Mikeb
4 posts
Feb 06, 2014
5:30 AM
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Hi everyone. My harp rig consists of a Samson wireless, a HCIII Harp Commander and a number of pedals. My main mic is a modded Green Bullet with a VERY loud vintage element which sounds great. The mic has a Greg Heumann volume control
I've also got a Greg Heumann SM58 which I would like to use on some songs for a cleaner tone. But the 58 is very much quieter than the GB. I could turn up level on the amp or increase the level from the HC but both are difficult to do on the fly
I could also decrease the vol of the GB so it matches the 58, but in a live band setting I think it's much easier to just keep the harp Vol control on full all the time
So, my question is, can anyone recommend a volume boost pedal which I can step on when I want to play the 58 to make it as loud as the GB ? Not a variable volume control pedal, just a switch which will give a fixed boost to the volume. And it needs to be totally transparent from a tone point of view
Thanks everyone, all the best
Mike
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TetonJohn
187 posts
Feb 06, 2014
7:17 AM
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I also have "a number of pedals" some of which I don't use all the time. Many have a volume control and an effect control. What I would do is put it in the chain, turn the effect off and the volume where it needed to be for the 58 boost and step on it when needed. Of course, I'd want to experiment a bit to find the most transparent. Sorry, I can't recommend a specific one becasue I have not had this issue.
I'm not sure how the Samson wireless works; does it plug into the Heumann VC? Do you have a heumann VC on the 58? What type of connector? Is it easy to switch mikes?
Last Edited by TetonJohn on Feb 06, 2014 7:18 AM
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HawkeyeKane
2314 posts
Feb 06, 2014
8:42 AM
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One thing you could do is get an inexpensive EQ pedal like a Dano Fish n Chips or a Behringer EQ700. Set the sliders at the zero mark so there will be minimal effect to your tone. Then set the level control up high. Whenever you stomp the pedal, it'll just serve as a booster to your volume. If you experience feedback, you can always adjust frequencies on the 7-band to compensate.
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Hawkeye Kane
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MindTheGap
222 posts
Feb 06, 2014
8:55 AM
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I was looking into this more as something to use to switch between comping and louder playing as I don't have an in-line volume control, and found this Joyo JF-38 Roll Boost pedal. I didn't get it in the end but the reviews were good. Although you may object to Joyo in principle, but I didn't find a direct equivalent.
http://www.joyoaudio.com/en/product/show_125.html
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HawkeyeKane
2315 posts
Feb 06, 2014
9:23 AM
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Hey Gap, shoot me an email. Address is in my profile. Got a question for you about Joyo.
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Hawkeye Kane
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S-harp
197 posts
Feb 06, 2014
9:33 AM
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The HarpCommaner has lowZ inputs on the back with separate gain, yes?
Have you tried to run the GB through the front hi Z input and the 58 through the low Z input at the same time?
I used that setup some time ago ... Had the 58-type on a stand.
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The tone, the tone ... and the Tone
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Greg Heumann
2586 posts
Feb 06, 2014
9:40 AM
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How do you have the 58 connected to this rig? Are you using the wireless transmitter? Or cable. If cable, is it XLR to 1/4" into a high impedance input? If so - that is your problem. The 58 WILL be lower in output than the GB but not a lot. However an XLR to 1/4" cable will give you about HALF of the mic's normal output. S-Harp's suggestion makes sense....
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***************************************************
/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
See my Customer Mics album on Facebook
BlueState - my band
Bluestate on iTunes
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Mikeb
5 posts
Feb 06, 2014
5:42 PM
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Thanks for the great info everyone. I'll try and respond to the various suggestions and queries in order:
TetonJohn: I cant use one of my effects pedals purely as a volume boost for the 58 because they are all currently in use for their individual effects. Some might be used for only one song in a night but they still all get used
Both mics have a Heumann volume control. The vol control for the GB is incorporated into a screw-on/XLR connector. The 58 is a Blowsmeaway Ultimate with built in VC. Both mics connect directly to the Samson wireless transmitter via XLR connection. This allows me to switch quickly between mics by simply unplugging the transmitter from one mic and plugging it into the other
Hawk eye: I will look into the suggestion of a cheap EQ pedal
MindTheGap: the Joyo might be exactly the type of thing I'm looking for
S-Harp: yes I could run the two mics into the two different inputs of the HC but then I would lose the convenience of the wireless setup for one of the mics
Greg H: both mics go from the wireless transmitter to the Samson receiver, then out via the XLR output with the output level switch set to "Line", through an impedance converter and into the 1/4" input of the HC. I'm pretty sure the problem is not because of the connections, it's just that the element in the GB is so much louder than the SM58
FreeWilly: thanks for the suggestion of the EP. I was actually considering the RC booster by the same company xotic.
http://xotic.us/effects/rc_booster/
This is pretty expensive but it looks like you can adjust the tone if it's not 100% transparent (which they say it is), which would be good
So thanks again everyone. If anyone has any experience with booster pedals like the Joyo or the Xotic RC I'd love to hear about it
Cheers mike
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Greg Heumann
2590 posts
Feb 06, 2014
5:47 PM
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SO - you're comparing the 58 wireless to the GB wireless. Have you experimented with the gain adjustment inside the transmitter? I am honestly not sure, but it may be that turning it up some might equalize the volume somewhat between the two - however the higher the gain the more feedback potential and ultimately digital distortion you don't want.
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***************************************************
/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
See my Customer Mics album on Facebook
BlueState - my band
Bluestate on iTunes
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Shredder
392 posts
Feb 06, 2014
5:55 PM
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FYI.. I used a Morely optical volume pedal with some success. It's just the sweep of the pedal is short for harp use. I also tried a E/H LPB1 clean boost pedal. It does kick up the volume but introduces more gain so feed back was an issue. I use the same Samson rig you use and just swap the xmitter to different mics. What I do now is set my volume to the weakest mic I have and then just lower the volume control on the hotter mics to even them up. So far so good. also less pedals in the train. Wish I had a magic bullet answer. Maybe this info.will save you some money.
Mike
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walterharp
1312 posts
Feb 06, 2014
6:03 PM
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try a lone wolf tone +. It has a volume and control, so you can set for your bullet, with it on bypass (true bypass) and adjust your tone and volume (your system or settings may be less sensitive to the emphasized frequencies on one mic than the other). seems like you are not cost limited and might as well get a well regarded harp pedal to solve your issue
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Mikeb
6 posts
Feb 06, 2014
6:10 PM
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Thanks Greg, I will play with the transmitter gain and see what happens
Thanks Shredder. I agree your solution of lowering the volume of the louder mics makes sense, but i play mainly through the PA and my amp just acts as a stage monitor for me. So when playing live it's impossible for me to hear whether my volume through the PA is too loud. So I find it's much better to just have the VC turned to 100% rather than trying to guess where it should be. So this means the GB is at the correct volume but the 58 is too quiet
Just had a look at the Joyo Roll Boost pedal which MindTheGap suggested and it seems ridiculously cheap. Has anyone had any experience with them?
Cheers
Mike
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Mikeb
7 posts
Feb 06, 2014
6:14 PM
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Thanks also walterharp, the LW tone+ could work as well
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Mikeb
8 posts
Feb 07, 2014
1:23 AM
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Hey Greg if you're still out there. I've tried playing around with the gain and level on my wireless system and I can't get away from the settings which I made when I first set it up, which are as follows:
AX300 transmitter - gain is set at the absolute minimum, fully counter-clockwise. This makes the level meter on the receiver go to 0dB when I play hard
AR300 receiver - the level control is at about 11 o'clock (your setup guide actually suggests about 3 o'clock)
Anything above these levels causes way too much feedback from my amp. I think my issue is simply that I've got a VERY LOUD bullet mic. So I guess I'm still in the market for a volume booster if I want to use my SM58. The research continues....
Cheers
Mike
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Greg Heumann
2594 posts
Feb 07, 2014
8:17 AM
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Yep - some bullets have very high output. You COULD lower the output of the bullet. Set the volume control where it needs to be to match the 58, measure the resistance of the pot with the knob at that setting, then remove the pot and install a resistor of that value across the leads.
OR - run the output of the wireless receiver through a guitar volume pedal. They DO make 'em for low impedance....
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***************************************************
/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
See my Customer Mics album on Facebook
BlueState - my band
Bluestate on iTunes
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