I really should've paid attention in audio class

[shadesofmauve]

For a long time I regarded microphones and sound equipment as an annoying complication that I just didn't want to be bothered with. I suspect it comes from my all acoustic upbringing -- between years in orchestra and in sessions, I had no experience with mics, and damn it, I just want the instrument to sound like the instrument sounds!

Now that I've performed amplified quite a bit, and done my part of set-up and sound check,* a lot of things that slipped right out of my brain in audio class are starting to make more sense -- but I only started to become interested in mic-as-instrument in the last few days, because I bought and-am-probably-returning a vocal mic.

I have a fiddle mic, but that choice came down to the fact that I don't like pick-ups (except for very high end pick-up & mic combos) and I do like to move a lot when I perform. There are a lot more options for vocal mics, even under $175, and while I feel a little self-important obsessing over ~~mah vocaaaals~~ as an unsure beginner, I really need all the help I can get at this stage. :P

Saturday I bought an SM58, because that's what our other vocal mics are and they're a workhorse stand by. It's what I used in the market gig. This morning my teacher said she uses a shure beta 57, and liked it for 'darker voices like ours' (i.e., the ever-popular I Am Not A Soprano club).

Anyway, I'm going to see if music 6k will exchange the SM58, and hopefully they can do a comparison set-up, too.

If they can, these are what I want to try (if they have 'em):
- shure beta 57 and beta 58 (I know the grill is the only difference, but it does make a difference))
- audix OM-2 (might be better for guys' voices, per reviews, though?)
- sennheiser e835

Part of the interesting thing here is that I don't know what my voice wants. I know my fiddle, and so I know to look for strings described as warm, rich, or dark, because the instrument itself is very bright and brash. I don't have that level of analysis of my own voice, yet -- I can barely stand hearing myself recorded at all.

*We've had a sound guy once. It was GREAT. Other than that, we balance everyone in pairs and hope it works as a trio, basically.

Comments

[alienne4.livejournal.com]

My a cappella group just invested in a set of fourteen Shure Beta58's. I stayed farrrrrr away from all the major decisionmaking about it (scary, many dollars, etc.) but I know it was heavily researched for over a year, consulted with pros like the Swingle Singers, and that's what we went with, along with a fancy wireless setup. Those mics are going to cover all voice types, from high sops to middle parts to bass and beatbox. So... I don't know if that's even helpful, but I just thought it was a coincidence that you were talking about them. They're all stacked up in my living room right now...! I've used SM58's on a lot of gigs, and yeah they're ubiquitous workhorses and durable and whatever but I think the Shures are just improved and a more modern option — at least that is the impression I've gleaned from more knowledgeable chatter around me!

[solarbird]

I can't say about the beta57 and beta58, but the grill absolutely makes a difference between the SM57 and SM58.

[shadesofmauve]

Good to know -- it should carry over the same with the betas. The beta57 is the same grill as the SM57, and b58 to 58, but the innards are different in the betas. I think. :P

I thought of asking your advice, but I'm thinking it's an individual voice and personal preference thing -- like instrument strings, what you get depends on where you're weakest.

I was wondering, though -- you write a lot about studio setup; what do you do for amplified live performances (assuming you do 'em)?

[solarbird]

I'm mostly amped, actually.

For vocals, I have a headset wireless mic, which is new to me, but which I so far adore: an AKG SR45 Perception. Highly directional, I can stand in front of mains(!) and get away with it. Before that, I used an SM58, but that was mostly because that's what I had. If I have backup singers, that's what they're on.

For both zouk and mandolin, I spent good money for good internal acoustic pickups, which I run through a pair of L.R. Boggs PARA acoustic equalising DIs. This works pretty well for me and also lets me notch-filter-out feedback points. I will also use a POG2 to affect the tonal mood of the instrumentation on any given song.

If I'm bringing my own PA:

For amplification, I have my Samson S63 mixer-amplifier - one of my pawn shop finds.

For speakers... it depends on the show. I have a MASSIVE (as in, I can barely carry it) arena monitor that I use as a main (Crate UFM-15H, from when Crate was still good; another pawn shop find) and a pair of Phonic S710s, which I got on clearance for almost nothing somewhere. Depending upon what I'm doing, I'll use the Samson alone (common), or I'll use the Phonics as a pair (least likely, so far), or I'll use the Samson as a centre speaker with the Phonics doing fill duty on the left and right sides at half volume (uncommon). I built a special cable that divides signal in half between the Phonics, so they're running at half volume compared to the main; this works out well in practice.

[shadesofmauve]

I think I understood most of that. :) You may have mentioned it before, too, but, as I've said, I went through a period of willful ignorance about amplification -- and I've only seen pics of you busking!

The perception is cheaper than I would've guessed; I can see why it'd be great for someone in your situation.

I should probably look at internal acoustic pick-ups eventually, but the audio-technica lavelier mic is working just fine for now. E does want to get an internal acoustic pick-up, but since he brought three guitars to the last show, that's looking too spendy all at once. Hopefully he'll settle on just two -- I think he only brought Tangerine (bright orange classical; I named it) so he'd have a standard tuning guitar that was gentler on the fingers towards the end of the four-hour gig.

Did you mean Crate when you said Samson in the last para?

EDIT to add: should perhaps add that 'eventually' getting something internal for the fiddle is far out, because I've yet to hear a pick-up-alone solution I like on fiddle. Pick-up *plus* mic can be fantastic. Basically the price jump from where I'm at now to the next was huge, last time I looked. I've always thought the pick-up on E's strummed instruments was just fine.

[solarbird]

derp - yes, the Crate, sorry. The Samson is the only mains amp I have and I guess I got stuck back on that somehow.

(I also have and have used another thrift store find, for minimalist solo work and also as a backup amp: a Crate Taxi. It's battery-powered all-in-one single-speaker so not really releant. I had to fix it, but I did. Two inputs: one mic level, one instrument level. Just barely enough. ^_^)

Oh, and, if you like the lavelier mic, stick with it. It's not like internal acoustic is inherently better in some way. A lot of violinists and fiddlers at very high levels use attached-microphone systems, so.

[shadesofmauve]

The Taxi sounds a bit like dad's little Cube amp -- the one he got for practicing electric guitar with. It's currently living in my garage so we can blast tunes from our phones while working on my studio project. :D The sound isn't something we

I suspect that eventually I'll hear more of what my fiddle sounds like through mics and either decide I like the lavelier or want an upgrade, but it's incredibly hard to judge sound while playing fiddle -- there's no other instrument *that* close to your ear. Given that (and the fact that I'm looking at live rather than studio-for-posterity), 'good enough' IS workin' just fine. :) Goosenecks or clips do tend to move, but I've mostly got mine sorted out -- I just have to pay attention, and start every gig with a bit of string or gaff tape (I don't want any unintentional tug on the wire to move the mic, so I tape or tie it to the metal clamp on the chin rest).

When I think of the spendier combo systems, I'm thinking of sound i was *blown away* by. The vast majority of fiddlers I've seen use either a small external one, or are just playing into a mic on a boom, and it works just fine.

[solarbird]

Yeah, the Cube is totally the same idea. ^_^

When we're recording Sunnie, we have to crank the sound for her through the isolation headphones (and they're isolation headphones!) just so she can hear the monitor of herself over the live instrument. It's ... yeah. Loud. :D

Oh, and you mentioned before kind of glazing over the whole recording stuff - I made a few collections of posts, to make everything easy to find again. The studio collection is here:

http://crimeandtheforcesofevil.com/blog/2013/06/the-studio-buildout-series/

That's a blog post, yes, but it has links to all the studio buildout posts. You might find it useful.

And every blog post lists all the collections, over in the left column of the page, under the albums.