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Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.mandohangout.com/archive/30817
rbrazz - Posted - 11/17/2012: 21:44:45
In our bluegrass band our guitar player uses a dpa 4099. He plays with such a light touch he still has problems with feedback and being heard in the monitor mix. I play mandolin and play hard. I have a Daley mandolin and it sounds ok. I am thinking of a mic mounted on my mandolin... Does anyone out there use an atm 350 or pro 35 on their mandolin. I am looking for good sound in a live setting with usually mediocre sound equipment and below mediocre sound men.
rbrazz - Posted - 11/20/2012: 07:45:10
I read on earlier posts some people didn't like not being able to control instrument volume as well with an instrument mounted mic (dpa 4099 or Atm 350) also pounding sound from the chop. What is your experience if you use one of these mics? If you have one you don't use any more I might buy it. Thanks Randy
TI_USER - Posted - 11/21/2012: 20:37:34
I had used a tie-clip condenser mic from Radio Shack (yeah, go ahead and laugh) on my mandolin years ago when I played bass in a top-40 Country band. I would switch over to mandolin for a few tunes once in a while. I had a bridge pick up on the mandolin and the RS mic clipped to the F hole and ran them into separate channels of the mixing board. The pick up went to the monitor mix and the mic went to the mains. I got phenomenal results from the mic. The pick up was terrible, but it didn't matter. I was the only one who heard it. I'm currently using Radio Shack's new version of that same mic for my upright bass and it is the best sound I have ever had on bass.
A couple of weeks ago my Bluegrass band opened for the Claire Lynch Band at the Sellersville Theater in Sellersville, PA. During our sound check I was noticing Matt Wingate's set up on his instruments. I wasn't able to tell what brands were being used, but he had the same set up on his Collings guitar, his Eastman arch top guitar, and his Cole mandolin. It was a pick up combined with a tie-clip type of mic clipped to the mandolins treble F-hole. It went into a pre-amp and blending system on stage and from there to the house system. The sound from his mandolin was wonderful. I had always wondered about controlling dynamics with a mic that never changes position. I play mandolin into my bands' large diaphragm condenser mic and have lots of freedom of movement. I guess it's all about learning to control it with your playing rather than from mic distance. What I like about the tie-clip mic as opposed to the ATM 350 or Pro 35 is that the tie-clip mic is barely noticeable compared to the clamp and goosneck of the AT mics. And the fact that the mic always stays on the mandolin even when it's in the case, unlike the AT mics that have to mounted for each use.
By the way, Radio Shack does sell a tie-clip mic that is made by Audio Technica, which may be better quality than the RS version. However, I believe that one of the lesser qualities of the RS mic that ends up being a benefit for instruments is that the mic is not very sensitive, which means you really have to be right on top of the mic for it to pick anything up. Perfect for mandolin since it is mounted right at the sound source and it's lack of sensitivity means that it doesn't pick up monitor sound as easily as a more sensitive mic would. That means better feedback rejection. I play my bass at pretty high volume with a Gallien Kruger amp two feet behind my bass with no feedback.
The best part - it only cost me $32 and a mounting jack. Who would have thought. I played for a long time with a bass pick up costing a couple hundred dollars and now I'm getting noticeably better sound with a $32 mic. If I was unsatisfied with my mandolin sound I would try it on that as well. Thankfully, I love playing into a large condenser.
Edited by - TI_USER on 11/21/2012 20:41:20
TI_USER - Posted - 11/23/2012: 07:12:45
quote:
Originally posted by rbrazz
I read on earlier posts some people didn't like not being able to control instrument volume as well with an instrument mounted mic (dpa 4099 or Atm 350)...
Honestly, I can't see where it would be any different that using a pickup as you main form of amplification. Lots of players use pickups and are able to control dynamics and volume. It just takes some practice to train your right hand to play louder or softer as needed. However, that's one of the main reasons that I don't use a pickup or a instrument mounted mic. I like to control dynamics through my distance from the mic. It's different with my bass since I'm playing essentially the same volume all of the time. With mandolin, I move all over the place and use the same mic for vocals. Hopefully, some people that do use a pickup or instrument mounted mic will chime in with some experiences.