 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Toric
Date: 2003-01-16 20:45
ok...i have no idea where i can get a good microphone. Have any suggestions? are there any stores in the boston area?
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Author: Jane Haversham
Date: 2003-01-17 00:05
i've been thinking of buying one on ebay. good idea?
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2003-01-17 00:06
Jane Haversham wrote:
>
> i've been thinking of buying one on ebay. good
> idea?
In general, unless you know exactly what you're looking for and you're ready to spend some money getting it refurbished - no.
Kinda like buying a clarinet ...
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Author: Birch
Date: 2003-01-17 03:43
I use a Shure SM98 condensor microphone. It's tiny, only 12 grams, and very high quality. I rigged up a hose clamp to attach it to the lower joint, pointing toward the mouthpiece. It works very well on fancy big stages in festivals, and in dingy bars on ancient piece-of-crap sound systems, and anywhere else I've ever used it. A very reliable unit that I am very glad to have.
By the way, I originally bought the microphone because it is the one that Kurt Bjorling of Brave Old World was using when I saw him play. Instead of a hose clamp, he used a coat hanger to attach it to his clarinet.
Good luck. Clarinets are very hard to mic.
--Birch
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Author: Mark Sloss
Date: 2003-01-17 12:57
Toric,
It really depends on your application and your budget. If you are gigging (polka band, dixie, whatever) and need to play into a mic, get something sturdy that sounds good like the Shure SM57. The problem with contact, barrel and lavalier mics on clarinet is that you end up with "hot spots" in the sound. Sound emanates from every part of the instrument, so the game is to mic it in such a way as to get as much of it covered by one mic as possible, which means away from the instrument and directional so it doesn't pick up the noise around you.
If you are in a more controlled setting, large diaphragm condensers (Neumann U87, TLM103, etc.) do well, but are tricky. I recently did some work with a tube M147 that sounded terrific. The go-to mics are the ribbons (Coles, Royer, RCA) because they are very sweet and treat the clarinet euphonically. Fine in a mix, but they lack a little air on top if you are all by your lonesome.
You can email me if you want to give me specifics on what you are trying to do and how much you have to spend. Mark C.'s recommendation for actually buying the goods is spot-on -- Guitar Center (Musician's Friend is actually now the online sub of GC) carries or can order just about anything, and they are stand-up guys.
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Author: Mark Sloss
Date: 2003-01-17 13:06
BTW, stay away from eBay. You only have to drop a mic once to destroy it. If it is exposed to excess humidity, or someone scuffs across the floor and touches it with a static charge, game over. "Works Great" could mean "I get a sound out of it", but no guarantee of quality. The used market really only makes sense if you are buying classic mics and really know what you are doing. There are too many good inexpensive mics now to buy somebody's junk.
Mark.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2003-01-17 16:08
Sometimes you can get great deals on new Russian Oktava 319 mics. Their quality is spotty, but if you find a good one you've saved hundreds of dollars. They "list" at about $600 but they're often advertised for around $100 or so. I'd guess 1 out of 10 is really sweet for a clarinet, and for that price you can buy a spare in case you drop one or blow out the diaphragm.
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2003-01-17 16:49
I would agree with Mark Sloss - except there are a couple models of dual clip-on mikes that pick up both bell and tone-hole sounds which work well. An alternative to the SM57 is an SM58, very similar except wider pattern. I have used one so that it can pick up sounds from the bell and the tone holes with reasonably good results. Try these other threads:
http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=99412&t=99365
http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=94151&t=93982
http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=88477&t=88421
http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=83566&t=83171
http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=74429&t=74192
http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=59651&t=59225
Regards
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Author: Larry Garges
Date: 2003-01-17 16:50
You might want to try an AMT mic system - they use 2 small condensor mikes to even out the pickup of sound over the entire instrument. I've had many compliments on the sound of mine for flute from soundmen.
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Author: HAT
Date: 2003-01-17 17:47
A cousin of mine has designed a nice stereo microphone with a very good built in preamp (so you can use the 'line in' plug) called "The Musician's Ear." If you type that into google you'll find it. I haven't seen or used the product but I know Jim and he's a perfectionist fanatic. I think it's around $700
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Author: Mark Sloss
Date: 2003-01-17 19:52
Second HAT's comment. A very cool practice tool.
The Octava's can definitely be good if you hit the right one and a wicked bargain to boot. If you go down that path, don't be afraid to ask to go through a few just like mouthpieces in the store. They can set you up in one of the demo control rooms with your clarinet and you can just blow and listen. With their 30-day money back guarantees, it is easier to send you out the front door satisfied than have you come back unhappy a week later.
57's of course a good mic when you don't have some (deleted expletive) bugler standing next to you trying to blow you off the stage. Variation on a very good Shure theme.
One other comment I'll make about the close-mounted instrument mics is that they don't really capture the full timbre of the instrument because of their proximity. Works fine in a jazz/dixie/klezmer setting, but definitely not for classical. Remember all acoustic instruments use the surrounding air and room as an extension of the instrument. Clarinets are designed to be listened to at a distance (or in the case of some players, from the next county...).
Have fun!
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