joek18
7 posts
Jan 01, 2012
8:49 PM
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Hi Gang,
Parallel to other posts, any advice which mics are best when sending my Kalamazoo through a PA?
Also, I've got an adjustable mic arm but where is the optimal place to locate the mic in front of the amp?
Thanks in advance for any guidance.
joek18
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SuperBee
59 posts
Jan 01, 2012
11:45 PM
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standard wisdom is like halfway between the centre and the rim. no doubt many mics give a decent result. SM57s are common, Sennheiser e609 and 906 getting a good rep and do away with the need for a mic stand, which is cool if you have a small space to work in...or just because you dont need an extra bit of kit
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KingBiscuit
145 posts
Jan 02, 2012
7:47 AM
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Electrovoice ND 468 was rated pretty high by Adam.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/electro-voice-n-d468-dynamic-supercardioid-instrument-microphone
The line out in my Kalamazoo Model 2 works really well. This web site has a schematic for a line out circuit that you can put in a small box. Alligator clip it to your speaker leads and you can line out any amp. It looks pretty cool.
http://www.rru.com/~meo/Guitar/Amps/Kalamazoo/
Look in the modifications section, line out.
Dan
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dougharps
143 posts
Jan 02, 2012
9:01 AM
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What SuperBee said is very good advice. I have used a 57 exactly this way, halfway in.
Something different I have sometimes used is my Audix Fireball V in its mic clip, attached to a spring mic clip clamped on the lower back of the amp. I have tilted my Gibson Explorer at my feet like a monitor, with the Fireball clamped to the back, with good outcome in the mains, and good stage volume. So if you have a Fireball for playing into the PA, you can also use it to mic a vintage amp, and you don't have to buy another mic that is specialized. The Fireball is a full range mic that is feedback resistant.
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Doug S.
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LSC
131 posts
Jan 02, 2012
11:32 AM
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I 2nd the Sennheiser e609 or e906. The e609 gives such good results I'd question whether the e906 really is worth spending nearly twice the money. I've used the e609 for years on all sorts of amps. Excellent reproduction and way easier than messing with another mic stand.
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LSC
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BigBoyLittle
1 post
Jan 02, 2012
11:52 AM
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I agree with dougharps- my Audix Fireball is a nice little amp mic. I use a small mic stand and bring the mic as close to the center of the speaker as possible.
BTW- does anyone use Fireballs as a harp mic? My guess is that it has a very clean sound, so maybe if you were doing Charlie McCoy- type playing, it would be good. Useless for Chicago- style blowing.
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kudzurunner
2907 posts
Jan 02, 2012
12:00 PM
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I like the ND, but these days I'm using the Sennheiser e906. I'm sure the 609 is great, too. The 906 gave my little Kay 703 a full, rich sound with more bottom end than any mic should have been able to pull out of it. Yes, at $169 it's a pricy mic, but it's the one I recommend on this website. It handles very high sound pressure levels without complaint.
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dougharps
145 posts
Jan 02, 2012
10:24 PM
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I have heard a lot of good things about the Sennheiser e906 and 609. They are designed to hang in front of an amp, and by all accounts work very well, as Adam testifies. I certainly would find buying one of them preferable to paying for a line out to be added to an amp, since the mic could be used with different amps as needed.
On a limited budget, though, sometimes it is good to have a mic that can be used in different ways, like the 57, or even the Fireball.
@BigBoyLittle
I have often used my Fireball V as a clean harp mic through the PA when sitting in with friends, used best with acoustic acts, but sometimes with amplified bands. It works well with diatonic and chromatic. As I said, I have used it to mic my amp sometimes.
The Fireball is passable for vocals, too, though not my first choice if singing a lot. You have to sing with it below your mouth or else the plosives are annoying. If you set the mic level wide open for vocals, you cut back volume when you cup the mic with a harp, and get a compressed (though not distorted) tone.
I have sometimes used the Fireball V at gigs as the mic for amplified harp with my 1961/1962 Gibson Explorer (2-6V6, tweed circuit). I run it through with a Shure transformer and to the amp. Sometimes I go through a delay pedal. With the Fireball I can get more volume from the amp before feedback, than when I use a more traditional harp mic. The extra volume is sometimes needed when I am not mic'd to the PA. The Explorer is a dirty sounding amp; and mine has a Weber speaker that breaks up easily, even with a clean mic. The Fireball through the Gibson does an acceptable job of sounding Chicago dirty, despite the clean Fireball, and it gets loud w/o feedback. But with the Fireball you cannot get that zone in which the amp is "singing", like you can get with a CM or CR bullet or a crystal or ceramic mic through a vintage tube amp. Despite that, the Fireball has served the purpose of getting me more volume out of my 14 watt amp than is possible with my bullet or ceramic biscuit, so I can be heard over two guitars without constantly fighting feedback.
In the studio, or at a quieter gig I would choose to use my 520D Green Bullet or my Astatic ceramic biscuit with the Gibson, not the Fireball.
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Doug S.
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JTThirty
146 posts
Jan 03, 2012
4:43 AM
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I built the line out that KingBiscuit mentions in his post. It works great and I can use it on all my amps simply by clipping and unclipping the alligator clips from the speaker leads.
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Ricky B
http://bushdogblues.blogspot.com
RIVER BOTTOM BLUES--a crime novel for blues fans due out 2012
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HarpNinja
2051 posts
Jan 03, 2012
7:30 AM
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I've used an e906 for several years now...GREAT mic. I think mine is 4-5 years old, and I have had zero issues with it. I've used it both on stage and in the studio.
The e609 is similar in price to a 57 and also a great pic. The con being the 57 can double as a harp mic, whereas the e609 can't.
The huge benefit to either of the Sennheiser mics is the fact that you will never need an extra mic stand to mic your amp.
I also like using it better than a line out for two reasons. You get the sonic quality of the speaker going FOH, and you don't have to worry about crappy mixers that require extra gear like a DI box to go from the lineout to mic level.
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Mike
VHT Special 6 Mods
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas - When it needs to come from the soul...
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HarpNinja
2052 posts
Jan 03, 2012
7:33 AM
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Random though...I was a part of an album that was recorded in two different studios. I preferred the tracks on the e906 over the SM57 in both instances.
IMO it is really hard to tell what is coloring what. It is hard to put your ear next to a speaker to really hear what the mic might be picking up. You then get the pollution of the room and such...
Ultimately, the 57 sounded darker or muddier when compared to the e906, but I am not sure which was picking up a more accurate sound from the speaker.
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Mike
VHT Special 6 Mods
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas - When it needs to come from the soul...
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waltertore
1819 posts
Jan 03, 2012
12:56 PM
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All these answers are of interest but the first order of business is for you to decide what kind of sound you want. The standard soundman mic setup is a 57 on the grill cloth at the speaker center or slightly of axis of it. What mic you use, what amp you use, what mic you use to mic the amp, where you place the mic, what kind of PA you are going through, will greatly influence the sounds you get. Use your ears. Decide what tone you want to hear and experiment to find that sound with the PA. Don't rely on the soundman. He will put the one size fits all on you. If you have acess to them, try several different mics on the amp. The 57 is a pretty safe bet for a true sound reproduction. It has mic'd more amps on albums and stages than any other and most every PA system uses them. Walter
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