http://musictech4ed.edublogs.org/2008/07/22/mic-ing-for-jazz-ensemble/ Another excellent Edublogs.org weblog Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:07:28 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 http://musictech4ed.edublogs.org/2008/07/22/mic-ing-for-jazz-ensemble/comment-page-1/#comment-2 Richard McC Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:17:42 +0000 http://musictech4ed.edublogs.org/?p=6#comment-2 You can't go wrong with the Shure mics for live performance. Put your SM57s in front of the instrumentalists and use the SM58s for singers. With a live school performance you probably don't need the nuances that a condenser will give you - your audience really won't notice. Save the condensers for the studio, or for picking up the cymbals if you're miking the drums. With dynamic mics in a live performance you don't have to worry about condensation (i.e. spit) from over-nervous players, you don't have to worry about damage if a well-meaning but clumsy 8th-grader drops the mics while setting up (this has happened to my AKG condensers and I have the dents to prove it), and you don't have to worry about damaging your mics by the same over-zealous 8th grader who forgot whether or not you're supposed to engage phantom power before or after connecting the mic! Using the Shures together also lets you have one basic level set for everything on your board - you can really set it and forget it with all your levels and EQs. You could even bus them all to the same EQ and effects if you wanted. This would be a pain with condensers, especially with kids "approaching" the mike in different ways when they do their solos. You can’t go wrong with the Shure mics for live performance. Put your SM57s in front of the instrumentalists and use the SM58s for singers. With a live school performance you probably don’t need the nuances that a condenser will give you – your audience really won’t notice. Save the condensers for the studio, or for picking up the cymbals if you’re miking the drums. With dynamic mics in a live performance you don’t have to worry about condensation (i.e. spit) from over-nervous players, you don’t have to worry about damage if a well-meaning but clumsy 8th-grader drops the mics while setting up (this has happened to my AKG condensers and I have the dents to prove it), and you don’t have to worry about damaging your mics by the same over-zealous 8th grader who forgot whether or not you’re supposed to engage phantom power before or after connecting the mic! Using the Shures together also lets you have one basic level set for everything on your board – you can really set it and forget it with all your levels and EQs. You could even bus them all to the same EQ and effects if you wanted. This would be a pain with condensers, especially with kids “approaching” the mike in different ways when they do their solos.

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