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Brian Kreher - Posted - 02/27/2008: 17:00:55
Any suggestios?? I'm looking for a suggestion or two about what kind of mics people use, advantages/disadvantages, prices, etc... If any of you have experience with mics, own a mic, or just use a mic, tell me about it. Just looking for info. Thanks a bunch!
Bill Rogers - Posted - 02/27/2008: 17:02:22
I use a Shure SM-57; inexpensive; works fine; rugged.
Bill
gbkyser - Posted - 02/27/2008: 17:16:53
Good topic. Bill, using an SM57, how close to you have to stay to the mike? Do you have any problems using a monitor?
Thanks,
GUY
rexhunt - Posted - 02/27/2008: 17:17:57
It depends on what you want to do with it. An SM-57 is great for a banjo and other instruments, but there are better mics for vocals. Will the vocals be separate or do you want to group around one mic? Separate, go with an SM-58 very similar to the 57 but tailored for vocals. Grouped, go with one of the many large diaphram condensors available today. Even the cheap ones are pretty good. See if you can try before you buy.
Rex
steve davis - Posted - 02/28/2008: 00:05:07
An old friend of mine has been entertaining for many years.He used the same SM57 for about 30 years It was dropped,stepped on,fell off the truck and generally held together with duct tape and one day quit working.This thing was very ugly.He mailed it to Shure for repair if possible.They sent him a brand new 57 at no charge and a nice letter thanking him for using their product.
Sometimes I just gotta wait for better weather
Bill Rogers - Posted - 02/28/2008: 00:44:13
quote:
Originally posted by gbkyser
Good topic. Bill, using an SM57, how close to you have to stay to the mike? Do you have any problems using a monitor?
I work it within 18"or so...never have played with a monitor. I don't sing, so this is strictly a banjo mike. Openback. Might play a bit farther off with a resonator.
Bill
banjonz - Posted - 02/28/2008: 00:54:13
The Shure's are good mics. I think we use a few of them for vocals. Our main instrument mics are AKG C1000's. They give a good reproduction and are not all that expensive.
Wayne
New Zealand
Home computers are the perfect thing for women who don't feel that men provide them with enough frustration
DHoffmeyer - Posted - 02/28/2008: 01:35:48
Both the AT-4033 and small AT Pro 37 (phantom powered condensers) are really good banjo mics, but with a monitor, you're likely to get a squeal.
This season festival, you can listen to what others use and decide. Shure 57 mics (dynamics) are workhorses- been on the US Presidential podiums for over 35 years, and J.D.'s stage plot still suggests a 57 for the banjo (but he carries an AT4037 as his banjo mic). But a friend and I talked about mics and he said, "Here I am playing this $ XX,000 dollar banjo on stage and it sounds like crud*." It was a 57.
*not actual word used.
http://www.deanhoffmeyer.com
http://www.nationalfingerpicks.com
Edited by - DHoffmeyer on 03/09/2008 23:10:01
RB-1 - Posted - 02/28/2008: 02:59:15
quote:
Originally posted by DHoffmeyer
Both the AT-4033 and small AT Pro 37 (phantom powered condensers) are really good banjo mics, but with a monitor, you're likely to get a squeal.
This season festival, you can listen to what others use and decide. Shure 57 mics (dynamics) are workhorses- been on the US Presidential podiums for over 35 years, and J.D.'s stage plot still suggests a 57 for the banjo. But a friend and I talked about mics and he said, "Here I am playing this $ XX,000 dollar banjo on stage and it sounds like (crud)." It was a 57.
That's what a 57 does to my sound as well. Can't possibly understand what people like about them.
I'm using Neumann KM-84 for the instuments and Audix SCX-25 for the vocals. For recording the banjo separately, the SCX-25 as well.
RB-1 plays with Heartstrings
http://home.hccnet.nl/e.beurskens/S...tstrings.htm
GerhardP - Posted - 02/28/2008: 03:07:19
Yes, the SM57 is the old reliable workhorse, but it is not a neutral sounding microphone at all. It has it's own sound and you like it or not. I prefer condensers, which usually have a rather flat frequency response. With one band I use an AKG C5600 (a great 1" condenser mic built for stage use, unfortunately obsolete and used ones show up rarely on eBay), for the other band I just bought a Shure KSM32 after trying a friend's out at a recent gig. Very natural sounding. Thzere may be more affordable condenser mics, but it doubles as a recording mic for me so I was going to get something decent.
Gerhard
"Most bullet holes in banjos are a result of poor aim"
(Fretless Josh Saw in BNL July '02)
lazyarcher - Posted - 02/28/2008: 04:31:10
Shure KSM27. Good all purpose Shure single-diaphragm, side-address condenser microphone with a cardioid polar pattern. Great $$ value.
Heres a full review..
http://emusician.com/mics/emusic_shure_ksm/
Dave Jack
Edited by - lazyarcher on 02/28/2008 04:37:54
Brian Kreher - Posted - 02/28/2008: 13:59:43
Ok so here is also the delima...
I'm playing with this group, and the PA equip. belongs to the guitar player. He bought a bunch of "fancy" mics, that some one told him he needed... and I think they are tooooooo much! So, here's what the PA set-up looks like...
A vocal mic, can't remember what they are right now... audio-something or others, I THINK... :( but it is a condenser... on the same mic stand with one of those little attachment arm deals is an other "instrument" mic, which would be one of those small "pen" or "pencil" condensers. Next mic stand/ set-up is the same, same mics, same arrangement. Then there's me... I'm using some trash, inexpensive, large "can" type condenser. The sound is super tinny and it sounds like trash.... I DO have a SM57 and have tried to use it but unfortunately I don't "get enough out of it". Even full volume, I can't compete with the rest of the band while using the sm57... AND I've noticed that using the mics that our guitar player and mandolin player use for their instruments, I don't get the sound I want either... I'v tried to use their mics for recording purposes and I think they pick up too much of the instruments "natural reverb" and overtones.... so woe is me.... I just want a mic that produces the tone and sound that I hear acoustically... oh, and for the record, we don't have monitors, so my judgement of these mics are based on hearing the "house" sound, what close freinds have told me about the sound, and what I've heard on these recordings...
I've tried to limit the number of condensers used on stage but some people are stuck in their ways... Even when we have feedback issues they ALWAYS say it's not the guitar, mandolin, vocals, or the bass, but it's always 'my fault'.... I know otherwise due to the fact that when somethings squeels and I turn one thing down, it goes away... and it's usually not the banjo I turn down.... 
So, I guess the real problem is dealing with people who aren't willing to change.... how do you do that??
I'm enjoying the feedback about mics, and appreciate your info... keep it coming!!!! thanks a ton y'all
brian
flake - Posted - 02/28/2008: 15:41:15
Next time it feeds back, don't turn it down----let it howl! 
And don't let them touch your channel until they've eliminated the feedback by modifiying the actual offending channel!
Some people won't acknowledge the truth until they're beaten over the head with it. 
mike
One should as a rule respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny, and is likely to interfere with happiness in all kinds of ways.
MTBanjo - Posted - 02/28/2008: 18:00:29
quote:
Originally posted by Bill Rogers
quote:
Originally posted by gbkyser
Good topic. Bill, using an SM57, how close to you have to stay to the mike? Do you have any problems using a monitor?
I work it within 18"or so...never have played with a monitor. I don't sing, so this is strictly a banjo mike. Openback. Might play a bit farther off with a resonator.
Bill
18"? Really? I have a resonator banjo & I'm usually within 2-4" or I don't get heard over other instruments. If it's because of something with the rest of our set up I'd love to know. I thought I had heard and it seemed like pretty common knowledge that you've got to be pretty much glued right to a 57 to get picked up..
Zach
flake - Posted - 02/28/2008: 18:11:18
Zach----The rest of the mix has a lot to do with it. The best banjo in the world will have a hard time being heard over a mandolin player who refuses to "back off" no matter how loud the banjo is or what kind of mic your using. Eventually, the group's overall dynamics will suffer because of the continual "Can't you make me any louder?" mentality.
mike
One should as a rule respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny, and is likely to interfere with happiness in all kinds of ways.
steve davis - Posted - 02/28/2008: 21:11:17
The age old volume war.Once you've played with monitors and a sound man it's hard to go back.
Sometimes I just gotta wait for better weather
tubaphone1927 - Posted - 02/29/2008: 01:17:01
I like the SM57 and we use them all the time at work. I've personally have better luck using a Beta 57 on stage for banjo.
Aussie John - Posted - 03/09/2008: 23:51:55
Banjo is tricky to mic - as someone said the 57 picks up a lot of the banjo overtones and sounds ringy to me. Also 57s work best when right on top of it (eating it in the case of the SM58 vocal cousin) - Also 18" wont give a lot of gain or bass response.
----
John
jmanjet - Posted - 03/10/2008: 11:01:36
Feedback probably means you need to EQ the mic or the mains. It is not necessarily a volume issue, but more of a 'frequency' level issue, as feedback is happening only at certain frequencies. As others have stated, you need to be right up on the 57 to get a good level (18" is way, way too far back for that mic). I can get a decent sound with a 57, but I use the KSM32 on stage for banjo, guitar and dobro.
rexhunt - Posted - 03/10/2008: 15:00:59
Nine times out of ten, the feedback is coming from the monitors. Our band would rather have no monitors than badly mixed or feeding back monitors. If you are going to mic individually, you need to either work your mic and your dynamics properly or have a sound person who knows your material as well as you do. I don't mind a 57 for my banjo. I'll back off maybe a foot on back up but get right on top of it for breaks. For our 5 piece band, using our own stuff, we use just three mics. All large diaphragm condensors. One in the middle for the singers, guitar (a loud D18) and mando and one on either side of that for me and the Dobro. The bass tends to pick up fine. When we do use monitors, it's just the main mix and not very loud.
Rex
silvioferretti - Posted - 03/10/2008: 18:11:05
A short 2 cent lesson on mics on stage: every mic has certain frequencies that tend to be hotter than others, thus leading to feedback, some in the lows - giving "rumble" - others in the mids - giving "howls" - and others in the highs - giving "squeals". If you go to a festival and take a look at the mics on stage, 9 times out of 10 the choice is very limited, thus reducing the possibilities of feedback to a minimum range of frequencies, which in turn means very little need for EQ, which would make the sound poor.
If your band plays with a bazillion different mics, why that's a call for feedback on all possible frequencies! Try to use the same mics (like 58s for the vocals and 57s for the instruments) and you'll solve part of the problem. I always travel with a bag of mics, should I have the luxury of long sound-checks on a fine sound system, but I'm always ready to pull out my old and trusty SM-57, which makes any banjo sound like a Shure SM-57, but at least it makes it good and loud.
My favorite mic for my banjo, however, is the AT-4033, which I always keep with the pad set at -10 dB so I can use a monitor with no problem. As a second choice, I have a Stedman N-90, which has got a large diaphragm and high sensitivity but it's a dynamic mic, feedback-resistant and not as colored as other dynamic mics. If I need power and don't mind having a drier tone I use an AKG C-1000S, which is a condenser mic with a small capsule, not very prone to feedback and kinda neutral sounding. All these mics sell for under $500.00, so they are not pricey by any means. For even less money the Audio Technica Pro37 that Dean suggested is a great little mic, but it requires a good preamp to sound full and strong.
Silvio Ferretti http://www.scorpionmusic.com
Check out a new Scorpion banjo at http://www.elderly.com/new_instrume...s/SCORP7.htm
Edited by - silvioferretti on 03/10/2008 18:14:59
