RE: [Harp-L] What's so bad about micing to a PA?

["RhythmShark" <RhythmShark@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sam

Also consider that on most of those gigs that Hummel and Nemeth and others
play, their big amp is miked through the PA as well.

That being said, there is a real nice thing about keeping the stage volume
down.  I have been playing through a '69 Princeton Reverb lately.  It has a
single 10" Utah speaker.  It overdrives really nicely and gets a fat tone at
a volume that I can hear myself on stage most of the time without harp in
the monitors.

If the stage volume creeps up and I feel like I don't have the presence on
stage - mainly I would characterize that as not being able to work the
dynamics while playing, then I'll blend some in the monitors.  Note that my
amp is on a stand and is pointing at me.  That can make all of the
difference when playing with a small amp.  I close mike the speaker with an
SM57 and the microphone goes 1/3 of the way from the edge of the cone.  That
gives the best blend of high & low frequencies.  Never close mic a guitar
amp in the center of the cone pointing at the dust cap.  That is where all
of the high frequencies are generated and it will sound shrill.

Get your stage sound where you like it and then the PA is your next "palate"
to play with.  Use your ears!  Use the channel EQ to balance that amp sound.
Due to the close miking of the amp, you may have to radically roll off the
high frequencies.  Maybe you want to fatten up the bottom with a little more
bass.  Turn the damn knobs until it sounds good.  You may want to have a
"production rehearsal" with your band to work on balancing this out, or have
the guy who owns the PA set it up in your garage for a weekend and spend
some time with it.  At first it might take a little time to get right.  A
year from now, you'll set that thing up in seconds - literally.  I have done
this for so long that I can hear the blend of the stage amp and the PA from
my spot on the stage so that I can tell how loud it is in the room (pretty
close).

Do not be afraid of working with small amps.  Your bandmates might
appreciate it too.  Remember that when Hummel, Piazza, Nemeth, et all are
touring, they are the bosses.  They hire the band, so there is some amount
of excessive volume that the sidemen tolerate to keep their jobs.  I know
one of Rod's sidemen that no longer works with him that hated those damn
Harp King amps because Rod was just playing louder and louder.  The last
time I saw him, it was stupid loud - in a decent sized club.  If you get
that nice fat tone out of a small amp at a reasonable volume, add a mic and
you're in business.

I have also used on some gigs a 64 blackface Champ.  I do the same thing
with that and it sounds great.

I suggest that you might try a Princeton or a Silvertone 1432, 1472 or 1482.
These can all sound great for harp if set up properly - no special mods,
just working properly as designed.  The Kalamazoo sounds terrific, but it is
on the lower volume end of things.  I certainly could make it work, but it
might be a little trickier than the slightly larger amps.

Good Luck

Bernie Clarke 

-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of sam Blancato
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 8:06 AM
To: Harp-L
Subject: [Harp-L] What's so bad about micing to a PA?

Thank you everyone for you input on this issue.  I got a lot of comments and
advise and wanted to just a few responses.  Firstly, several posters talked
about what the sound man should do.  Guys, there is no "sound man".  Most of
the gigs I'm played pay around $300 to $400 and those are the well paying
one.  Hiring a sound man around here usually costs around $100.  This is a
hobby for us; we aren't pros and all have day jobs.  I know there are all
sorts of levels to what a sound mane might be; your friend, who ever in your
band you think might be best at it and so on.  But in answering my inquiry,
telling me to discuss with my soundman is a cop out.  "Hey, how do I fix my
faucet?  Why talk to your plumber about it, of course."  I think I stated in
my post that it's our PA, our board.  
 
But what I was able to glean from several of your helpful comments is this:
In theory the idea is good but the monitors will create feed-back that is
originating from the PA so the Kinder box isn't going to reduce this, a
small amp, amplified through a PA looses some presence, and all that being
said it *is* doable but take a lot of fooling around with monitor placement.
It looks like I'll be lugging the Holland to gigs for the foreseeable
future. 
 
Some advised as to where to place a mic on the amp speaker cone - I already
know that on; between the center and edge of one of the speakers, not at its
center. 
 
Some guy told me this: "on the other hand most beginners like u are not
really ready for a 50 watt amp. so dont expect a small amps crunch when
giggin w the 50 watt amp. But don't worry keep practicin the harp . 
you'l learn and answer all these questions on your own. HAHAHA"
 
The HAHA part show he's kidding I guess.  
 
My little fantasy (I kind of knew it was a fantasy too) was that I could
make use of this expensive PA system to save myself from hauling the large
amp around.  I really like the Kalamazoo's tone.  But I should know this
isn't the best choice.  When you go see national acts like Hummel, and
Guyger, and Nemeth and THEY all lug their big amps on tour that should tell
you how popular micing a small amp is.
 
Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh
 

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