One Microphone for vocal/mando

[RHBoy]

Does anyone (by choice) use a single microphone for vocals and mando? I do not mean the whole band on one mic deal, but one mic, say about chest level, used for your personal vocals/mando? If so, care to share reasoning and mic choices?
Thanks!
P.S. This would be in a live bluegrass band format.

[Poener]

I don't see why you couldn't except for the bending over to sing into it.

[Ben Milne]

as a soundguy, I'd have no problems with you singing into your mandolin mic, as long as you ensure your mic technique is up to par.
-By this i mean that If I have set a level for your Mando, I don't want to have you wailing into it a lot closer and louder than your instrument. You should be able to hear the balance in your monitors or the spill from the PA and be able to sing into the mic at a distance to create a pleasing balance between when playing into and singing into.


Also Id perhaps stick with something dynamic such as the Beta57A as the sensitivity in a condenser mic may be a little troublesome and the proximity effect/slower response on a dynamic should work to your advantage. (With a condenser you may find yourself having to sing from quite a way back which in turn would create the sensation of the vocals not being as full. - I suspect it would be easier to find something comfortable and balanced with ribbon or dynamic mics).

That being said, I find that it is often easier to give people seperate Inst./Vox mics (usually when dealing with brass etc). Every bit helps to be able to control and balance everything.

At this point the road splits into
A: You (or your band) operating the PA (less may be more and singing into instrument mics is fine)
B: you have dedicated competent Sound guy who will supply mics (or use yours) and engineer based on his preference.

[mandroid]

My picking buddy used a Large diaphragm condenser microphone to sing and play into ,
a low cost one.. {cause there is negligible cash coming in from playing..}

But It picks up everything .. If He could hear his amplifier/ monitor so could the Microphone

and the feedback loop closed to it's usual howling result.

You are better off clipping a second dynamic mic to the Mic stand and having one to sing in, and the other to have at your instrument height, or if you get a small Diaphragm condenser to play into, a really narrow pickup pattern hypercardioid will be less sensitive to hearing too much..

also, Dynamic mics tolerate being spit into as you sing , condensers are moisture sensitive..

Rode ships a Silica Gel pack with each microphone, to draw off moisture and a zip lock bag to put both in.
when in storage..

[foldedpath]

One thing you might try, is having the mic at a normal height for singing, but angled down towards the mandolin. In other words, the "ball" of the mic at your normal mouth height, but angled down at 45 degrees or so. You'll be singing more across the mic than straight into it. Lift the mandolin up a bit, Monroe-style, for the breaks. Use a cardioid mic for this, not hypercardioid.

I've used that "sing across the mic" (or at a 45 degree angle) technique sometimes with people who can't seem to avoid popping noises. It requires good feedback control in the PA system because you'll probably have to run that channel a little higher than normal, and the back null won't be directly pointed at a floor monitor (if you're using one). It might not work on a gig with lots of stage volume reflecting off a hard floor. On the plus side, you can still use the proximity effect of the mic for a good vocal tone. Vocal mics for live use are designed to be worked very close. With a chest-high mic placement, I would be worried about the vocals sounding too thin in the mix. And the stage presentation won't look good, if you have to bend over to sing into it.

Separate mics would be a better idea, if you have the gear and the available channels on the board. Maybe a separate mic on a stand that you can share for breaks with another instrument in the band?

[A5-L]

I'm using a Audix SCX-25A and it does just that: picking up both vocal and instrument.
Experiment with height to get the proper balance and never get any closer than 1 ft. Don't use any monitor speakers and make shure to cancel out the feedback frequencies with a good equalizer and go. Soundwise, a SM-57 is no match.

[Ben Milne]

I'm using a Audix SCX-25A and it does just that: picking up both vocal and instrument.
Experiment with height to get the proper balance and never get any closer than 1 ft. Don't use any monitor speakers and make shure to cancel out the feedback frequencies with a good equalizer and go. Soundwise, a SM-57 is no match.

a great approach and a nice mic.

[Cheryl Watson]

I prefer dynamic mics on stage and separate mics for voice and instrument; I can work them better and I also like different effects settings for each.

[grassrootphilosopher]

To me there´s nothing better than a single mic setup. Rather than preach I´d like to point towards this personal statement by The New Essex Bluegrass Band´s approach to single mic practics. They also link to this very informative article on Bluegrass Wales that covers the technical aspects quite nicely.

To my mind it´s like in real life; you have to know what you want and you have to keep your priorites straight.

[pops1]

I have used a single mic (ADK side address) it works well, it has it's limitations. We have used one mic for a trio or a singing duo. it works well if you want to sound like you are acoustic. you have to sing over the volume of your instrument so you need to sing with more volume and less dynamics to keep a sound out front. the sound is thinner,yes, but more natural. we do it both ways depending on the venue and the music style. for old time it works great especially if the event is like a civil war in period dress one mic is much less distracting.

[Dave Schimming]

I use the On-Stage Stands MSA-9508 Posi-Lok Side Mount Boom for my mandolin/guitar mic (AT-Pro37) and a Shure58 for vocal. Two mics but only one stand, works well for me.

[TonyP]

We have done a couple things where we got down to a one mic setup. All around a 4033. Usually it's incorporated with separate mic's for vocal/inst. It's amazing what it will pick up. I'll usually boost it more than usual, with the idea everybody stays further away from it. But about chest height picks up vocals and inst perfect. You just have to remember to back off on the inst when singing. Most times the audience complains about the vocals not being loud enough, so adjust accordingly.

I've found one of the best ways to pick a mic and then get used to it is to practice with it. Run it through some good can type headphones that really isolate. Then do your thing, and listen closely. Chest height, if you get too close, you actually lose volume unless you are trying to be Bill Monroe and lift up your mando(which I don't) as I'll be shooting under the pattern. This will show you what the pattern of the mic is and what it needs eq wise and how to work it. Don't wait till you get on stage to do this, it will make you crazy.

Good luck, and as always YMMV, a lot.

[RHBoy]

Thanks for all the great replies! It seems like the idea is not too far out there...

[Andy Miller]

I use a large diaphragm condenser for this, an Audio Technica AT3035, they're not very expensive. I set it with the top of the mic below chin level so it's getting plenty of mando. For the most part I stand back a bit when singing and sing out to project to the mic. Then the mando is back a ways too, at more of a rhythm accompaniment volume. Stepping forward for breaks or louder sections of the song boosts the mando level. I have to lean down and in to the mic when singing very low in my range where I can't project as much volume, or when I'm talking to the audience.

I also have a Sabine feedback eliminator in my small PA, which is pretty helpful to making this work consistently without feedback.

I used to use the same kind of mic for my wife, but because she uses a softer lower voice on most tunes, I've decided she sounds better close-mic'd with a broadcast type EV RE27 mic, which also sounds nice on her fiddle at vocal height. But it wouldn't get an awful lot of mando or guitar at that height.

[jefflester]

Chris Thile used a single LDC when he performed solo last week in L.A. He was back about 5 feet from it and it sounded great.