[Harp-L] RE: Shaker Madcat? (Vergil Mueller)

[conruth@xxxxxxxxx]

On January 15 Vergil Mueller asked the following questions about the Shaker
Madcat microphone:

>1)  The manufacturer's description says it is small enough
>and shaped so that you can do the natural "wah-wah" effect
>with your hands, and the mic will pick it up.  Is this true?
>How effectively does it reproduce the traditional acoustic
>wah sound, or is it a different sound?

Yes, It's true.  The Shaker Madcat microphone accurately reproduces the
traditional acoustic wah sound, but if you plug the mix into an amp that
has a dirty sound the wah will be dirty too.

>2)  Since I'll be playing several different styles of music and
>might need to sound "clean" from time to time, I am looking
>for a mic that has a good range of different sounds or
>styles.  I have heard that the Madcat has a somewhat
>"clean" sound naturally because of its relatively weak
>signal, but that you can also get the "thick, hot" sound with
>it if you use a pre-amp and/or have the volume controls set
>right.  How accurate is this claim?  What configurations
>(pre-amps, amps, settings) have been used to get a good,
>thick blues sound?

With a Shaker Madcat microphone, you can get a huge variety of tones from
clean to as dirty as you want.  I use a Peavey Transformer amp (a modeling
amp) and with it I can get a huge variety of tone from very clean to
delightfully nasty to way-over-the-top...

The Shaker Madcat microphone works very well with guitar stomp boxes.  My
personal favorite for getting great bluesy tones is the Boss BD-2 Blues
Driver.

>If anyone has any general recommendations about why or why
>not the Madcat is a good mic, let 'er rip.  Also, are there any
>other mic recommendations for a guy who plays a good bit of
>non-blues as well as blues?

I play alot of blues and alot of non-blues and The Shaker Madcat microphone
is my favorite.  The output signal from this microphone is somewhat lower
than some other microphones, but I never found that to be a problem.  In
fact I consider it an asset.  You get less feedback that way, and if it is
not loud enough just adjust the volume knob on your amp.  It is that
simple...

You are right when you say that taste in mics is a very personalized
question.  The Shaker Madcat microphone is way to weird for some people.
But I think it is the best harp mic in the world.

Disclaimer:  My name is Peter Madcat Ruth.  I am the co-inventor of the
Shaker Madcat microphone.  I've had alot of experience using this mic...

Peace & Joy,

Madcat
madcat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.madcatmusic.com