micing up options..

welshboyo

OK,

Having purchased a smaller amp for the majority of gigs I'm doing, I need to consider micing up and more specifically which mic to go for.

I was thinking good old SM57, but having read up on them, it appears that they can be fussy with placement and need some EQ'ing to get right. Considering most of the places I play (pubs/clubs) we don't get the luxury of having a FOH engineer or indeed oodles of soundcheck time so I'm not sure if the good old SM57 is the best option..or is this internet myth again!!!

It could be the case that I won't need to mic up in the majority of situations, but need to think about all scenarios going forward..

Are there any other "easy set-up" mics available.

spacecadet

I use a 57 a lot and although they are fussy, you know what you're gonna get. Just make some time before a gig to set it up and mark off the placement with some tape. I've also been using the Sennheiser e609 more recently which seems to be easier to get to work quickly. Bigger sweet spot and all that.

ThePrettyDamned

The sennheiser e609 is really good, and directional so it doesn't get hit by noise from behind it much.

I use a cheaper version that's very similar in sound - a super lux pra one. I got it second hand while saving for the sennheiser and have not been disappointed you can just hang it over the front of the amp, too, no stand needed.

ICBM

Hughes & Kettner Red Box.

Plug it into the extension speaker jack - or in line between the amp and the speaker if it doesn't have a jack - and connect the output to the desk. Easiest set-up there is, and you can't kick it over or out of position on stage either.

guitarfishbay

Sennheiser e906 - keep an eye out for one s/h and it'll probably cost you about the same as a new 57, and to my knowledge there aren't any fakes to worry about.  Really nice mics.

IanSavage

Yeah, I'd third the idea of a Senn E606, 609 or 906; far more consistent and convenient than the obiquitous SM57, one less thing to trip over onstage and one less mic stand to carry / set up.

vasselmeyer

+1 for the Red Box suggestion by @ICBM. At gig level the output is virtually indistinguishable from a mic and if you every work with a sound engineer they'll thank you for it. H&K build them into their Tubmesister amps and I have similar circuitry in my Egnater Rebel 30. Just take an XLR from the output straight into the desk. Job done.

p90fool

I use one of these on my Princeton;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Superlux-PRA628-MKII-Instrument-Microphone/dp/B00CJAM4YE

They sound great, you don't need a stand, and you don't need a DI box or a mic simulator (cos it's a mic, )

steamabacus

+2 for the H&K Redbox if you want "easy set up". Why make your life difficult?

There are cheaper options like the Behringer one if money's tight.

monquixote

I'm just about to buy a Redbox because I'm fed up of kicking over mics in cramped venues so look out for a thread from me about it.

Col_Decker

+4 for the senn e606/9

vasselmeyer

Here are a couple of examples of the sounds from the Egnater Rebel 30 taken from a mic source and a DI source. They're different but on most of the examples I prefer the DI sound. Maybe I shouldn't trust the source completely because Egtanter want to sell you their amps and maybe didn't set the mics up to get the best possible quality|! What it is safe to say is that what you get from a DI out with a speaker simulator is CONSISTENCY, which is very rare with a mic.

http://www.egnateramps.com/EgnaterProducts/Rebel/Rebel30/Rebel30AudioClips.html

ecc83

Check out the current issue of Sound on Sound. Many pages about micc'ing amps for PA.

Dave.

koneguitarist

ICBM said:

Hughes & Kettner Red Box.

Plug it into the extension speaker jack - or in line between the amp and the speaker if it doesn't have a jack - and connect the output to the desk. Easiest set-up there is, and you can't kick it over or out of position on stage either.

I prefer the sound of the Peavey EDI box, cheaper and passive, no need for battery power, mind is hard wired into amp permanently now. After all the amp and guitar changes, still won't get rid of that, it's like an old dependable pedal. Part of my sound now.

p90fool

It's funny how so many people who wouldn't dream of gigging with an amp modeller are happy to use a mic modeller onstage, especially when mics are even smaller, lighter and cheaper.

ICBM

p90fool said:

It's funny how so many people who wouldn't dream of gigging with an amp modeller are happy to use a mic modeller onstage, especially when mics are even smaller, lighter and cheaper.

Mic modellers are analogue .

I'd be happy to use an amp modeller if I could find one I liked the sound of. To be honest I wasn't totally blown away with the sound of the Red Box, but it's no worse than the usual sound engineer's tired SM57 stuck randomly in front of the cone. The difference is made completely irrelevant by one twist of an EQ knob on the desk anyway - the sound out front doesn't necessarily bear any relation to that on stage.

koneguitarist said:

I prefer the sound of the Peavey EDI box, cheaper and passive, no need for battery power, mind is hard wired into amp permanently now. After all the amp and guitar changes, still won't get rid of that, it's like an old dependable pedal. Part of my sound now.

You don't need a battery for the Red Box either if the desk has phantom power.

I'd quite like to find one of those Peaveys though, I like the idea of even more simplicity . I have an old passive transformer-balanced DOD DI box I use for bass, it sounds better than any modern active one for that.

p90fool

Don't get me wrong, I use an amp modeller for half of my gigs, it just strikes me as odd that players will agonize over which speaker to buy to upgrade or change their amps to suit their style, and then give the audience an emulated sound which totally bypasses the speaker anyway.

ICBM

p90fool said:

Don't get me wrong, I use an amp modeller for half of my gigs, it just strikes me as odd that players will agonize over which speaker to buy to upgrade or change their amps to suit their style, and then give the audience an emulated sound which totally bypasses the speaker anyway.

That kind of nuance is for the recording studio .

vasselmeyer

p90fool said:

Don't get me wrong, I use an amp modeller for half of my gigs, it just strikes me as odd that players will agonize over which speaker to buy to upgrade or change their amps to suit their style, and then give the audience an emulated sound which totally bypasses the speaker anyway.

As I said in a post above, what it is safe to say is that what you get from a DI out with a speaker simulator is CONSISTENCY, which is very rare with a mic. At gig volumes no-one in the audience will have any idea what speaker you're using, neither will they care. Most of them won't even be able to spot the difference between a major chord and a minor chord

Drew_TNBD

Ahhh yes.... the good old "the audience wont know (because secretly I think they're all blithering idiots and I actually kind of resent having to play music for them at all!) so it's fine for me to be all half-hearted about it"

digitalscream

vasselmeyer said:

At gig volumes no-one in the audience will have any idea what speaker you're using, neither will they care.

Perhaps they wouldn't be able to tell you what speaker you're using, but they'll definitely be able to spot when they can't hear the guitars because it's all turned to mush, or all they can hear of the guitar is a high-frequency fizzing in their ears. 

There's a reason nobody gigs with the 6" speaker from their hi-fi...