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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Clean Tone Help
Clean Tone Help
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HarpNinja
3836 posts
Mar 24, 2014
7:28 AM
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I've been playing with two groups that only play acoustically. I've tried a couple of different rigs mostly to make life easy on them, as neither has a dedicated sound man and any mixing/adjusting I can do myself is helpful.
Basically, I've used a SM58 to the board or with my regular pedal board. The more I do this, the more I've found that I just want to do the following:
Use a mic and MAYBE a preamp/eq that sends an XLR to the board. The mic should NOT have a large proximity effect so I can choose to cup it or have it on a stand. It should sound warm, but clear.
I am finding the SM58, while awesome with my full board, has too much proximity effect. If I have a loose cup, I loose some of the tone, and if I put it on the stand, it has a range of sounds depending on where I am.
I've looked at a Sennheiser 441 (expensive, but awesome), Beyer M88, Beyer M160, Audix Fireball, and Audix OM-7. I have and have tried the AKG D5, Beta 57A, Re10, and a SM57.
The D5 works pretty well, but has an awkward shape. I find I use it mostly for vocals.
Any thoughts on the matter? The tone I am chasing is basically the warm and articulate cleans of guys like Howard Levy, Mickey Raphael, and Lee Oskar...John Popper's clean tone of Save His Soul is perfect (IMO).
Last night, I tried dialing in the 58 with a Behringer AD21 and found a good tone, but the proximity effect is still an issue.
Thanks!
****With one group, I will use it hand held 99% of the time. With the other, I'd use it on a stand 99% of the time - the guitar/vox from that band uses a Beta 58 and is way off the mic when singing. That vibe is killer and I want a mic that will let me cup with group A and also play several inches off the stand with group B....Fireball sounds like a winner?
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Mike
My Website
My Harmonica Effects Blog
Rock Harmonica Lessons
Last Edited by HarpNinja on Mar 24, 2014 7:29 AM
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1847
1621 posts
Mar 24, 2014
8:38 AM
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lee oskar uses a beyer ribbon mic into
a roland 120
not sure if that helps any
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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dougharps
586 posts
Mar 24, 2014
9:03 AM
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If you don't want proximity effect, you will use the mic both handheld and on the stand, and you are playing through the PA, the best reasonably priced and durable mic option in my opinion is the Fireball V.
It doesn't have any noticeable proximity effect, is easily handheld, and can handle high SPL without distortion. It is resistant to feedback.
If you are singing through it I found that if I sing slightly off axis I can avoid breath noise from plosives.
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Doug S.
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Martin
644 posts
Mar 24, 2014
9:08 AM
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@1847: "Lee oskar uses a beyer ribbon mic into
a roland 120"
And a bit more:
http://www.hunterharp.com/loskars-favorite-harmonica-things/#gear
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isaacullah
2696 posts
Mar 24, 2014
9:17 AM
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Sounds like you want an Audix Fireball, and then just make an "acoustic" patch on your G3 and run it's XLR out to the board.
My "acoustic" G3 patch basically just uses the graphic EQ first in the chain, and then offers several different reverbs for me to choose from on the other slots. I use it a lot.
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YouTube! Soundcloud!
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1847
1623 posts
Mar 24, 2014
9:34 AM
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i may have a fireball for sale if you are interested
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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HarpNinja
3837 posts
Mar 24, 2014
9:41 AM
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I really want a 441 or Beyer 160, but the use/cost analysis says there might be more reasonable choice like the Fireball.
I am to the point where practical is king. I love my main board, and the use of a wireless unit is what keeps me using several pedals in the event I do more electric band stuff, and it is an eclectic enough board that I'd lose money selling everything.
That being said, a single mic/cable is a novel idea if I can find something I like set pretty much flat at the board. I just haven't had good luck on small stages with band running their own soun.
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Mike
My Website
My Harmonica Effects Blog
Rock Harmonica Lessons
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