the full performance of an external. But they are very useful if you like to move around at your gigs & not be tethered to a fixed position & also for reducing potential for feedback being inside the box. I prefer hypercardioids for internal apps at gigs & add the external when it's quiet (like at a solo house concert or small upscale restaurant).

I'd recommend that, if you are committed to using mic's live, you bring at least one condenser & one dynamic with you every time. You need to be prepared for when a condenser cannot be applied to a room. (I bring 5 to every gig, including vocal mic options).

Using a two-speaker PA is also more helpful than a single source amp for controlling live mic's, IMO. The same is true of using smaller-bodied guitars - as Eric & I do - instead of more bassy, feedback-prone dreadnaughts & jumbo's. They're better for recording too, IMO.

In the end, YOUR EARS make the choice. But it will be the choices you make for your entire live signal chain that will determine your ability to maximize & control your mics' performance in live applications.

alohachris

Last edited by alohachris; 03-12-2011 at 02:36 PM.
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