Re: [Harp-L] Favorite Harp Mic

Trip Henderson <trip.tunes@xxxxxxxxx> · Wed, 19 Mar 2014 12:01:48 -0400

For those on the list that play electric, have drums in the band, handhold
mics, use digital processors, amps etc you might want to move onto he next
subject. If however you work in an all acoustic setting and are close
micing everyone using anywhere from 4-10 mics then the Edwina or similar
large diaphragm, side address, condenser mics may be of interest to you as
an alternative to close micing.

Before Edwina entered my life I used an AT4033 for my quartet. We have 3 up
front with guitar, banjo-uke, and harp and the upright bass stands behind
us in the back - everyone sings. We'd occasionally add a 2nd mic stage left
for guitar if the room called for it. This set up works really well if
everyone stands because you can self mix by moving in and out from the mic.
The other beauty of this is that you all are so close to each other that
you do not need monitors and also has the visual advantage of highlighting
the featured player because whoever is up front and in the middle is who
the audience should be paying attention to. The benefits are pretty
astounding and its so much more fun than being locked down to your mic
position.  There's the occasional train wreck where someone is backing out
from a solo and collides with the incoming player but that's part of the
fun and the audience loves the choreography.

When my band went from 4 to 5 members with 4 up front the pickup pattern of
the 4033 was too narrow to capture the whole band and that's when I started
looking for another option and met Edwina. Now we mount the two Edwinas on
a single stand with a cross bar mic adapter and toe the mics out so that
the pickup pattern is now wider to accommodate the new front line. With the
exception of really noisy rooms, or where the speakers are upstage from the
band this set up is our go to.  In the rare setting where it does not work
and we go back to close micing we are all kind of miserable.

I unfortunately do not have any video of the band using the Edwinas but
here's a clip with the 4033 and a 2nd mic down low for guitar - its shot at
the Jalopy Theatre here in Brooklyn.

http://youtu.be/70-O-4Gimzc

These two clips are from fellow Brooklynite Michael Daves with Chris Thile
in one and Bryan Sutton in the other using the one mic approach.  Hold on
to your hats for these gents!

http://youtu.be/iJkEnOcIs7A

http://youtu.be/BJoSA8BWRA0

On Wed, Mar 19, 2014 at 8:49 AM, Bart van Strien <knuppel@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>  Thanks Trip for your answer,
> No coincidence indeed, that's the same AT we've been using for more then
> 10 years, the AT4033. We never use monitors and always stand behind the
> roomspeakers of course. But still plenty of problems in noisy or big
> crowds, so we sure would like to find something with less feedback and were
> hoping the Edwina's are the answer. For sure that's the way they're
> advertised.
>
> Do you find the Edwina's better resistant to feedback or do you think it's
> about the same as the AT4033 ?
>
> Thanks again!
> Bart
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Trip Henderson <trip.tunes@xxxxxxxxx>
> *To:* Bart van Strien <knuppel@xxxxxxxxx>
> *Cc:* harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> *Sent:* Tuesday, March 18, 2014 10:56 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Harp-L] Favorite Harp Mic
>
> Hey Bart!
>
> I love my Edwina's. I like so many of us on this list have a gear fetish
> but these mics are truly excellent. Bart I'm sure you know the Foghorn
> String Band, for those not into hillbilly music they are old time bad-ass
> at its best and they too use these mics.
>
> Before getting the Edwina's I was using an AT 4033, my pals Michael Daves
> and Chris Thile use that mic to great success and its the mic that Del
> McCourey made popular a few years back because sounds guys using 8-10 live
> mics at a bluegrass festival were always screwing up so they just went back
> to the way Bill Monroe did it back in the day - one mic.
>
> Now the Edwina's like the 4033 are only good for certain applications -
> speakers downstage from the mic, and no monitors otherwise if the speakers
> are behind you and monitors are live they will feedback - its all about
> placement.
>
> Check out "The Milk Carton Kids" by The Portland Sessions where they use
> these  http://vimeo.com/52036446. They are sweet!
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 4:07 AM, Bart van Strien <knuppel@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>
>> Hi Trip,
>> the Edwina sounds interesting. Thanks for pointing it out! We use an AT
>> on stage to amplify our bluegrass band (Blue Grass Boogiemen) but do have
>> feedbackproblems when playing for noisy crowds. Can I ask you something
>> bout the Edwina, since you've got some live experience?
>> The Edwina is it really as feedback resistant as they clame it to be?
>> And I read in a review that (for vocals) if you get too far away the
>> sound gets thin, do you have the same experience or is it still rich enough
>> to be workable? What you think?
>>
>> Thanks in advance!
>> Bart
>> the Netherlands
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Trip Henderson" <trip.tunes@xxxxxxxxx
>> >
>> To: "robert" <harpbob@xxxxxxxxxxx>; <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
>> Sent: Friday, March 14, 2014 6:49 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Favorite Harp Mic
>>
>>
>>  Hey Bob old friend!  The Beyer M-69 It would be sweet for Chromatic. I
>>> got
>>> the idea from Mickey Raphael and then did my own research. Its great for
>>> close proximity work, has a frequency range from 50k-15,000k and is very
>>> smooth, its built rugged and hence is on the heavy side. I use it both
>>> on a
>>> stand and handheld either through the PA or a small tube amp ('57 Tweed
>>> Champ or Kalamazoo Model 1) where appropriate. I had one stolen by
>>> another
>>> harp player a few years back (he then had a heart a attach and died -
>>> just
>>> sayin') so I bought a second one.  Love it!
>>>
>>> Another great choice is the Beyer M160 ribbon microphone which Mickey
>>> also
>>> uses as does Lee Oskar.  Its a much more fragile mic with less
>>> cojones/body
>>> than the M-69 and is a really sweet smooth mic.
>>>
>>> My last recommendation is the Edwina, a mic made by Ear Trumpet Lab that
>>> looks as good as it sounds. Its made in Portlandia, Oregon from
>>> organically sourced plumbing parts (I'm only half joking!) and is a side
>>> address, large diaphragm, condenser mic that requires phantom power. I
>>> use
>>> a pair to mic my entire 5 piece acoustic band and they work best in a
>>> trad/acoustic music setting where no monitors are used.  I'll be singing
>>> and blowing through one tonight at the Jalopy Theatre in Red
>>> Hook Brooklyn if anyone's around those parts.
>>>
>>> Over and out.
>>>
>>> --
>>> *Trip Henderson*
>>> https://soundcloud.com/trip-henderson
>>> https://www.youtube.com/TheWhistlingWolves
>>>
>>> On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 10:54 AM, robert <harpbob@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>
>>> That looks intriguing...Trip, how would this work with chromatic, held
>>>> Toots style, for jazz?
>>>> Bob
>>>>
>>>> > Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 23:54:25 -0400
>>>> > From: trip.tunes@xxxxxxxxx
>>>> > To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
>>>> > Subject: [Harp-L] Favorite Harp Mic
>>>> >
>>>> > Beyer M-69
>>>> >
>>>> > *Trip Henderson*
>>>> > https://soundcloud.com/trip-henderson
>>>> > https://www.youtube.com/TheWhistlingWolves
>>>>
>>>>
>>
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>>
>
>
> --
> *Trip Henderson*
> https://soundcloud.com/trip-henderson
> https://www.youtube.com/TheWhistlingWolves
>
>
>
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-- 
*Trip Henderson*
https://soundcloud.com/trip-henderson
https://www.youtube.com/TheWhistlingWolves