Shaker MadCat, Shaker RetroRocket, and the Astatic Hohner JT30. (in order from a little clean to a little dirty). Someday I will add a Shure or EV vocal mic and then I'll be set. ----------
57,58, jt30 (probably was a blues blaster. turner crystal), jt30 ('59 99g86), EV605 (70s 99b86). Better take some pictures, they are way better to see than to read about:
seen one JT30 style mic, you've seen em all. ditto and more so 57s and 58s. im not gonna photograph them. i love the 605...the grey JT sounds great but i always pick up the EV when its time to rock
oh yeah...the VC on the grey JT30...i find its forever getting moved inadvertently. the one on the red mic is a 10-detent type and its never a problem. obviously suits my grip like that. the Blows Me Away VC is wherever i want it to be. its a great bit of kit, it unobtrusive, works perfectly.
Shaker Mad Dog, Bottle O' Blues, Ultimate 58 by Greg, custom wooden mic by Front 'n Center and a vintage Astatic. I use the Front 'n Center with my big amp and to get that "Chicago Blues" sound. I use the Ultimate 58 for vocals and a cleaner sound for country style and acoustic stuff. The Shaker I use with dual Pignoses as it is the easiest to hold and it doesn't seem to matter what mic I use with the Pig Nose sound-wise. The Bottle 'O Blues is actually a decent little mic, but I keep it in my box mostly as a conversation piece.
Hmmm. I own a lot. But I gig through these 2, plus an Ultimate 58, which doubles as my vocal mic and acoustic harp mic. The Kingwood mic has a black label CR; the "bluesberry" mic has a Brush crystal.
-Peavey H5-C Cherry Bomb with Shure CM element, upgraded volume control and switchcraft screw-on connector. (the only original part of the mic is the shell) Video of the Peavey mic with Bassman RI amp
-Front & Center wood mic with crystal element
---------- -Rick Davis
Last Edited by on Sep 07, 2012 11:14 AM
Currently I just have a homemade mic built into an old spice bottle. It's similar to another mic built into a bottle that is available commercially. It has a different element though. I've experimented with various elements and still not sure which I like best yet. Just recently started playing; still trying to figure out my sound.
I collect vintage mics, and have a bunch. I will have to post pictures later.
My amended favorites (in order of how often I use them) are:
- Shure 440 SL (original 99B86 element) - Astatic JT-30 (My first mic - NOS in a ham radio shop in 1972) - Shure 585V - Astatic T-3 with original crystal (Greg modified original awkward stem very nicely with amphenol connector) - Ultimate SM 57 with bulletizer - Electro-Voice EV 605
I run all of my mics through one of Greg's excellent custom volume controls (except for the 585V). Since all the ones I normally play have the same screw on connectors, this also allows me to change mics quickly and easily.
Two EV RE-10 mics (my most used gigging mics) and Audix Fireball. I also have Astatic, but the element is very weak, so Astatic has been only a decoration at my home a few years now. ---------- Frosty Homepage Frosty in Youtube
What I use most: - a retro rocket on my custom hack harp rack (into a HCIII & GR4) - for acoustic I just turn the RR down and play direct into my vocal mic Audio Technica At2035 - sometimes for acoustic I also use a Rode M3 which I normally use for acoustic guitar
I also have a CAD HM50VC I drag out sometimes for some hand held. I got that early '90's in New York I think. I also have some SM58's floating around, and a Green Bullet and some other old funky mics back in storage in Australia.
Also back in Oz I have a vintage Kawaii just like Hound Dog Taylor played, which I picked up as a set with the best ever sounding Harp Amp I've ever played - a 1966 Silvertone 1482. Only 15watts but what a tone!
Hawk, do you use all those mics regularly, or mainly stick with one? I've considered purchasing several of those models at various times. How do you think about the peavey. I notice rick has gutted his. Do you think it compares favourably to 520DX for instance. Also, the DM13. I've heard they are pretty dirty, And the Ampeg. I don't know much about that mic but I once saw one advertised with some exclamations that implied I should be impressed. ----------
Last Edited by on Sep 09, 2012 4:46 AM
About 3-4 el-cheapo lapel mic's, bottle O blues, BUT my fav is the 2 JT 30 roadhouse mic's, one is still in the box as a spare, all the above pics make me feel so "GAWD 'av a geek at this lot"...envious, but i'm in heaven checking them out.
Shure 440. Original cm Shure 520 black cr original to shell Chopped turner 254 with white cr Sm57 Re10 520 dx Ev605 Ev606 American d4t Sm58 Shure 533sa
I have.., Voice of Music CM10A (a pair actually) Electro-Voice 605 Shure 57, 58 and a 520D
I was going to wait and line ‘em all for pictures, but I wanted to sound off on my newest Craigslist acquisition. Best part, it was free.
I just picked up a DigitTech Vocal 300. The owner said he was getting an error every time he tried to calibrate the pedal and he was tired of screwing with it. I have it plugged into an amp right now and it seems to be working just fine. I’m using a different power supply so maybe the power supply was his problem or maybe it’s about to burn out on me, but for the time being, I’ve got a free $200 Vocal Effects Processor.
Keep an eye on Craigslist. It been very good to me.
"Peavey H5-C Cherry Bomb with Shure CM element, upgraded volume control and switchcraft screw-on connector. (the only original part of the mic is the shell)"
Does that mean you also replaced the on/off switch? ----------
Photos people! Or at least a story please. without pictures or a story it's just a list! ---------- perhaps if it was easier to post a picture i can attach a picture but it redirects to dropbox not sure if dropbox is uncompatible or if it is because i have an older mac or could just be me at any rate it should only take 3 or 4 keystrokes to post a picture it seems like a lot of work just to post a picture of a jt30
Really the easiest way to get this done is with a photo hosting site. Photobucket or Flickr work well. Just create an account, upload whatever picture you want to post, then copy and paste the HTML link code into the MBH message box. ----------
i thought dropbox was a photo sharing site shows you what i know
you would think in this day and age that you would be able to post a picture directly from your computer perhaps in the not to distant future that will become a possibility
Shure 520 from the '50s Shure 520D Shure Commando 420 Shure Commando 430 Electrovoice 641 with a Low-Z EV replacement element Electrovoice 638 Brown Astatic JT30 from the '40s Astatic JT30 with Turner ceramic replacement element Turner 33D with Turner dynamic replacement element
Okay, I have 3 that are my dedicated harp mics. 1) Shure 707a brown bullet. Orig had a crystal element and I got it off fleabay in about '99. In my ignorance i fried the crystal element when I was soldering a longer cable directly to the lugs on the element. Stupid! But I lived and learned. A friend from another forum- who I have not heard from in years now- sent me a cm element, which one I don't recall, but it went in that shell. Which sounds really fine. Another friend locally put a flame job on the shell and it has a brown tweed guitar cord hard wired on. 2) Ruskin custom mic built into a turn signal bezel. All chrome and with a very good crystal element inside, with a volume pot as well. This one I swapped a Shure 545 with a guy from OZ about 10-11 years ago and again, have lost track of him. 3) E-V M43U military NOS mic. I bought from Fleabay a few years ago. It was a low z dynamic mic built for comm use in tanks I think. I had one of these and transformered it to high z but lost that one to a pawn shop some years back. This one had part of a xlr cable connector built onto the mic. I sent it off to Greg Heumann and he worked it into a really great high z mic with built in volume pot and screw on connector. I am debating a paint job one of these days.
Those are my 3 usual harp mics but- A guy I was working with some years ago had booked a gig and then he got laryngitis and could not sing. I was already going to be paid for playing harp, but he asked me to sing all I could that night. He had no idea what or how much I could sing! So I did. In addition to my pay- equal cut with everyone else- he handed me a Shure 545s mic as a bonus, then promptly fired me for stealing the show. Oh well.
I will try for pics maybe this weekend. ---------- http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
Slim X 777 once I get the cable replaced, Getting an SM 57 in the next few days, have 3 mics coming soon: A lollipop mic but don't know the brand, a Turner Dynamic Model 15DNC 5D and Electro Voice 630 ---------- Bend it like Ricci - Me
My first bullet was a late '40's jt30 liberated from a life of Bingo calling at an American Legion Post in northern Indiana, it sought refuge in my kit bag after a wedding reception we played. This was about '76 or'77. My second was a sweet t-3 that walked into my buddie's guitar shop a few years later. Both have been Heumannized with new Shure elements and the t-3 with an amphenol connector. My last was a '50's Sure Greenie that Greg said was somehow cool, maybe the element, when he removed the midget cord and put another connector on. I've got one of Greg's VC's, which is one of the greatest inventions since the tabtop. The Shure wandered into my friend's shop also. The jt30 is my sentimental fave,'cause whenever I'd warm up my rig at a sound check my friend, the shop owner and our guitarist, would call out Bingo lingo over the PA. Our own inside joke.
My current favorite is my ol' late 60's Shure 515. I rediscovered it in my gear bag after it had about a 10 yr. hiatus, and I'm in love with it again. I parked a couple "ho-hum" mics: my bluesblaster and a 520DX. The 515 is hotter than a two-peckered billy goat. :)
I have a 1940s Brown Astatic JT-30 with a working unnumbered brush crystal element....yep, the original crystal element actually works and sounds good. The problem is that it's so old that I'm almost afraid to play it when I have other options...
I also have a cheapo Astatic JT-30RH, and a Shaker MadCat.
My favorite to play is Shure 707A that was my grandfather's radio microphone....I always thought it was the coolest thing as a kid, and he eventually gave it to me. I put it a 99A86 CM element and it's treated me really, really well. It's my go-to mic, and it makes it even more fun that I got it from my grandfather.
Last Edited by on Sep 07, 2012 7:02 PM
