Acoustic Artist - Upgrade Suggestions
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Posted on Dec 07, 2009 09:53 am
Donny Mann
Member Since: Dec 07, 2009
I'm a solo acoustic guitarist/vocalist. My current gear:
Martin D-42 (with K&K Pure Western installed)
Shure Beta87A Vocal Mic
Mackie 1202-VLZ3
TC Helicon VoiceSolo Monitor
Kurzweil Rumour
EV SXA100 PA Speaker (1) - I hard pan to left on gigs
Digitech Vocalist Live Pro (for harmonies)
I am looking to upgrade the live rig a bit. The mic is first up. I've been using it for over 2 years now and at the $250 price point it's OK (have previously used the EV 767N, then the EV RE20 (yes, live) ... My voice is a bit on the thin side (like an early Clapton) and nasally (a bit like Lennon's). My range is pretty good up to a high "A", (with "D" being the cutoff into "head voice" aka "falsetto"). I've been thinking about:
a.) Mic upgrade (KSM105, Heil PR35) to downplay the nasal aspect and thicken up the vocal a bit
b.) Stand-alone mic preamp (Great River NV1, Chandler Germanium, API 512c) to maybe run straight into the EV.
3.) Perhaps some of the $$ (limited $$) is better spent on an upgraded board with better pres?
I also do some recording at my home studio: Logic Pro/some Waves plugins/Apogee Mini-Me, KEL HM1 and Cascade FatHead II mics.
Back to live gigs:
The KEL HM1 actually does sound a lot better on my live vocal than the 87A - problem is the Martin gets picked up and when I kick in a harmony note for the vocal on the Digitech - the guitar is affected and makes the whole thing sound awful.
Would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions from folks with experience on the above possible upgrades.
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Dec 07, 2009 01:24 pm The KMS105 is a great mic. I only have one complaint about it, and that is that it's a little difficult to control on the monitors.
You do have to take an awful lot of 250 hz out of the wedge to stop it from feeding back.
If you can swing it, another mic I would suggest is the Shure KSM 9.
It has a better pattern control. And can be switched between cardioid, and Hyper cardioid. It's one of the best that I have ever used.
One other thing that I think is important for you to get for your rig is a 31 band EQ. Something that will help reduce feedback in your system, and give you more headroom.
One stereo unit should do it for you. One side for FOH, the other for the monitor.
