[Harp-L] Micing a Harp Amp into the PA

[Christopher Sprankle]

I'm playing outdoors this weekend with a fairly loud band, and the only amp I have is a 67 Gibson Explorer (10-15W w/ 10"speaker). It is pretty loud and holds it's own in most bars, especially if I put it on a stand that tilts it up at an angle. I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to mic it at this gig though. Does anyone have any advice on micing this amp into the PA system? Should I mic it just like one would mic a guitar amp?

Thanks,

Chris Sprankle

�

[Thomas E. McGovern]

I also play harp with a really loud stage presence band, and I use only a
small 5 watt Fender amp (along with a custom mic from Dennis O. of Kansas
City--great mic). I've had great success just mic-ing the amp to the PA
with a Shure SM57 on a stand perpendicular to the speaker, just off-center.
In addition to my floor monitor, I can use the amp on a stand behind me as
an additional monitor that only contains my harp and no other mix.
Tom McGovern
Richmond, MI

[Timothy Kane]

 I've used an SM57 to mic up my amps for some time now. For a while, I used the line out on my Kalamazoo through a DI and into the PA. That worked well, but mic'ing it captures more of the natural characteristics of the original speaker. Nowadays, I use two amps. The line out from my Zoo goes into my Alamo Fury, and then I mic the 15" on the Alamo. Gets me room filling ballsy tone.

The 57 is a good way to go. There are different mic positionings you can use to attain the PA tone you want. Play around with it. That's the only way you'll track it down.

I might add that another couple of excellent mics for amps are the specifically-designed Sennheiser e609 and e906. Great thing about these is that they're flat, so you can drape them over your speaker and get far better pickup than you would draping a 57 or 58.
 

                          Hawkeye Kane
                                                                                                 hawke...@yahoo.com
                                                                                                     Cell: (217)-741-7183
                                                                                                    http://www.hawkeyekane.com/

________________________________
From: Christopher Sprankle <crspr...@yahoo.com>
To: har...@harp-l.org
Sent: Wednesday, June 5, 2013 12:23 PM

Subject: [Harp-L] Micing a Harp Amp into the PA

I'm playing outdoors this weekend with a fairly loud band, and the only amp I have is a 67 Gibson Explorer (10-15W w/ 10"speaker).  It is pretty loud and holds it's own in most bars, especially if I put it on a stand that tilts it up at an angle.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to mic it at this gig though.  Does anyone have any advice on micing this amp into the PA system?  Should I mic it just like one would mic a guitar amp? 

Thanks,

Chris Sprankle

[The Iceman]

When I mic a harp amp, I won't center the mic over the speaker, but will place it about 1/2 way between the center of the speaker and it's edge. Just my personal sound preference.

[Bluz...@aol.com]

In a message dated 6/5/2013 1:55:17 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time,

harp-l-...@harp-l.org writes:
Sennheiser e609 and e906. Great thing about these is that they're flat, so
you can drape them over your speaker and get far better pickup than you
would draping a 57 or 58. Hawkeye Kane

I do agree that those mic's work very well, but it should be understood
that the above statement is true only when you have the Shure SM57 or SM58
draped in front of the speaker and therefore pointed at the ground. You see
that done a lot, but it is not a proper way to mic a speaker. If the 57 is
closely placed with a stand so it points straight at the speaker cone
then it will work just as well as the e609/e906. The 57 is purpose built for
that application and will work better than a 58, which is designed toward
capturing vocals.

Aiming any mic directly at the center of the speaker cone will result in a
more trebly sound, which most people do not like for harmonica. The
further out toward the edge of the cone you point the mic the less trebly it
becomes, once you get about a third or half way out you will also begin to
notice a rise in the bass frequencies. Experiment with that and adjust to
taste. Make sure you do not place the mic so that it interacts with a stage
monitor. There are additional placement considerations which vary with the
specific stage setup, especially so for multi-speaker cabinets.

Christopher Richards
Soul' Proprietor - Twin Tone Microphones
harmonicaplanet .com

[Rick Davis]

I may be an apostate on this but I actually prefer to use a line out in
most situations. A good line out will sound as good as a mic in most
settings, and better in some settings. A line out will included speaker
effects from the reactance in the signal.

A perfectly placed and adjusted mic in front of an amp is a wonderful
thing, but in real life it rarely happens, and when it does happen it gets
kicked on stage by some crazy musician. Happens every time.

A good line out will sound exactly the same every time, regardless of
placement. And here is the biggest advantage: It will lessen the potential
for feedback. The mic in front of your amp is low and may be not too far
from the monitor floor wedges. If your harp is in the monitor (and it
probably is since you are mic'ing your amp) feedback can be terrible
through the monitors. With a line out that problem goes away.

-Rick Davis

[Richard Hunter]

Rick Davis wrote:
<I may be an apostate on this but I actually prefer to use a line out in
<most situations. A good line out will sound as good as a mic in most
<settings, and better in some settings.

Not an apostate view at all, but it begs the question of what a "good" line out is. The answer is that a good line out gets its signal post-amplifier stage, not post-preamp stage.

Most line-outs on inexpensive amps take their signal from the preamp (usually a 12AX7 tube in a small amp), BEFORE the signal hits the amplifier stage (where a 6L6 or similar tube pumps up the volume on the distorted signal from the preamp). In other words, you get all the distortion and none of the fatness in the line-out tone; your sound is the sound of the preamp, NOT the amp.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing; like any sound, it can work in some situations. But you're generally better off with a line-out that gets its signal post-amplifier stage. Ron Holmes modified my Crate VC508 to take its line-out signal post-amplifier, and it's much more representative now of the real sound of the amp. If you plan to use the line-out on your amp regularly, it's a good idea to have an amp tech do a similar mod on your amp.

Of course I almost always use my Digitech RP for live performance now, and my signal to the board is always a line-out with that rig.

regards, Richard Hunter





author, "Jazz Harp"
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://hunterharp.com
Myspace http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
more mp3s at http://taxi.com/rhunter
Twitter: lightninrick

[Gary Mulholland]

The Sennheiser e609 draped over the amp is really good and I like it over
the 57 just because you CAN drape it . But I too prefer to line out to the
PA, these days though I use a digitech rp 255 direct into the PA with
Richard Hunter patches. You can more or less go as loud as you like with
this set up. I do some loud gigs and the rp is ALWAYS loud enough with room
to spare and you also have all the reverbs, delays .... I could go on about
these wonderful patches but its getting off subject. Enough to say its the
way I go now with all live performances but IF I miced an amp I would go
with the Seinnheiser,I own both the 57 and seinnheiser, Love them both, but
am swayed towards the sennheiser just because of its drapability ( I think
I just made that word up !! )

Gary

[Richard Hunter]

> In a message dated 6/5/2013 1:55:17 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time,
> harp-l-...@harp-l.org writes:
> Sennheiser e609 and e906. Great thing about these is that they're flat, so
> you can drape them over your speaker and get far better pickup than you
> would draping a 57 or 58. Hawkeye Kane
>
> I do agree that those mic's work very well, but it should be understood
> that the above statement is true only when you have the Shure SM57 or SM58
> draped in front of the speaker and therefore pointed at the ground. You
> see
> that done a lot, but it is not a proper way to mic a speaker. If the 57
> is
> closely placed with a stand so it points straight at the speaker cone
> then it will work just as well as the e609/e906.

Yes, the 57 is an EXTREMELY directional mic, meaning that it generally only hears what's directly in front of it. If you drape a 57 over the front of an amp pointing downward, it will hear very little of what the amp is putting out. And so will your audience.

It baffles me that sound techs who should know better will drape a 57 over the amp in this manner, but no matter who does it, it's just not right.

Thanks, Richard Hunter

[Buck Worley]

I like the 57 too. If I dont have a mike stand available, I always carry a long "gooseneck" with a mic clip. Run it under the amp handle (with care) and bend it over to aim at the selected spot, feed the cable to the board and ask the sound tech to just set my channel EQ flat and adjust for main & monitor volumes unless the sound tech is really good at harp amp EQing that usually does the trick and you will have more control over things.Buck


> Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2013 08:46:03 -0400
> From: turtl...@earthlink.net
> To: har...@harp-l.org
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re: Micing a Harp Amp into the PA

[Ross Macdonald]

I use the Sennheiser E 609 with a clip from AmpClamp. Better for me than hooking the xlr cord through the amp handle and it always ends up in the correct spot on my amp. The top sound guy in my town used to mic my amp with one of these 609s over a SM57, so I bought one and have it ready for any sound guy with an xlr cable already to plug into the board or snake. Most sound guys appreciate the mic, and the effort to give them a cable end already to go.

I have found that making the sound guy/gal happy pays dividends.

Sent from my iPad