another pickup/mic question

[mandomaybe]

I know this has been discussed many times, but I'd like some feedback on my situation. I play mostly in a duet with a guitar player, neither us great players, but we do vocal harmonies pretty well. Sometimes we're at open mics where I can only get one mic to myself, and I have to position it to split the difference between vocal and mando, and it's usually unsatisfying. I play a 20 yr. old Breedlove Quartz oval. I added a L.R. Biggs pickup and tried it in a few venues but it always sounds thin and tinny. Now it's likely that my poor playing contributes to that sound, but I'm wondering if there are good alternatives as far as pickups go that would sound more natural. BTW, I've heard another player plug his mando in at the open mic, and again, to my ear it doesn't sound good. I don't play or go out listening to bluegrass bands so maybe it works better there, but in smaller, quieter combos I find plugged in mandos hard on the ears. Maybe the best solution is to ask the very friendly open mic host if I can bring an extra mic of my own to plug in into the house! Any thoughts welcomed. Thanks.

[Perry]

Maybe the best solution is to ask the very friendly open mic host if I can bring an extra mic of my own to plug in into the house! Any thoughts welcomed. Thanks.

Yes but somewhat of a hassle because you may have to bring a stand and mic cord as well.

K&K mandolin pick-ups are very popular around here. I have one and run it through a Red Eye pre-amp. Warm and natural sounding

[Steve Ostrander]

I use a K&K on my Breedlove American into my Fishman Loudbox Artist, the DI out to the house PA if needed.

[Beanzy]

Pickup straight to the desk is probably your issue.
One of the Fishman platinum preamps would give you a decent sound without laying out too much cash.

[Br1ck]

Open mics need to be quick and easy. That is why the K&K is a popular solution but if mic is what you need, I have a Bartlett mic that goes into a mini brief case that is just big enough for a dbx GoRack, a power supply, and an extension cord. The mic and it's cord, and an XLR cable are plugged in, so I plug the AC into a stage outlet and hand the XLR to the host. The dbx handles any potential feedback.

The downside is the mic clips to the f hole and picks up a lot of pick attack. I'm going to get it up off the body using a viola chin clamp like I use for my arm rest and a piece of wood or a gooseneck. Should be fine, and it sure sounds acoustic.

[Jim]

Perhaps a direct box / pre amp, my berhringer adi21 does a good job of sweetening up a piezo pick-up going straight to the board.

[colorado_al]

If you are going from the pickup straight to the soundboard, you likely need a DI or preamp to get better sound. I really like this one for piezo pickups:
http://www.radialeng.com/stagebugsb4.php
It is about $80, but you can sometimes find it for $70. The board will have to be able to provide phantom power via an XLR cable.
If that isn't available - they just give you a 1/4" cable to plug into, you can use a preamp that has 1/4" out.
LR Baggs suggests their GigPro, which is about $100
https://www.lrbaggs.com/preamps-di/g...coustic-preamp
There are plenty of other options out there, but you need a preamp or DI to get the sound you're looking for.

As Jim said, The Behringer ADI21 is a low price option
https://smile.amazon.com/BEHRINGER-V...dp/B000KITQK2/
Best to use it in passive mode and instead of modeling mode. That way it just does the impedance matching and you can use the XLR or 1/4" output, and it doesn't color the sound of the instrument too much. The modeling on the ADI21 is pretty useless as far as I can tell, unless you;re trying to get some more funky, less acoustic sounds.

I use the ADI21 for open mics and it works for me. Nice that it has both XLR and 1/4" output. Can use a 9v battery or AC adapter.

When I'm using our own sound equipment or we are gigging somewhere that we can take more time setting up, I use the StageBug

[Charlieshafer]

All those add up cost-wise. Of course, I'm a mic kind of guy. But a clip-on mic, like an inexpensive Bartlett would work very well. No premise, no anything. One xld to the board which will need 48v phantom, and most do, and you're done. Most natural sound, and you won't need a lot of gain to make it work just fine. If there are monitors, just point them slightly away and you won't have a feedback problem. $150 and you're done, and don;t need to carry lots of stuff. Works in a nice quiet sort of open mic, but a loud bar-type, not so good.

[pops1]

Almost all preamps, at least the 4 I have, have a 1/4" out along with the XLR. If you need phantom power you will need to use the XLR

[mandomaybe]

Ok, thanks for all the comments. Bottom line seems to be: get a preamp. Will do.

[Mandoplumb]

I see no problem with a mic for a mandolin and vocal turn the volume up and work it at about a foot. The band I play with plays 4 instrument and 4 vocals into one mic. Yes it is a studio mike ( ribbon) but we used a shure 57 to check out what we thought of one mic and it was very acceptable. Don't get so hung up on gadgets concentrate on your music. If there is more than one way to do something the simplist way is best IMHO

[Perry]

I'll say it again Red Eye pre-amp is the way to go!