The Ultimate Mic

**Steve Farling** · Jan-12-2006, 5:06pm

Ok, I know it's out there cause I saw it! We were at a festival last summer ( Knightstown, Indiana )and there were these mics the sound company had set up for everyone to use. They were attached to the mic stands down on the main pole. They were using them for guitars, banjos, and mandolins, but not necessarily in that order! Anyhow, no one had to get right up next to the mic, or stand perfectly still. They were anywhere from one to two and a half feet from the mics and had no trouble at all being heard! Don't get me wrong, they couldn't move all over the place, but at least a foot from side to side! I failed to talk to the sound guys and find out what they were using. Does anybody have an idea of what they were using? I have been trying to figure this out but don't have much experience in this. Could they have been a supercardioid type mic? They were running everything into a PA but they had monitors in front. I want to run through an amp for now, but will eventually switch to a PA. I've got an ART Tube-Pac Preamp that also has a tube compressor and can work wonders on a mic or instrument pickup, but just wont make a Shure SM 57 do what these mics were doing. HELP!!!!!

**duuuude** · Jan-13-2006, 1:57pm

Just sounds like condensers for the instruments and dynamic mics for the vocals. I use the same setup at an open mic for me & folks without electronics, condenser clamped to the pole with a dynamic on a short boom.

**Ken Sager** · Jan-13-2006, 2:30pm

If you want to know exactly what mic was used contact the festival, ask who did sound, contact them, ask them.

Problem solved.

**steve V. johnson** · Jan-15-2006, 12:18pm

Hey, Steve,

Please do contact the festival and ask who did the sound and see if you can find out what those were, and post the info for us?

I'd love to find out what mics you are referring to!

Thanks!

stv

**Steve Farling** · Jan-16-2006, 6:26am

Thanks guys, I'm kinda brain dead at times,(most) it didn't occur to me to get with the festival folks! When I find out I'll let everyone know what they were. From more research I've been doing since my post, I'm suspecting they were condenser mics. I think maybe cardioid, super cardioid, or hyper cardioid. If anyone has any experience with any of these mics, please jump in here and give us the info. I am thinking that these are more directional and I could use one of them with an amp without the feedback problems of a regular stand up cardioid, such as an audio-technica 4033. I really would like to know what kind of distance I could expect to be able to get back away from one of these mics and still get good volume.

**david blair** · Jan-24-2006, 2:10am

Hey Steve,
I have a couple inch and a quarter diaphram mics, made by CAD. The have three settings, Omni, Figure eight, and Cardioid. They have great tone, and really sound beautiful. In omni they pick up everything around. It works pretty well OUTDOORS, or in a quiet room for recording.Of course you can adjust this with gain level at your board, but no matter what I do they feedback if turned up to high. A dream for recording though. Playing indoors I use a Shure beta 58A (supercardiod) for vocal, and plug the instruments in. Kind of a compromise for tone, but we want VOLUME. I have mounted the diaphram mics lower to complement the tone of the mando, but if you use the same stand you'll be to close when singing. Shure has a great website, very informative, BTW.

**Steve Farling** · Jan-24-2006, 10:36am

Thanks for all the info so far guys. I contacted a lady connected with the festival, but all she had was the name of the sound company. She couldn't find their address. I did some more research and still haven't been able to find out what town they are from yet. I've almost decided to go with a Shure KSM 137 mic. I like the features and have almost convinced myself it will work for me. What do you think?

**steve V. johnson** · Jan-24-2006, 11:52pm

Hey Steve,

If you would like, send me the name of the company off-list. I have some resources in the pro-audio world here in Indiana, maybe I can help.

I have no experience with the KSM 137, but I've looked at the specs and been tempted by it.

Other mics I might suggest are the Neumann KM-184 (one of my favorites, often under $700 online), the Josephson C-42, very similar to the Neumann for less $$, around $400., and one that has been often suggested to me by some engineers I respect, the AT AE5100, which is actually a large-diaphragm condensor that looks like a small-diaphragm condensor. The AT is the cheapest of all these.

I also get lots of good stuff onstage with Sennheiser MD421s and MD441s, and Beyer M500s. Condensor mics ain't -all that-...
<GG>

stv

**mike_c** · Jan-27-2006, 12:24am

i wouldn't vote for the josephson c-42..i hated mine on mando..it didn't compare to my neumann km-84 or oktava mk-012

**Steve Farling** · Jun-05-2006, 10:45am

Well, it only took about 5 months to find out what these mics were! I was at the Second Annual Midwest Mandolin Festival, and all at once I see the guy that was doing the sound for the Knightstown Festival last fall! I didn't waste any time finding out what mics those were. Audio Technica Pro 37's! Soon as I get the money up, I'll have one on the way. By the way, the Mandolin festival was GREAT! The family and I took in both days. I even got to jam some with Homer Pass & Mike Butler!