How to use a microphone

[Gail_Smith]

I can mike up my concertina with a setup I have involving microphone leads running down the sleeves of a jacket. This works Ok for  heaing myself play in a noisy environment eg. having to sit betweek a melodeon and a piano-accordion in a session. It also works well if I am  plugged directly into a sound system and I have time to  work with someone to get the sound right. 

I also have a mike on my desk that I plug into my computer for zoom . 

These both sound OK on recordings. 

 

However, i have recently had problems dealing with a "naked" mike , set up for people to sing into (maybe playing a guitar).  The sort of thing you get  landed with suddenly at an open-mike evening, without the opportunity to fiddle with

 

I put  the microphone at slightly-lower than concertina height yesterday  - and didnt like the sound. The lower notes were really loud compared to the higher ones and  they also seemed to come in too strongly and a little bit late. I also had poor recordings (done by a friend witha phone) problems at an open-mike evening as well. 

 

Did the mike position/ type of mike / how far I was from it /  ? / ? emphasis my poor playing ? Or was it something else ? Are most microphones optimised for voice ?

 

Any ideas on the best way to set up under these circumstances ?

[Clive Thorne]

Microphones "Suffer" from something called the proximity effect, in that if the source is too close to the microphone then it does affect the tone, emphasising the lower frequencies. This can be used constructively to make a singerers voice sound a bit "richer", but can also be a pain in the bottom.

 

Possibly part of the problem? How far was the mike from the concertina? 

Of course if you move the mike too far away they start picking up everything else as well!

 

Ideally you'd probably want a separate mic for each end, but unlikely you'll get this in an open-mike environment, or the time to fiddle with the set up.

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by Clive Thorne

[Gail_Smith]

thanks Clive. That makes sense.  I was very close to the microphone so I can blame the "proximity effect", and sit further away next time.

 

[Clive Thorne]

Let us know if it helps. It could be something else altogether!

[seanc]

not 100% on topic. But still somewhat relevant.. At an open mic night type of environment. You're at the mercy of whatever "sound man" they have. if you use their stuff you're hosed. Their take, is can I hear it? then it must be ok. Get them up there and get them off as fast as possible.

 

there have been a lot of threads about attaching lapel type mics.  If that is an option.

 

You'll do far better giving them fewer options to make you sound bad as possible. If you had a set up of your own mics, set at the proper distances that would likely go a far way to having you sound better.

 

 

[seanc]

I would add. Every mic is different. And they all have different optimum distances and patterns.

 

if possible, get to know a shure sm 57 and 58. As these tend to be most common. if you can get familiar enough to say, EG. Ok, sm 58, 6-8" from the bass and in line with the fretwork. sm 57 4-6" 45degrees to the fretwork. 

 

You will need you playing and somebody with decent ears to give you feedback. But, it helps to elimate some variables.

 

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

In recording performance.. Why not really revert to primitive by using an old foil type manual recording device like the Edison cylinder recording device.. dictaphone thing😊😊😊.. would give a really interesting effect😄😄

Edited December 5, 2023 by SIMON GABRIELOW

[Anglo-Irishman]

On 12/5/2023 at 6:06 PM, SIMON GABRIELOW said:

Why not really revert to primitive by using an old foil type manual recording device ...

Or, for that matter, why bother playing in an environment that's so noisy that even a concertina can't be heard without amplification?😎

Cheers,

John