Re: Madcat's mic WAS: [Harp-L] Background (Rhythm) harmonica

["John Kerkhoven" <solo_danswer@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I use the madcat shaker microphone.

Advantages

- easy to hold, and easy to get used to holding for a long time
- built-in volume control
- it's built as a harp mic and the sound is good -- the reason I bought it a
few years back is because I saw Pierre LaCoque use it in show and he had a
great clean -- but still harp -- sound with it

Disadvantages

- limited in output, an SM57 packs a noticeably louder punch
(LaCoque was running through a professional PA with pro sound techs)
- true, you have some room for hand effects, but I think if you really want
to emphasize hand vibrato, wah-wahs and the like, the best way is the
traditional way of playing accoustically in front of a mic

One thing I have discovered

A lot of us use low-to-high impedence transformers for plugging mics into
amps. This applies to the madcat shaker as well. Mine is set up for 1/4"
jacks. So I use a 1/4 to XLR, and then a low-to-high impedence connector on
that. A clear boost to the sound.

Shaker Microphones has introduced a couple of new versions of the maadcat
shaker since I last checked:
http://www.shakermicrophone.net/thegoods.html

The long and the short is that I'm glad I have this microphone, but I would
not recommend it as an all-purpose mic (if such a thing even exists.)

Caveat to this post: the only mics I have used are the madcat shaker, SM57
and SM58. (I hope to be adding another one or two mics to the collection
before long.) I like the SM57 a lot, but less comfortable to hold for a long
time.

Hope this helps.

All the best,

John