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mando-g
Feb-25-2004, 1:03pm
My band is trying to do the one mic set up a la Del McCoury. #We are using a lower end Audio Technica (the model # escapes me). #We are having problems all being heard unless we are right up in the mic--a foot or less. #Del, and other bands like Open Road or Doyle Lawson seem to have room to move--we are always crammed right around the mic. #My questions are: #is it the mic quality, or something with the way we set it up? #and what brands/models do Del, Open Road and Doyle use?

BenE
Feb-25-2004, 1:15pm
Audio Technica 4033 is what Del uses....I have a couple of them and they are good mics...You shouldn't have any trouble being heard. Those things can pick up the change jingling in your pocket!

John S
Feb-25-2004, 1:28pm
Crank up the gain on the 4033 as much as you can, but you'll be limited by feedback. Also... play and sing LOUD. The bands that do the best with single mic'ing seem to be the ones that are the loudest. Keep in as tight of a formation in front of the mic as you can, without spreading too much to the sides if you can help it. Del uses two 4033's nowadays, you can try that to give you more room.

Brian Ray
Feb-25-2004, 4:14pm
You don't mention if the AT mic you have is a condenser... it needs to be. A dynamic mic (eg. SM58) won't do... There are a ton of cheap condenser mics out there now days... take your pick or go with the AT 4033 like Del.

TonyP.
Feb-25-2004, 6:29pm
It would be good to know some other things about your equipment like exactly which AT mic your using and what your using for a PA. We use a 4033 and 3 012 Oktava's and none of those mics do you have to get right on top of. You do have to forget about using traditional monitors 'cause especialy 4033 is too sensitive, it will just feedback. Some kind of in ear monitors is the way to go. The nice thing about investing in a nice mic is when you go to record it's great for that too. You do have to be careful with it though,it is sensitive to rough handling and to dust and moisture. Not as bad as most studio mics though.

mrbook
Feb-28-2004, 1:39am
We use a 4033 - or an AKG C3000 - through a Rolls phantom power unit into a Crate PA-6 amp. Nothing special, but it picks up 8-10 feet back. The farther away your speakers are, the more you can turn up the gain. If we get closer than one foot from the microphone it distorts. It works fine, but watch your comments - we have all said something we thought no one would hear that came out through the speakers.

Crowder
Feb-28-2004, 8:40am
I saw the Churchmen at SPBGMA using a modified one mic setup. The "one mic" part was for up to three of them at a time, but the fiddler had his own mic, and whenever someone sang a fourth part it was into a different mic. The one big mic was setup really hot--no one got within less than two feet of it, and it sounded great. I think that's the secret, is getting a mic and a montior set up that allows you to run that mic really hot. That way you can pretty much just play and it will sound okay.

mando-g
Mar-01-2004, 10:01am
Thanks for all of the input. I think the problem we are having seems to be with picking up ambient noise from the crowd. We play almost exclusively in bars, with A LOT of background chatter. Whenever we turn up the gain, it seems to pick all of that up. If we get too close it feeds back. So we turn the gain down, forcing us to get right up into the mic, and shout. It seems to take away from the dynamic of one mic. Is there anything that can shield the front of the mic from crowd noise?? Or is that even the problem?? Help!

TonyP.
Mar-01-2004, 12:18pm
You really have two choices in my book, give up the bar scene or give up on the one mic setup and go to dynamic "slug" mics or pickups. The reasons there is so much noise is exactly why I refuse to play bars. Everything about a bar is against the one mic setup. I'll bet besides the noise, your on a stage that puts you even closer to an already low ceiling which makes a perfect standing wave that feedsback the mic at any normal level. Enclosed stages are even more deadly for feedback. Eq's and feedback killer's to my ear are a bad compromise because it turns your sound into a giant am radio. I know there are many who would disagree with me so this is obviously just my 2c worth and I'm just sharing my experience.

madlabs
Mar-01-2004, 12:34pm
We used a 4033 for all types of venues from bars to weddings until we played a gig with Cliff Waldren & The New Shades of Grass. They were using a pair of AT Pro37's One high and one low. Instead of changing mics between sets we used theirs. I want out the next day and bought one. Same type of mic but smaller and does not pick up the crowd noise like the 4033. We were able to use the phantom power right from our Yorkville MP8DX for the Pro37 instead of a seperate pre amp for the 4033.

Ron W

mrbook
Mar-03-2004, 10:58pm
Bars are the one place where we sometimes have to abandon the single microphone setup. Sometimes it works, but often the ceiling is too low, the stage area is too crowded, and too much background noise gets picked up. Luckily, we don't play many bars.