Hello everybody,
I have a question for those of you who play banjo and dobro - not simultaneously but at the same gig:
How do you get a satisfying sound for both instruments when you use just one mic for both of them. Because the banjo is much louder and requires a different orientation of the mic than the dobro I have not yet found a satisfying solution. Is there any solution at all besides the obvious of using a mic?
Thanks in advance - Veit
... besides of using a PICKUP? 
Below is a link to a YouTube video that shows how Earl Scruggs and Josh Graves did it.
quote:
Originally posted by RB3Below is a link to a YouTube video that shows how Earl Scruggs and Josh Graves did it.
In fairness, those Martha White Flatt and Scruggs vids don't reveal that there were also overhead ribbon mics out of frame... and in this vid, one mic is set only for solo instruments.
To the original question: I really see only two possibilities for optimal sound. First would be to use separate mics - one set for banjo, one for the dobro. One can find extension arms that allow both mics to be mounted on the same stand, reducing stage clutter.
The other solution, it seems to me, is to use a medium or large-diaphragm condenser mic. It takes time and experience to learn to use these properly in this type of application - but the key here is body position: closer in for the dobro, a few steps back for the banjo.
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