Ear Trumpet Microphone

[calgary.fiddler]

One thing I don't think people have really touched on here is the ease of use of using a single microphone set up. While it certainly isn't always easy to try and get everything to blend perfectly, and does require everyone to be conscious of position, it does only require a small amount of equipment to be lugged around to gigs. My band and I use the single mic set up because 1) we like our voices and acoustic instrument to actually sound the way they are suppose to. 2) For a lot of shows we are in charge of our own sound stuff, sot make it easy to just throw up a single mic, EQ it a bit and find out the proper volume and then just be able to leave it for the rest of the show. we all play multiple instruments, so instead of having to figure out how to individually amplify each one we can just use the one mic and adjust how loudly we are playing and how close we are to the mic.

The other thing that is a big factor for us is how we together we both look/feel when we are huddled around one mic. You give a very different type of performance when your band mates are a foot away than when they are on opposing sides of the stage. I hope that this level of intimacy translates to the show we are giving and that the audience takes away a more unique experience.

We are a trio, and we use the Ear Trumpet Lab's Louise. It is a great sounding mic for what we use it for, and resits feedback amazingly well. I will say I can't imagine being a 5 piece trying to juggle around a single mic... But for three people I think it works great. (If it works for the Milk Carton Kids and Sarah Jarosz it can work for us )

[Tavy]

Nice! But going back to post #40 for a moment. I'd like to know: WHICH VIDEO DO FOLKS PREFER???

Good examples - for me it's night and day preference for the second - BUT - we're comparing TV performances not live performances. For me the thing about the second video is that the stereo separation helps separate out and clarify the sound of each instrument. It's highly unlikely that a live audience would hear much of a stereo image (otherwise if you're sitting out to one side of the auditorium you'll get a rather second rate mix).

[Tavy]

One other thing I noticed with the single mic, is that umm... shorter performers lose out... Kenneth Pattengale manages to lift his guitar up enough to be heard, but Sarah Jarosz in the Michael Daves video was rather quiet compared to the preceding banjo...

[BradKlein]

Ha! That Sarah, soo cute, but vertically challenged!

[almeriastrings]

The other thing that is a big factor for us is how we together we both look/feel when we are huddled around one mic. You give a very different type of performance when your band mates are a foot away than when they are on opposing sides of the stage. I hope that this level of intimacy translates to the show we are giving and that the audience takes away a more unique experience.

I guess what I am wondering is... why do so many performers prefer mics that are large and impressive looking (these fit the bill, I think):



Over something like this:



Is it because of some belief over how they sound, or for some other reason?

[pit lenz]

I guess what I am wondering is... why do so many performers prefer mics that are large and impressive looking (these fit the bill, I think):

Is it because of some belief over how they sound, or for some other reason?

take a close look: It`s the scroll!

[onassis]

The scroll comment may be in jest, but I think it hits at the heart of the matter - people simply like the aesthetic. Why play an F instead of an A? Why wear suits? Why perform around a single mic? If the actual live performance of one mic is just as good as (or, as has already been stated, even more forgiving) than the other, then why not go with the one that has more visual appeal? After all, this is not just simply music. It's entertainment. They're putting on a show. A mic that does the job and adds to the retro aesthetic is a bonus.

[foldedpath]

After all, this is not just simply music. It's entertainment. They're putting on a show. A mic that does the job and adds to the retro aesthetic is a bonus.

Okay, but that isn't an absolute that applies across all genres of music. The performers in the Transatlantic Session clip I posted, were perfectly happy to be seen playing into tiny, unobtrusive small condenser mics.

Maybe it's more "necessary" for Bluegrass than for other genres? Why is that?

Go far enough down that road, and you end up with the rhinestone and Swarovski crystal-studded handheld vocal mics the rappers and mainstream Pop artists use.

[Timbofood]

"It's the scroll"! Sheer genius! I was simply going to say "size matters".

[foldedpath]

By the way, I realize there is some cognitive dissonance in my skepticism about "bling" microphones, while having this avatar of the scrolls on my personal mandolin and octave mandolin, over there on the left of my posts.


I guess it's because I'm more accepting of aesthetics in musical instruments.

When it comes to sound reinforcement, I've always thought of it as just a tool for a specific job. I want it to disappear as much as possible. YMMV, depending on genre and how much of a show you want the hardware to be.

[Mandoplumb]

As a boy growing up in Roanoke Va. I watched Top of the Morning every morning before school. It was a news, weather program featuring Reno and Smily when "cousin Irv" wasn't talking. They used an overhead mic that picked up everything and you never saw it unless the mic man goofed and let it get too low and onto camera range.

[almeriastrings]

"It's the scroll"! Sheer genius! I was simply going to say "size matters".

It does in many ways where mics are concerned, particularly in regard to self-noise ('background hiss') and sensitivity. It is all a question of trade-off's, though, and the levels we are talking about are, for most purposes, imperceptible in most common situations with decent quality microphones these days. Theoretically, the 'optimum' diaphragm size for lowest self-noise is around 1"/25mm. Ultra-small diaphragm mics tend to have highest self-noise. Why not even larger than 1"? Because as size increases while some sources of self-noise decrease, others increase - noise generated by air molecules and free electrons, etc. In condenser mics, there is additional noise from the internal electronics... on top of any capsule noise. Keeping these figures really low is one reason why absolute top class mics by the likes of Shoeps, Neumann, DPA, Sennheiser and others in that league cost a lot of money. You can't do it with low cost capsules and components.

[Toni Schula]

Ha! That Sarah, soo cute, but vertically challenged!

For single mic gigs we used to use such a device for our great but short singer:

[Toni Schula]

Okay, but that isn't an absolute that applies across all genres of music. The performers in the Transatlantic Session clip I posted, were perfectly happy to be seen playing into tiny, unobtrusive small condenser mics.

Maybe it's more "necessary" for Bluegrass than for other genres? Why is that?

Go far enough down that road, and you end up with the rhinestone and Swarovski crystal-studded handheld vocal mics the rappers and mainstream Pop artists use.

There are also other genres suffering this disease. Take rockabilly, where an Elvis style mic is necessary.
http://scheissladen.com/mikrofon-duschkopf.html (mic shower)

Nothing to say against Swarovski crystals. Brings some money to Austria's industry

[onassis]

Maybe it's more "necessary" for Bluegrass than for other genres? Why is that?

I think that's a big point. BG tends to have a real focus on tradition and nostalgia. It is also primarily a "performance" genre, as opposed to what I would think of as a session or dance genre, like OT or Celtic. And all of the early generation clips of BG bands show them gathered around a large single mic, wearing suits and cowboy hats, doing the BG shuffle.

Every genre has an aesthetic of some sort, and every participant makes a decision on where they stand in relationship to it. Ever see an orchestra perform in jeans and t-shirts? Some OT bands wear overalls and Mother Maybelle dresses, others don't. You see Tim O'Brien solo, it's jeans and a flannel shirt. With Hot Rize, it's a suit and tie. With Red Knuckles, it's a custom cowboy suit. Americana groups tend to take aesthetic cues from old country and BG, so many groups like the nostalgic "big mic" look. The Transatlantic Sessions is a take on a high end celtic session, where an obtrusive mic set-up would be out of place. So, an informal, "mic-less" looking set.

Aesthetic decisions factor into every performance situation. Some are just more obvious (and occasionally annoying than others.

[Timbofood]

If there's no "show" what's the reason to go?
Not really of course but, I like a band that has a a bit of showmanship at a gig.