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Shaker Dynamic Old School
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jbone
2690 posts
Sep 03, 2018
11:58 AM
A little update on an oldie but goody. Some time ago I was lucky to find a Shaker Dynamic mic, with Cable and IMF. Very cheap. Initially using it without the IMF it was not so hot, but recently I plugged it into the ol' tube amp and gave it a bit of volume, and this is one sweet toned mic! I'm planning to play it live next weekend and see how it does. Shaker has several more products but this is the original "salt shaker" mic that started the whole thing for them. And it's still got the mojo. A few decades ago I had a crystal powered Shaker but had no idea how to make it howl. I let that one go sad to say, but this one may well be a go to mic for me.
One note, without the IMF it sounded pretty average and even kind of dry, although I admit I didn't crank my amp too high. This transformer is a more or less middle range. But with transformer in the line, even at the minimum volume on my 12w Silvertone, I got very good response from the mic. I actually could not really turn the mic all the way up without being just over the edge into feedback territory. But with the détente volume knob down about 3 notches I had a very good sound in the duo. I imagine this mic with a bigger amp would put out some good tone as well.
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harpoon_man
250 posts
Sep 04, 2018
7:03 AM
JBone: That's cool about the Shaker mic. I have never tried one but would like to.

If I recall, you are an Arkansas guy (me too...I spent 27 of the first 30 years of my life living there and played in blues bands in Northwest AR around the turn of the century). The Shaker website lists Harrison, AR as the home of the company. I drive through Harrison a couple of times per year while traveling to visit family. Sure would be fun to meet up with the Shaker crew sometime and maybe check out their production work.
jbone
2691 posts
Sep 04, 2018
7:22 AM
http://www.shakermicrophone.net/

That's the link to Shakey's web page, there is a phone # there so you could possibly set a time and visit with him. I got a deal with an individual for the mic but got the special cable from Shakey. My phone conversations with him were good, he's a harp player as well. And I do like his mic. He has several others, the Mad Cat and Mad Dog and a crystal shaker type too, plus the Reverbarockets. I think he builds them himself.


We're now in Tulsa at least for a while. Last year we were all over, traveling the US and playing wherever we could. It was a great time and we want to do it some more if we can get set up to do it. We were in Little Rock area until we hit the road in April '17. Way back when I was in a band with a Harrison guy and we played a lot of places across the state.
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Music and travel destroy prejudice.

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dougharps
1826 posts
Sep 04, 2018
8:05 AM
@jbone

So you use a Shaker dynamic through a 1/4" to XLR cable, then into the impedance matching transformer, then to a 1/4" cable to the amp?

I never got around to trying an IMT with my Shaker after the last discussion. I have been thinking of selling my very lightly used Shaker Dynamic, but if I have the way to use an IMT correctly listed above, I will give it one last shot before selling.
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Doug S.
jbone
2693 posts
Sep 04, 2018
9:29 AM
@doug, correct. The mic has a nice detented volume pot too.
You need a 1/4" to xlr cable, I'm not sure if it's a special one for that mic-about $30-, and a garden variety barrel type IMT for like $15.

I have used a Heuman modded EV m43u mic for years and it has as much good stuff as an old green bullet. This Shaker has its own mojo though. I'm def keeping mine and the question will be, which one is my #1 and which is #2. I have a couple of Shure 585's and I like that model but the warmth of these two mics has me won over.

Looking back, my first m43u mic some 2 decades ago, I used an IMT with it since it was low z and had a backward xlr connector setup. I had to make a cable for that one. IMT Plugged into the amp direct. This current Greg modded m43u has an internal transformer so it's a much neater package, no IMT needed in line.

This Shaker I have the IMT going into a Lone Wolf Harp Delay pedal and it suits me very well.
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Music and travel destroy prejudice.

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