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Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: cybergaloot on January 22, 2008, 12:04:41 PM
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I've been toying with the idea of hanging some mics semi-permanently in the club I go to all the time. I'm in with the club so getting permission wont be a problem. So, what are some good economical mics to use? Anybody have and experience with these: Audio-Technica pro-45? I don't want to sink too many bucks into something experimental or something I'm going to leave in place. The few reviews I can find on those mics are positive. What's best, over the stage lip of a few feet back? I know, that's hard to answer not knowing the club but generally. Concerns? One concern I can think of is cigarette smoke but I figure put windscreens on and change them every so often.
If I hang a pair of mics then I can also get a soundboard feed for vocals (its not a complete mix). The music is mostly electric blues.
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If you can afford them, the AT U853Rx is a better choice...
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Depending on how you plan to set this up, I've found that it works better to leave all the hardware and cables in place, and remove the mics each night. I've done the hanging mic thing a number of times and was never comfortable leaving them in place between shows.
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Depending on how you plan to set this up, I've found that it works better to leave all the hardware and cables in place, and remove the mics each night. I've done the hanging mic thing a number of times and was never comfortable leaving them in place between shows.
ding ding ding. My thoughts exactly.
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The ceiling's not all that high but too high to reach without a ladder. I'd hate to have to lug a ladder out each time to put the mics in place. I know the club owners and have no problem trusting them with leaving my gear in place.
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I hear what you are saying and I was in the same situation with trustworthy club owners, but there were a lot of other people around especially when an act comes to town. Who will be watching the mics at shows you don't attend to make sure some drunk doesn't try something dumb? How about a club worker hauling the ladder or other equipment around between shows and not being aware that mics were hanging and wiping them out/hooking a cable?
You may be in a unique situation, but I always felt that the potential for disaster outweighed the hassle of climbing a ladder. YMMV.
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I've been toying with the idea of hanging some mics semi-permanently in the club I go to all the time. I'm in with the club so getting permission wont be a problem. So, what are some good economical mics to use? Anybody have and experience with these: Audio-Technica pro-45? I don't want to sink too many bucks into something experimental or something I'm going to leave in place. The few reviews I can find on those mics are positive. What's best, over the stage lip of a few feet back? I know, that's hard to answer not knowing the club but generally. Concerns? One concern I can think of is cigarette smoke but I figure put windscreens on and change them every so often.
If I hang a pair of mics then I can also get a soundboard feed for vocals (its not a complete mix). The music is mostly electric blues.
I've left two pairs at various times: one is AT853 (or similar). With the phantom adapters, easy to plug into any mixer/recorder. The second was a set of Studio Projects C4.
As far as leaving them there, you have to judge what you're willing to lose. In my case I left them up for one year or so without incident. Everyone in the club knew they were mine, and they were high enough that I don't think anyone would mess with them. In fact, most visitors did not even notice them!
Richard
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hanging a pair of audio technica choir mics is not a huge investment, so, to me, the hassle of hauling out a ladder every night is outweighed by the convienience factor of leaving them in place. i wouldn't worry about people effing with them, but that's just me...
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I really want to try this because A: the club had crappy acoustics (hard walls) but gets top notch blues acts and B: I want to up the music to audience noise ratio. I've been recording in what I consider the sweet spot but I get a lot of chatter at times from the crowd. Here's an example (Seth Walker): http://home.comcast.net/~cybergaloot/10.mp3
I've got a UA-5 which will, I think, four channel into my laptop. Two channels for the mics, two for the soundboard. There's room at the soundboard (which is next to the stage) to set up the UA-5 & laptop.
Actually I only need one feed from the soundboard because it is run mono. All it does it reinforce the vocals and kick drum most of the time. Sometimes they will run more, depending on the show and the need for more reinforcement.
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what club if you don't mind my asking? Sounds like a club I do foh work in: the hungry tiger
( http://thehungrytiger.com/ )
small club, with not great sound, overly full and very chatty, with the soundboard next to the stage. The good side? top notch national touring blues acts!
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Interesting... I bought a pair of Naiants expressly for this purpose - they are dirt cheap and easily concealed/hidden. No one will even see them and if they do, they won't know they are mics...
The only thing left is to hang them up and try them out. They may suck ass for all I know, but hell, the Naiants were cheap...
Terry
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what club if you don't mind my asking? Sounds like a club I do foh work in: the hungry tiger
( http://thehungrytiger.com/ )
small club, with not great sound, overly full and very chatty, with the soundboard next to the stage. The good side? top notch national touring blues acts!
The Bradfordville Blues Club (http://www.bradfordvilleblues.com)
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Interesting... I bought a pair of Naiants expressly for this purpose - they are dirt cheap and easily concealed/hidden. No one will even see them and if they do, they won't know they are mics...
The only thing left is to hang them up and try them out. They may suck ass for all I know, but hell, the Naiants were cheap...
Terry
I've been checking out all the mics mentioned and these certainly are cheap. I've read a few good reviews about the Naiants, but those seem to be from home studio types. I'd like to know how well the work in field recording. Maybe once I recover from my latest spending spree I'll buy a pair to try out.
I saw the Audio-Technica pro-45 on sale at one of the big music suppliers for around $130 with a few decent reviews, that's why I was looking at them.
I have some SP C4's coming so I might just hang them temporarily to see if the whole idea will work in this environment but I don't want to leave them up. I'd rather leave something cheaper and/or less obvious.
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The Naiants are good field recording mics. I used a pair of the MSH-2's for a bit.
The owner Jon is a member of this forum...
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The Naiants are good field recording mics. I used a pair of the MSH-2's for a bit.
The owner Jon is a member of this forum...
Thanks, that is encouraging feedback. I'll have to give them a try sometime. He has some other gear relatively cheap as well, such as XLR inline pads.
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I'd
go for the 853's over the pro 45's
I have the 853a's and have used them in may different situations
only other reason to take them down between shows
is smoke and humidity...
if you can get away with hanging an array (possibly other mics)
either 110° ORTF
or other close may be 90° NC (near coincident)
it would improve your over all stereo image
peace thru music
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I use the PRO-45 for theater stage, I'm generally happy with them, for the price. One thing I've noticed is that they're very sensitive: sometimes during black (no light, short change of scene, silence at public and on scene) they're picking even the whisperings of actors _behind_ the scene, inaudible to the room audience.
I always hang and remove them after the show, even if the next show is tomorrow.
By specs it seems the higher-end Audio-Technicas have wider frequency response, more dynamic range. Probably useful for music and choirs, but not for voice I guess.
The PRO-45 comes in a small (~5") carton box, not solid. I wish I had a solid box.
I've used them for 2 years now and if I knew they were going to see so much use I think I would have bought the higher end ATs. But then, for higher end, one can go as high as hanging Schoeps capsules.
I'm not a professional, not much audio experience other than that, I don't know other mics.