Oxharp
404 posts
Feb 17, 2011
2:05 PM
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Hi Guys,
What instructions do you give to a sound guy about how to get the best tone out of an acoustic mic set up through a PA?
I have a great set at home through my pc sound card and have a good tone I am happy with.
When I have played at a Jam for example I find that the sound I am getting has nearly always too much trebble and makes my tone sound thin and washed out (lacks any fullness which I can get via my PC)
I was wondering if there are some standard ways of setting up a PA via a vocal mic say a SM58?
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Oxharp
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toddlgreene
2593 posts
Feb 17, 2011
2:08 PM
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Usually I say to them(or do it myself)to clip the highs and mids back to defeat(12 o clock position on knobs), or perhaps a little further if necessary.
Also, decide whether you'll play cupped or not-the soundman will have to turn the gain down on your mic's channel if so.
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Todd, the conservatively liberal moderate of the moderators
Eudora and Deep Soul
Last Edited by on Feb 17, 2011 2:09 PM
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walterharp
538 posts
Feb 17, 2011
6:52 PM
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yeah, and a touch of delay or reverb if they have it.. but not much for sure.
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Joe_L
1070 posts
Feb 17, 2011
8:00 PM
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Are you using the mic as a vocal mic, too. If so, I set it how it sounds good for vocals. Blues is a vocal art form. In my opinion, the vocals always take precedence.
If I am setting up a vocal mic for harp only, I will set it up like a vocal mic and cut the volume level below a normal vocal mic. Sometimes, I will trim the highs and mids a bit.
Over the years, I've seen a lot of players play through the PA exclusively. Guys like Junior Wells, James Cotton, Little Arthur Duncan, Mojo Buford and Louis Myers. Recently, I've seen RJ Mischo play entire gigs through the PA. Quite often, those guys were using mics eq'ed for vocals.
Here are my observations, you've got to have really good tone and you've got to know how to work a mic. You also need to really be careful to not play too loudly otherwise you're going to be blowing out the audience.
Personally, I enjoy playing through the PA. It doesn't lie. If you've got good technique, you'll usually sound good through the PA. It takes time. You'll have to work at it.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
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kudzurunner
2327 posts
Feb 17, 2011
9:06 PM
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If you have the sound guy turn up the trim knob and ease the channel slider back a bit, you'll gain a bit of fullness from the preamp circuit, which is what the trim knob dials in. If you really crank the trim knob, you'll start to get some distortion AND compression, which even on a solid state PA is an improvement over completely clean PA tone, at least to my ears.
I encourage all harp players to try this particular adjustment next time they blow harp through a PA. In effect, you're getting the solid state equivalent of the tube overdrive that guys got back in the 1950s when they blew harp through tube-powered PAs. Tubes are better, obviously: even harmonics, not odd harmonics. But the compression and slight sag that you get through a solid state PA by dialing up the trim knob is very useful.
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Kingley
1447 posts
Feb 18, 2011
5:36 AM
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If it's just for harp then I tell them to set all the tones flat (to zero) and then just get the volume to the right level. If it's for singing and playing harp as well then I set it for the vocals as Joe L says.
I really like playing straight through the PA with no effects (not even reverb or delay) as I find it gives a good stick by which to really measure your acoustic tone. In fact I like it so much I'm seriously considering selling my Princeton amp and my last three mics and just using the PA all of the time.
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