3firstnames
5 posts
Feb 27, 2009
5:15 PM
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Hey folks, I've been looking at a few different mics lately and had some questions about 2 options:
1) How important is a volume control?
2) Connectors. What's better, the connectors for guitar cords or the screw on connectors? Seems to me the guitar connectors the way to go. Easier to find and if someone trips on the cord it's gonna pull the plug rather than yanking the mic outta your hands but the screw on's seem very popular.
Any and all opinions appreciated.
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harmonicanick
161 posts
Feb 28, 2009
12:35 AM
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Hi,
1. Quite simply Volume control is important in that it gives the player 'control'
ie. when playing with other amplified musicians you can turn up for your solo or turn down to play behind.
If you play thro' the vocal pa you will not have this control and you wont get anybody to turn you up or down on the pa board whilst you are mid-number. Unless the lead guitarist is a bit of a knob tweeker and may turn you down!
My first mic was an old green bullet with no volume control, so in the end I added one to it.
2. No preference but you do have a point about jack connection
Last Edited by on Feb 28, 2009 12:47 AM
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jbone
26 posts
Feb 28, 2009
5:38 AM
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the screw ons are popular. i found that often mine would fail where the lead was soldered into the connecter but there are ways to resolve this. i still prefer either a hard wired lead into the mic element itself or a 1/4" guitar jack. with a hard wired or a 1/4", you can avoid someone yanking the lead oput by wrapping a turn or 2 of the cable around your forearm.
i like a volume pot, but only if it's the right value for the element. the wrong value pot will cut way too much performance from your element.
you don't mention what element you run in your mic or what amp you run. for years i used either a green bullet with no vc, or a electrovoice m43u with no vc. the trick was to find the right distance from the amp and stand a bit off to the side. many times i would put the mic on a stand to keep it oin one place. this helped a lot to keep feedback at bay, but only to a point.
a mic feeds back when it's "at rest ie no harp playing going in. this is where a vc is very handy. on stage i will have my amp up fairly loud and keep the mic vc lower until it's solo time. i ALways match my harp volume to stage volume the best i can.
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MrVerylongusername
171 posts
Feb 28, 2009
10:05 AM
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Personally, I've aways found a volume control a bit of a waste of time, but I guess I tend you use my own volume control - playing softer and harder as required. Nick makes good points about having more control, but I have a soundman I trust and a guitarist who knows what would happen if anyone but me meddled with my amp! If you don't have a VC, then an on/off switch is pretty essential. I have one built into my cable (planet waves silent-jack cable)
AS for connectors I would never use a screw on connector. It's one trip away from disaster. One foot on a lead and you've got a stripped connector, and since it's a unique lead - probably no spare. Hard wired in mics also have this problem to a lesser degree. I used to cut the cables down to a rat-tail and solder on a 1/4" socket so I could use a guitar lead again. Now I've retrofitted my Green Bullet with an amphenol screw connector so I can use an adaptor.
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