some of the pubs in Ireland such as in Lisdoonvarna Clare have a microphone over the session which is played out onto the street and to the people at the back of the pub -does anyone know what kind of microphone is used for this?
I imagine you could use a variety of mics -- dynamics as well as condensors. The condensors would do a better job of picking up more of the sound than would a dynamic mic. Budget will typically drive the mic, in the long run...condensors are usually more expensive than their dynamic cousins.
Good miscs for this purpose?... On the dynamic side, I'd lean toward the Shure SM-57 (great workhorse mic, does very well with instruments). That runs about $90 US. For condensors, price is a factor...can't go wrong with a Shure SM-81... I've been playing with some Samson CO2 mics lately that I've thought about using to mic a session sometime. Samson sells the CO2 in pairs or individually...you can usually find a pair on line for about $120 US (but remember, with condensors, you also have to have a phantom power source -- usually on the mixer or a direct-in box of some kind).
I agree with Conan -- that's a creative user profile!
A "choir microphone" designed for hanging over groups of musicians.
If I remember correctly, McGann's in Doolin uses(?) one of these. They are designed to be placed much farther from the music source than the SM57 and the SM-81. It's actually quite unobtrusive, but since it picks up ambient noise (after all, that's its purpose), it isn't that good for loud rooms.
Still, it sounded really nice in McGanns, where people don't need to shout at each other, but could still enjoy the music at a reasonable volume...
I played at a session in Kilkenny where we had a cheap sm58 imitation mike, and it worked fine , until our singer, after several (free) drinks each week took to admonishing the bar owner, by shouting "Leonard, youre only an auld b****x".
This session is no longer running, for some reason!
A good mic for picking up sound in a room is a PZM or pressure zone microphone. They're often used for micing pianos where they are usually attached to the underside of the lid. They need to be attached to a flat surface such as a wall or even a ceiling. Very unobtrusive and inexpensive.
Having said that An Spailpín Fánach in Cork was using a Shure SM58 the last time I was there and it worked fine.
I've always thought that if I ever needed it for a noisy session a radio mic on the table and the receiver plugged into the house PA would be a neat and tidy way of reinforcing the sound a little. House PAs are sometimes not great quality things but most pubs (in Australia, at least) have one. Trouble is, the louder you get the louder the crowd gets, in my experience.
I'd agree with PZMs as an ideal solution - we got a very good reproduction of our band sound by just attaching a PZM to each side of the stage wall and taping it in stereo.
Our local house of worship also uses one for the hard of hearing, a single PZM on a beam that runs across the room, linked to the induction loop for hearing aids.
Of course, if you are distance-miking a session for broadcasting it, the speakers need to be well away from the mike !
overhead microphone at irish sessions
overhead microphone at irish sessions
some of the pubs in Ireland such as in Lisdoonvarna Clare have a microphone over the session which is played out onto the street and to the people at the back of the pub -does anyone know what kind of microphone is used for this?
# Posted on September 28th 2006 by fermanaghbrian
Re: overhead microphone at irish sessions
Brian, sorry can't help with the mic but just wanted to tell you that's one of the best user profiles I've ever read!
Cheers
# Posted on September 28th 2006 by Conán McDonnell
Re: overhead microphone at irish sessions
I imagine you could use a variety of mics -- dynamics as well as condensors. The condensors would do a better job of picking up more of the sound than would a dynamic mic. Budget will typically drive the mic, in the long run...condensors are usually more expensive than their dynamic cousins.
Good miscs for this purpose?... On the dynamic side, I'd lean toward the Shure SM-57 (great workhorse mic, does very well with instruments). That runs about $90 US. For condensors, price is a factor...can't go wrong with a Shure SM-81... I've been playing with some Samson CO2 mics lately that I've thought about using to mic a session sometime. Samson sells the CO2 in pairs or individually...you can usually find a pair on line for about $120 US (but remember, with condensors, you also have to have a phantom power source -- usually on the mixer or a direct-in box of some kind).
I agree with Conan -- that's a creative user profile!
Cheers,
Paul
# Posted on September 28th 2006 by pn5jn
Re: overhead microphone at irish sessions
This is probably what they use:
an AT-Pro45
http://www.zzounds.com/item--AUTPRO45BK
A "choir microphone" designed for hanging over groups of musicians.
If I remember correctly, McGann's in Doolin uses(?) one of these. They are designed to be placed much farther from the music source than the SM57 and the SM-81. It's actually quite unobtrusive, but since it picks up ambient noise (after all, that's its purpose), it isn't that good for loud rooms.
Still, it sounded really nice in McGanns, where people don't need to shout at each other, but could still enjoy the music at a reasonable volume...
# Posted on September 28th 2006 by Georgi
Re: overhead microphone at irish sessions
I played at a session in Kilkenny where we had a cheap sm58 imitation mike, and it worked fine , until our singer, after several (free) drinks each week took to admonishing the bar owner, by shouting "Leonard, youre only an auld b****x".
This session is no longer running, for some reason!
# Posted on September 28th 2006 by Backer
Re: overhead microphone at irish sessions
A good mic for picking up sound in a room is a PZM or pressure zone microphone. They're often used for micing pianos where they are usually attached to the underside of the lid. They need to be attached to a flat surface such as a wall or even a ceiling. Very unobtrusive and inexpensive.
Having said that An Spailpín Fánach in Cork was using a Shure SM58 the last time I was there and it worked fine.
I've always thought that if I ever needed it for a noisy session a radio mic on the table and the receiver plugged into the house PA would be a neat and tidy way of reinforcing the sound a little. House PAs are sometimes not great quality things but most pubs (in Australia, at least) have one. Trouble is, the louder you get the louder the crowd gets, in my experience.
# Posted on September 28th 2006 by zookman2
Re: overhead microphone at irish sessions
I'd agree with PZMs as an ideal solution - we got a very good reproduction of our band sound by just attaching a PZM to each side of the stage wall and taping it in stereo.
Our local house of worship also uses one for the hard of hearing, a single PZM on a beam that runs across the room, linked to the induction loop for hearing aids.
Of course, if you are distance-miking a session for broadcasting it, the speakers need to be well away from the mike !
# Posted on September 29th 2006 by Guernsey Pete