A friend of mine, Leon, (Leon if you read this please e-mail the info) told me his band only uses one Mic --not one kind of mic-- just ONE mic--- and it works well for them. Anyone know what brand he's talking about? I forgot what he told me and I'd like to get one.

There are a number of brands, but they're called omni-directional mics.  They are condenser mics that will pick up sound from every direction.  They do work very well.  They seem to be made for bluegrass/acoustic bands.  They are my preferred way of playing, as they eliminate the issues of monitors, etc, all the musicians hear themselves and each other.

I use a Röde NT1. Very good value for money. Just one of the brands.

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Originally posted by Jason Wilkerson

There are a number of brands, but they're called omni-directional mics.  They are condenser mics that will pick up sound from every direction.  They do work very well.  They seem to be made for bluegrass/acoustic bands.  They are my preferred way of playing, as they eliminate the issues of monitors, etc, all the musicians hear themselves and each other.

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Yep there are many types of large diaphram condenors on the market. Most are not suitable for live performances but they are great for studio recordings. The one I use for the band is from Audio Technica and known as an AT 4033. They aren't being produced anymore but audio technica replaced them with a newer version I think called AT4033c or something like that. I once saw Del McCoury and his band and the AT4033 was what they were using at the time. You can find them used now and again on eBay or as trade in at some music shops like Sam Ashe but I wouldn't pay more than $275 for one. If you get a used one make sure you get the mic stand spider web shock mount with it for that kind of money tho' because a new mount from Audio Tech will set you back another $100. They origionally cost about $600 new w/mount.

Hi Mike,

The one I use is the AKG C3000. This is a LDC with 1 inch diaphragm and is a cardioid pattern. I've had many sound engineers on stages that aren't used to acoustic/bluegrass bands say it's not made for stage use, but it works just fine if you know how to use it. One big thing is to use little or no monitors on stage (or use in-ear monitors) to reduce feedback. Here's a list of other mic's I've used for this type of setup:

AT 4033, AT 4040, AKG C414 (several variants of this mic), Neumann TLM102 / TLM103 / BCM104, Shure KSM-32 / KSM-44, and the Audix SCX25a. The list goes on, but those are the main ones I've used.

I've also seen this done with small diaphragm mics like the AT Pro 37r and AKG C1000s but due to the smaller diaphragm, you really have to know how to do the movements on stage (sometimes called "the dance") to make sure you're getting heard the way you want.

Del McCoury uses two LDC mics which cuts down on how much of "the dance" is needed, but there's still movement needed to get the lead player in front of a mic at the right time.

It can be a real struggle if the sound folks don't know how to use these types of mics as they constantly want to make changes to improve the sound at the board which usually results in very bad feedback or very low volume.

Leon

Leon is right. The sound folk often try to improve the sound, and causes feedback. That's why I use one (or two) large diaphragm mic.

My favorite set  up for my band that counts about 8 members are two Røde NT1 and sometimes 1 solomic. All set up before the gig and strictly tell the sound folks not to lay their hands on anything. Then the band can settle and move according to soloparts, both for vocal and the instruments

Edited by - Norwegianplayer on 02/09/2012 01:46:26

What everyone said.

It should be made clear that you can really only count on this setup working in places that tend to be quiet, listening environments, have decent room acoustics, or if you just need a slight boost for providing background music. Also assume that you will not have any monitors (even if you "have" monitors you shouldn't use them). If you are playing in noisier environments like a bar/club, it's better to not even try.

2 more essential things to have if you go this route:

- a good graphic (31-band) or parametric equalizer, and learn how to use it to reduce feedback

- Windscreen. Essential for outdoor use; I even tend to use it indoors to reduce plosives.