Tim O'Brien

[Tim Saxton]

Does anyone here know what Tim O'Brien uses for his acoustic/electric stage set up. I asked him one night a few years ago, but I'm afraid those Scotch Ales may have clouded my memories http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif


Tim

[david blair]

All of Tims's gear is listed on his website.

[Tim Saxton]

Well I do wear glasses, but I really must be blind. I looked and could not find the list.

[cwtwang]

Tim P,

As of late, I believe Tim O uses an L.R. Baggs bridge pickup (that is custom built) in his mandolin combined with a Joe Mills condenser mic mounted near the treble F-hole with Raven Labs and Pendulum preamps. A few years ago, when I last saw him play live, he was using only a mic. It depends on the situation (stage sound/soundperson).

C

[jjboone101]

Just saw Tim play last weekend and he wasn't mic'ed on his mando. This from his Road Journal on his web site:

"I got the old Nugget A model out of the case and started it playing it again. Maybe I'll take it back out on the road the next month. It's louder than my new Tim O'Brien model, mostly because I took the pickup bridge off, so it'll be good for the Steve Earle and Hot Rize gigs where we use only microphones."

[cwtwang]

Tim O as well as many other pros have learned that different gear is need for different situations-- volume/stage set up/room/soundperson are all huge considerations.

At IBMA (2005) SM57s (with windscreens) were used on most of the guitars and mandolins. I'm not sure if feedback extermintors were involved in the chain or not. When Mountain Heart took the stage, they were all plugged in and it sounded terrible to my ears--too loud, distorted, aggressive, compressed-with no air or transparancy--a real turn-off and they are one of my very favorite bluegrass bands. Awesome talent just distorted and hidden by the amplification chosen; at least for that one performance.

C

[David M.]

I was told by Tim once that he used the Baggs saddle + the internal Joe Mills mic as noted above. This was for his nugget. Have no idea these days.

Those Baggs are decent pickups.

[Chris Baird]

As was stated Tim took all the electronics out of the old Nugget. I played his new Collings/Nugget but didn't ask what he had inside. The Collings/Nugget was a great mandolin, very Nuggety with a quick poppy bass end. But, plugged in, I wasn't really impressed with the sound quality. All that rich bass end was gone. Tim, however, sounded fantastic, as always.

[david blair]

Hi Tim,

I found a link to Tim's gear: It's just a little bit of gear!
Cheers.

http://www.acousticguitar.com/article....• (http://www.acousticguitar.com/article/160/160,6877,FEATURE-1.asp•)
Guitars: 1937 Martin 00-18, 1943 Gibson J-45, 1959 Gibson J-50, 2003 Collings DS2H A 12-fret dreadnought, 1970 Fender Telecaster.
• Mandolins: Nugget/Collings Tim O’Brien model (a collaboration—between Collings Guitars and Michael Kemnitzer of Nugget Mandolins—that is built in very limited quantities), Nugget A-5, Nugget F-5, Corrado Giacomel jazz model.
• Bouzoukis: 1990 Nugget archtop, shaped like a Lloyd Loar L5 guitar, with a 24-inch scale; 2001 Corrado Giacomel; Phil Davidson flattop pin-bridge bouzouki.
• Banjo: OME Minstrel Jubilee.
• Fiddle: 1922 Carlo Micelli.
• Bow: Winkler.
• Strings: D’Addario EXP17 coated phosphor-bronze mediums on the acoustic guitars; D’Addario EXP74 coated phosphor-bronze or stainless-steel mediums on the mandolins; D’Addario ball-end phosphor-bronze in select gauges on the Nugget bouzouki (tuned G D A E, bottom to top): 044, .022, .030, .015, .022, .022, .011, .011; D’Addario loop-end phosphor-bronze on the Giacomel bouzouki: .056, .042, .024, .015; D’Addario J-55 medium gauge on the banjo; Prim medium-tone steel strings on the fiddle.
• Picks: Fender heavy.
• Capos: Kyser (guitars), Shubb (bouzouki), Paige (banjo).
• Onstage amplification: Acoustic guitars: Fishman Matrix undersaddle pickups, combined with either a Joe Mills condenser mic mounted internally on a miniature gooseneck or a Shure SM98 mounted inside a piece of foam, next to the sound hole. Mandolins and Giacomel bouzouki: custom L.R. Baggs bridge pickup, combined with a Joe Mills condenser mic mounted near the treble F-hole. Nugget bouzouki: Custom L.R. Baggs octave-mandolin pickup. Banjo: Shure SM57 microphone. Fiddle: L.R. Baggs bridge pickup combined with Sony ECM condenser mic mounted under the tailpiece facing the bridge. Raven Labs PMB-1 preamp, Pendulum SPS-1 preamp, Chard blender made by Richard Battaglia.
• Recording: Stereo pair of Neuman KM 84 microphones or other small-diaphragm condenser mics (sometimes just one for the mandolins or fiddle).