I have started playing gigs wherein I must play
mandolin and tenor banjo (one at a time, of course).
I was thinking about getting a contact or bridge pickup for each instrument, because using a single
microphone has proved to be somewhat troublesome.
It seems like I might need to use a preamp for
these pickups. I found this one which will take
2 inputs: http://www.jr.com/maudio/pe/MIM_DMP3/
But I’d like either an A/B switch, or a foot switch to
turn off the banjo pickup because the head resonates a lot when not in use, which would be annoying if
amplified.
Cheap, effective, reliable. Put it ahead of the preamp, and you only need 1 preamp input. Can also be used as an on/off (mute) switch if you ignore tha A or B.
I was thinking about that sort of thing, but I was
worried that I would need to control the gain for
each pickup individually. Unless each pickup has
its own volume knob… Hmmm…
A lot will depend on what pickups you choose. But as to the preamp you’ve listed, while I cannot tell exactly by the description or photo, it doesn’t look like something you’d use for live music. It looks like an ancillary preamp for a home recording set up. It doesn’t appear to have an EQ function, which would be critical for your application. I’m 90% sure that this is the wrong item.
A simple A/B box will allow you to put both pickups into a single channel one at a time (depending on the pickup), but you’ll most likely find that you want individual EQ and gain control for the two instruments. Using just an A/B box into one channel won’t get you that.
Depending on the pickups used, you may or may not need a preamp at all. If you do, a single preamp with an A/B box will still require you to change settings on the preamp every time you change instruments. All it gets you is that you don’t have to unplug one to plug in the other. That’s not bad, but it’s not great either.
If I were doing it, I would choose a sub-mixer instead of the A/B box. One like this:
That gives you independant gain control and EQ for both instruments, plus the preamp function you’ll need for the pickups. It has XLR and 1/4" inputs, so it works with any kind of pickup. To accomplish the mute function simply turn off the channel that’s not used.
You could always chain a volume pedal after the A/B box.
I use this A/B setup most commonly nowadays when I want to run both guitar (Seymour Duncan pickup) and Concertina (Microvox pickup) to a single board input. Both pickups have onboard volume, so not a problem.
My other inexpensive solution is a small premixing board, like my Behringer Xenyx 802
This has 2 1/4 inch or XLR preamp inputs which work well with instruments, effective EQ, and separate volume controls for each channel. No channel mutes on an inexpensive board like this, but just turn the channel volume all the way down to mute.
And, of course, it’s versatile with many uses for pickups, microphones, live sound, home recording, etc.
Yes, good. You must first see the requirements of the pickups before you can correctly determine the input conditions. The final selection may NOT be those things MT and I have suggested.
Will do. Does anyone have any experience with
any particular banjo pickups? I’ve read all kinds
of conflicting reports on the Interwebs. I have
to order since no one in town stocks the darn
things.
For my tenor banjos, I’ve use a Mcintyre piezo with good results, particular with a high quality preamp. Placement of the pickup is critical, takes some time to get right.
On my tenor I use the Gold Tone SMP. It’s more like a humbucker pickup than a piezo. It has, to my ears and needs, just as good (or bad) a sound as a piezo but it never feeds back. Doesn’t need a battery or a preamp. Zero handling noise too.
My five string uses a fishman coil pickup. It mounts under the bridge and there’s a tiny sliver of metal that goes under the center foot of the bridge. The metal piece vibrates in the magnetic field. My feelings are about the same: doesn’t feedback, sounds about as good as a pickup will sound on a banjo.
But for my needs I have to be really loud and it just has to sound ‘banjo-ey’ to entertain the crowd. Where I play nobody really cares about hi-fidelity anyway, they’re just having a good time. I think you can drive yourself crazy trying to get a perfect sound when nobody else can tell the difference, so I go for convenience and reliability.
