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anonymous 2 September 2009

Howdy!
I am a harp player and use a bullet mic with an old Silvertone amp.
The bullet goes through the amp, and the amp is mic ed through the snake.
My mic hangs over the front of the amp. (typical)
I get the tone I want, no problem.
However, at a gig last week, the sound man detected a "feedback" and/or
an unbalance in my amp. He did all the adjustments in the mixer he could. (I'm not a techie so I can't use the correct terms or words)
He suggested using a DI box, apparently he feels this will correct the problem.
I bought a DI, however the clerk at the music store also suggested changing the amp mic to straight in rather than hanging over the top.

Any discussion on this?
Please use layman's terms
Thanks,
Walt

Comments

Davedog Wed, 09/02/2009 - 09:51

How are the tubes in the amp?? New? Old? Microphonic?

Sometimes, when tubes are getting really old, after warming up for a couple of hours they will 'howl' at a low volume compared to the output level. While you may not hear this clearly while playing, a mic would pick this up easily and send it to the house in such a way as to cause the FOH guy to reach for the AK47.

Perhaps the problem isnt something other than this.

BobRogers Wed, 09/02/2009 - 13:27

It's not clear from your description what problems the sound guy was having, so we are kind of guessing here. The fact that he suggested a DI box and you use the term "unbalance" kind of suggests that there was a noise such as a hum that he didn't like. It also suggest that he was unfamiliar with a Bullet which is pretty sad, but wouldn't surprise me.

So the question - Is your amp noisy? Hearing any hum? buzz? crackles?

On the other hand you mention "feedback." Did you hear any from the house speakers? Do you ever get any with the bullet and your amp?

dvdhawk Wed, 09/02/2009 - 15:31

I doubt if you'll be happy with the tone of the Green Bullet > DI > Soundboard.
I'm betting the Silvertone overdrive is part of the tone you like so much.

What sort of mic do you hang over the amp?

Turn the amp on for 15 -20 minutes and let it really warm up.
Now, without plugging anything into it tap the amp chassis and listen for a ringing tone.
A microphonic tube will usually sing a note of it's own if bump the chassis.

anonymous Thu, 09/03/2009 - 20:08

Amp/Mic

The mic I hang (Use to hang ) is a AKG D 11/XLR.
I say use to because I made a holder that will alowe me to go straight into the amp rather than hanging.
I played tonight with that sat-up, but the sound guy wasn't there tonight so I really don't know if it helped any or not.
I didn't hook the DI up at all being he wasn't there.
So, I'll wait until next week...!
Thanks to you all, and I'll continue this next week.
Walt

anonymous Fri, 09/04/2009 - 07:35

Amp/Mic

Bob,
I don't detect any bad sounds.
I have one of the monitors directly in front of me, and now that you mention it, the sound guy is the only one that says anything.
Maybe that's why he's the sound guy...!???
Next week, I will have him pin point the "exact" sound he dosn't like.
I havn't tried differant mics, maybe I should give that a try as well.
Thanks so much for the responces.
Walt

moonbaby Fri, 09/04/2009 - 09:01

I have done my fair share of mixing live harp players. If there is indeed an issue that the soundman heard, I agree that their may be an issue with the amp's tubes.
But, as I have sat at the board while a harp player was wailing away on several occasions, SOMETIMES it has "appeared" as if there was some sort of feedback thing goin'on, but in reality it was just the harp doin' it's thang. Judging by the fact that the sound guy was advising you to pop for a DI, which is TOTALLY inappropriate for your situation, I suspect that he was inexperienced and fooled by the sound of the harp...:)

jg49 Fri, 09/04/2009 - 09:22

You could try a different mic but that type of mic is the "CLASSIC" blues harp mic. I doubt that has anything to do with it(if it is in good working order.)

If the soundman was suggesting that you take the mic direct to the sound board than he doesn't understand that a lot of the growl comes from overdriving the tube amp. Maybe he just doesn't like the blues and wants a "pop" or folk sound, LOL.

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