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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | Would like to get a mic for (a) recording jam sessions on to a home PC (with bog-standard sound card) and (b) playing harmonica through a portable amp (sort of like a pignose, works well with acoustic guitar pickups.). Will a single mic do both jobs, or are they two totally different requirements? |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Polar opposites. For the harp the last thing you need is a really good mic with a wide frequency response. A cheap dynamic will be fine. You can pick up an old Shure Unidyne B on ebay for around £15. Or there are dedicated harp mikes like the Shure Green Bullet ot Hohner Bluesblaster. For recording to your PC get the best mic you can afford. Rather than going via the soundcard the best bet would be to get a USB condenser mic. Samson do one for under £60 |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | Thanks, I guessed the answer would be straightforward. Might try the harp one first. |
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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | What Paul said. Nothing I can add to that. |
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May 2008
Posts: 4996
Location: Phoenix AZ | I have nothing more to add either. |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | uh . . . |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | . . . never mind.
I got nuthin', either . . . |
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March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | I have no further questions |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | I should think not. |
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August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Sorry, I've got something to add.
Syc, get a green bullet - preferably an older one from the US. Consensus amongst good harp players (not to be confused with ME) is that the new 520DX (Mexican made) isn't a scratch on the older US made ones. You'll likely pay a bit more, but it's worth it if you're serious about getting a 'Chicago' sound.
Just my $0.05. (We don't have $0.02's in Australia any more.) |
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Joined:
November 2004
Posts: 4413
| muzza's not being strictly truthful.
He can make a seriously nice noise on the harps. I really liked his playing.
That's the first and last nice thing I expect to say about an Australian. |
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Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 4536
Location: Flahdaw | Originally posted by schroeder:
That's the first and last nice thing I expect to say about an Australian. I heard he could handle his booze pretty good too. |
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Joined:
April 2008
Posts: 2985
Location: Sydney, Australia | Originally posted by schroeder:
muzza's not being strictly truthful.
He can make a seriously nice noise on the harps. I really liked his playing.
That's the first and last nice thing I expect to say about an Australian. +1 on Muzz's harp playing. There's video evidence on the Ning site which I posted last year.
Some of my best friends are Australian. |
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Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Originally posted by schroeder:
That's the first and last nice thing I expect to say about an Australian. Or ANYBODY for that matter...
You're gettin' soft in your old age, Schro. |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | Playing mostly Irish trad tunes on the harp, so not sure how the Chicago sound will go with that (might be rather good, come to think of it!). WOudl a green bullet work OK straight into a guitar-type input without a pre-amp? |
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Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | A new mexican green bullet has a slightly cleaner sound than the old ones. Not real sure what a trad Irish harmonica should sound like. I play mainly cross-harp blues and Neil Young stuff.
One good thing about the new Green Bullets is that they have a volume knob on the body of the mic, so you can adjust the volume mid-blow if need be.
For the folky stuff, I'd just use a normal vocal mic - someone else will have to advise you of which one. I'm not a vocalist.
But then, maybe you want to start your own genre - Chicago Irish. RiverDance meets Muddy Waters. You could call it Muddy River! |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6996
Location: Jet City | I'd get a USB interface that you can plug mics into. Then you can plug a decent cheapo condenser mic (MXL, Sampson, Nady, etc.), the bullet or cheapo Sure, plus whatever else you might use in the future like an amp mic or whatever.
Interfaces can be a single input up to many inputs. I have one with 4 inputs that I use for home recording. |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | Muddy river - i like it. You do realise that riverdance is to irish music as Oklahoma! is to american... |
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Microphones