Mandolin mike

[mando-red]

I play mandolin in a 5 piece bluegrass band and we use a single mike setup for our gigs which I'm not crazy about. #I play with the world's loudest banjo player and I am often drowned out. #I would like to get my own mike to use with the sound system but I have no idea what would work for me and what kind to get. #Help! #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

[mandroid]

Record the mix, off the board, maybe he needs to just #stand back,
that recording should be evidence, as to relative sound levels.
Body placement adjustment is free..

dampen the banjo-head? a thick wool sock inside does nicely..

a mini lavalier mic like the countryman C has fans, fits at or in the F hole,
attached to the mandolin,
backing away from single mic as#volume controll goes away though.
#akg c411 sticks on top, and
many other (mechanical connection to soundboard) pickups .
well worn topic, them banjo players.
... backsearch, them archives ...

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

Local guy bought a pencil [With an eraser added on the end]
shaped condenser mic, said Grisman used one too.
mic clip in his setup went on the end of a gooseneck.
don't know brand.

[JimRichter]

For straight miking (w/ no pickup/transducer), I highly recommend the Shure KSM-27 (or any in the KSM series). These are affordable (the KSM27 can be had for as low as 225 on ebay and 275 in the retail stores) large diaphragm condenser microphones that are durable enough for live applications and double as great studio mics. The KSM series are used by many acoustic/bluegrass musicians, including Fleck, Douglas, Skaggs, etc. Makes a great mandolin mic (or banjo mic). I've used one of these the last 4 years and have been very happy.

Jim

[BruceKap]

For the money, I love the AKG1000 condenser mic. Holds a 9v battery or runs on phantom power, and the capsule is suspended, so it is not so fragile as condenser mics can be. The tone is exactly how I want my mandolin to sound! Great guitar mic, too. Should cost you less than $150.

[Bluegrass Boy]

Lots of great mics. Consider the Rhode NT3 and Audio Technica Pro3 (a real gem that is not widely known) as well. However, no amount of technology is going to solve the problem of a musician that doesn't listen well and doesn't know when to back off. Well, a shotgun maybe. I try to remind people in a band that their job is to help make the other guys sound great. You can't sound great if you can't be heard.

[jim simpson]

My experience has been using the single mic for vocals and the banjo player. The guitar and mando each use a supplemental mike plus the bass has it's own. Look where we have the banjo player positioned!

Jim, your banjo player called. He's having emotional difficulties. He thinks nobody likes him....

[mike_c]

we play on one mic and stick a loud banjo player (not you fred) over on his own mic..heck,we don't want to listen to all that loud racket

[Al in PT]

I play with banjo, guitar, dobro and bass so I know what loud can be, and I agree with all the other suggestions, but we are doing a lot of assuming (and you know what assume means). Anyway, some things to think about, which aren't obvious from your question.

1. Distance of your mandolin from the mic
I find that if I stand too far away (often not far at all) I get told that I wasn't loud enough from knowledgeable audience members. I know I can be loud, as I have an instrument that can really roar if I don't pay attention. However, on stage, when it's your break, get right up on that mic.
2. Is your instrument loud? This is affected by the instrument, the strings, the setup, the pic, technique, etc. All can affect whether you are heard or not.
3. probably lots of other assumptions to be made...by folks smarter than me.

Hope this helps...

al
Collings MF5/ Arrow Jazzbo
Back Burner Band

[tennbidder]

Dump the banjo player.

Realistically speaking, can anyone on this board name one banjo player who thinks his banjo is loud enough? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

The best musicians I have ever played with know when NOT to play. There may be a diplomatic solution to this without having to go the Israel/Hezbollah route.

I agree with some of the others who suggest at least a 2 mic setup. The 1 mic setup is in vogue right now BUT, for it to be done correctly, you must have some KNOWLEDGABLE and TALENTED musicians in the group.

Go for 2 mics and stuff a towel in the banjo player's.......................................... ...........................................











banjo.

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[bradeinhorn]

i agree with jim simpson. my band used almost that excat setup. a shure 58 at mando level works well. just get closer for breaks. or try the ATpro7A. you can just stick it on right under the sound hole.

[Salty Dog]

If you use the central mike for vocals and individual mikes for instrument breaks then most reasonably priced mikes work well. #You have full control through the mixer of the volume and can control volume also by the distance of the instrument from the mike. #I use a Shure Beta 57 for the mandolin and get a very good result. #I might add that how you control your volume and balance is probably more important than the quality of your equipment(my opinion).

[mandopete]

Here's a question, does that banjo player sing? If so you may have some logistical issues to deal with. There are some cool videos over on the YouWastingTimeTube that show J.D. Crowe, Tony Rice and Ricky Skaggs on a single mic with each of them singing. Looks like a classic bluegrass fomation with the banjo in the middle and mandolin on the right and guitar on the left. When Ricky takes his break he really steps into the mic, which is the key to working the mic.

Bottom line, you need to work with your banjo picker and the rest of the band to find what will work to balance things out.

[jim simpson]

Fortunately in our case the banjo player didn't sing. I used to tell the audience that he learned to sing while he was growing up listening to Bob Dylan - thus the absence of his singing with us. He actually had no interest or inclination to sing and we didn't mind.