ok…here’s the deal:
I play with a group that does mostly Irish folk music (Clancy Brothers, Phil Coulter, Wolfe TOnes and the like). 1 electronic keyboard and 2 guitars (one sometimes switches to mandolin), and then there’s me: Flute and whistle. I can’t be heard. We’re all hooked up to mics, but they are very loud and even with a mic - so far - I still get lost in the noise.
What can I do? THis past weekend, we tried with the mic about 3 or 4 inches in front of me; we have, in the past, tried placing the mic to either side of the blow hole. Perhaps a different mic? Clip on?? cordless?? Any and all sugestions greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Sue
get right up there under the mic!!! really close, like an inch or two away from the blowhole. position the mic head in front of and a little higher than your mouth / blowhole and have the head point at an angle downward towards mouth/blowhole. works for me. i play with 3 accordians, 2 fiddles, a banjo, and a drummer (drumset) for ceili / set dancing.
If you have a little money to invest, Shure wireless microphones are great, I think. It’s a tiny mic on a flexible wire that you clip into your hair with a bobbypin. The bodypack clips on to the back of your jeans and you are free to roam without having to be “glued” to a microphone. They pick up phenomenally well and my flutes and whistles sound much more natural than with traditional microphones. Strangely enough, they don’t pick up vocal all that well so you can curse softly if you mess up, but no Yosemite Sam fits of rage It also is not a problem if the venue you’re playing has it’s own sound system. You just give the receiver to the sound man and he’ll find the right frequency. The only drawback, I think, is that you lose control of your own volume - can’t back off the mic when you want to. I feel the need to back off a bit when I pick up a penny whistle as opposed to flute or low whistle. Sound guys are generally pretty good about keeping it under control, but it makes me nervous. Definitely not a gadget for control freaks .
This is what i use for flute: http://snipurl.com/4lh3 (Yamaha PS/7 microphone and preamp). Flute World has a good price, but sometimes you find it for $100. I think this is actually a discontinued model; the newer models are mostly for sax and trumpet. This one gives you a flute clip and a sax clip, microphone and preamp. Cables are non-standard but not much of a problem (it uses 1/8" stereo plug for output). This setup works very well for me, and i can play loud rock’n’roll with no feedback. (Of course YMMV.) I also like having the preamp, because it gives me a little control in case the guy at the mixer is ignoring me.
The preamp has 2 inputs. My plan is to use the second input for a standard microphone on a stand, for the whistle, but i haven’t done that yet.
Oh, just one more thing: i stayed away from a clip microphone for a long time thinking that it would pick up lots of noise from fingers, and it’s not true, at least not true of this one. Even with the Boehm flute, it doesn’t pick up any finger/key noise. The other reason i stayed away from clips in the past was that i like being able to get closer or less close to the mike to vary my volume, but in fact this is not good anyway; if you use a stand mike, you want to stay very close to it at all times. Using a clip mike didn’t affect my ability to control my dynamics. And the preamp, as i said, gives you an extra measure of control and the ability to turn yourself off if you want to.
If anyone would like to hear a recording, PM me and i’ll try to make you one.
Another edit… by the way, the picture at fluteworld is all wrong. You’d typically have the microphone set so that it’s in front of the blow hole, or else, you’d have it set away from the airflow, but very close to the flute wall, to the right of the blowhole.
Nuts. I thought this was going to be a thread about caffeine addiction, and I was all ready with my expert advice… :roll:
But on the subject of mics, you could consider wearing a hat (baseball-cap say), and clipping a lavalier (tie-clip type, wireless or wired) mic to the underside of the brim/peak of the hat/cap. If the mic’s wired, you can run the cable 'round back, down the back of your neck out of the way.
Added benefit, you’d get to hear yourself playing a bit better too.
hth,
Edited to add: the hat-mic has advantages over clipping a mic to the instrument itself…it won’t pick up the sound of your fingers thwacking onto the flute, or other unwanted mechanical noises. It also won’t interfere with your handling or give you the sense that the instrument is ‘tethered’ all the time.
Playing in that kind of band too, and we also have a singer, we constantly have to discipline ourself and turn the volume down. Always remember this, the louder everybody gets, even if everyone has a clean sound, the dirtier the total sound gets.
And usually, the flute is one of the easiest instrument to mic (with a voice mic as a SM 58), since it’s really close to the human voice. So playing close to the mic, as said above, if you don’t hear yourself, the mic is not the problem!
I’ve used a mic on stand and a headset mic. Each have advantages. Stands allow you to fade in/out utilizing proximity, but lock you into one positon for the night. The headset I’ve used less, but most music shops will hook you into one to try out in-store.
I like the convenience of a headworn mic. This is the one I use (WH30) http://www.shure.com/otws/gear/gear_wh30.asp which has a flexible mic boom which I bend up to just at the right corner of my mouth. I can move it farther away when I don’t want as booming a sound. Actually, I found that plugging my mic into a small mixing board (Beringher makes a very small, very inexpensive one) that sits on a small shelf clipped on a nearby mic stand. This way I can just reach down and adjust the volume or the high/middle/low tones between tunes.
I like the convenience of a headworn mic. This is the one I use (WH30) http://www.shure.com/otws/gear/gear_wh30.asp which has a flexible mic boom which I bend up to just at the right corner of my mouth. I can move it farther away when I don’t want as booming a sound. Actually, I found that plugging my mic into a small mixing board (Beringher makes a very small, very inexpensive one) that sits on a small shelf clipped on a nearby mic stand. This way I can just reach down and adjust the volume or the high/middle/low tones between tunes.
After all Glauber’s help (thank you again, G!), I was set to order my Yamaha Personal Studio thingy … and then the wonderful, awesome, fabulous, and much-adored guys in my band decided to ring in my recent XXth birthday by giving me a little mic setup of my own. They did quite a bit of research, and wound up with something called “The Pick Up The World Mini-Mike”, and I have to say it’s pretty cool! It’s a little bitty mic on a Velcro strap you wrap around the flute head. (Per Glauber’s original advice, I’ve been putting it to the right of the blowhole.) The mic then runs via skinny wire to a tiny clip-on pack with its own volume control; from there you simply plug into the main system via a regular guitar cord.
It also seems to pick up really well, hasn’t fed back yet, and runs on a 9V battery.
So, it’s been great thus far, & might be worth doing a Google search on. The only drawback is, of course, since it’s strapped onto the flute it takes 10 - 15 seconds to wind things 'round your whistle. So I’m pondering alternatives … (preferably something short of buying another one!)
Oh, wow, do I love you guys. Okay, actually it would be my XXXXth birthday. (Which is beyond classification in the MPAA ratings when you consider what they say about middle-aged women … )
P.S. You know, we do have fun calling that little mic the umm, well … is it OK to say strap-on here?
Where can I get one of these “pick up the world mini-mics”? I have a mic from SD Systems that I got from the Woodwind and Brasswind, but it had one of those (what I feel is) awkward scre-on clamps. Your mini-mic sounds easier to use.
One caveat to all: When using the Mini-Mike on a wooden flute, make sure you keep at least one layer/winding of the velcro strap between the mic and the flute – otherwise, you could scratch the wood if you slide the mic around. (Which is handy for those unpleasant moments when you’re feeling insecure and can’t remember which way the volume knob goes )
Okay, I’m outta here. I need to go home and start baking cakes, cookies, and whatever other thank-yous I can come up with for the band guys. (I think I’m gonna be baking a LOT for a while!)
Thank you all SO much for your suggestions. I’m leaning toward the Yamaha or the “strap-on” and will keep everyone informed at the choice and outcome.
I would have written sooner, but was preparring for and celebrating my mom’s 80th birthday! It was a wonderful time and she enjoyed it greatly. In fact, she said after the party “To see all those faces and to know I was loved - me. I never really thought I was anyone special. I used to think that I’d lived a good life and if I was called to my maker I’d go - happily, knowing it was time. But its not time and I don’t want to go!” Makes me cry just thinking about it!
So…go hug your loved ones and tell them they’re important and keep reminding them!
It also is not a problem if the venue you’re playing has it’s own sound system. You just give the receiver to the sound man and he’ll find the right frequency. The only drawback, I think, is that you lose control of your own volume - can’t back off the mic when you want to. I feel the need to back off a bit when I pick up a penny whistle as opposed to flute or low whistle. Sound guys are generally pretty good about keeping it under control, but it makes me nervous. Definitely not a gadget for control freaks 
)