hanging mic

[pattonaudio]

just tested my condensor and 1 is busted! you think I could hang 2x sm57's?

 

Good luck! It might work, but you will have to pull the volume right up on it, I would guess and say its probably going to sound extremely harsh. I would spend a tenner on another condenser mic hire for the show, it will be a much better option.

 

Rich

 

It was just a lazy idea! Prob just buy a few more condensors then and just keep them for stock, these AKG PRO45 hangers might come in handy linky and ain't bad for the price!

[Russ83]

<pedant> Audio Technica Pro45 not AKG </pedant>

 

I have quite a few of these and find they are very good for theatre and speech but I have not had much success using them for musical numbers. Getting a usable level and nice sound from them without feedback can be a problem in our venue (mainly setup In the Round). If they are behind the Pros. arch and well away from the speakers then they are OK, its just feedback rejection that lets them down in my books.

[pattonaudio]

Sorry there are AT PRO45's changed my mind and went with these from CPC cause they don't have a fixed cable and can use them as table mics too.

 

Maybe this will give you and idea of the size of the stage the the mics will be about 6m from the front of stage so hope feedback won't be too much of an issue.

 

• Stage Width – 9.5m
  
• Stage Depth to Back Wall – 9.5m
  
• Height to Lx Bars approx – 5.6m
  

Front of house – 2 Martin EM Series Subs and 2 Martin EM series tops, side by side and 2 at ground level angled into the audience on a cross, with 3 Martin AQ12’s flown from centre of pros on the mono sum.

 

 

 

Foldback/Monitors – 4 Martin 1200 monitors

 

[cedd]

The cpc ones can be quite good. I've got 6 of their hanging mics and have had reasonable ish results out of them. I would only say that they weren't the best at rejecting feedback. Took a lot of time to loose the ringing whenever anybody spoke on stage. My theory was that 6 cheap mics with a lower gain would work as well as 3 more expensive ones with a higher gain. Having heard another engineer work the same venue with 3 x ck33's I'm afraid I was wrong. He got a much nicer sound with far less work.

 

But, you get what you pay for! One tip is to hang the mics for a few days on the cables. The cheaper hanging mics tend to have cheaper cable that does tend to twist and keep its' "factory coiled" memory. I would suggest something a little heavier to straighten them out, but don't want to be blamed for stretched or snapped cables!

 

Anyone care to do a cost Vs usefulness and sound quality comparison for an AKG ck31 vs a ck33? I'd love to go for 33's, but can't quite justify it unless I know they'll be chalk and cheese different. The ck31 is the cardioid, the 33 is hyper.

 

I've had reasonable results from a line of 4 small diaphragm condensers (Se1a's) on the stage lip on low stands. Seemed to get most of the stage and sounded pretty well. If this particular scene with the kid on the chair happens often, why not hang a mic 2 - 3 ft infront of them? As long as the chair ends up in the same place, you should be able to pick them out from the rest of the kids, and at that range the cpc ones will work really well (or certainly mine would, I notice that yours is a shotgun, mine are the standard hanging mics, perhaps a little more spacing is required).

 

Be interested to hear how your cpc short shotgun fairs. For the record, most of their cheaper mics are pro-signal, or pulse brands.

[nothingatall666]

I didn't say that I don't like the sound of a SM58, It is perfect for live sound. We all know that!

 

to be honest it depends on what genre the solo singer is singing. if it was pop, rock music fair enough.

How many solo opera style singers do you see with a SM58 in front of them?

I wouldn't give Amy winehouse a SM58

I would however, give the Kaiser chiefs a SM58

For a kid's voice, I doubt that they could produce anything like a big opera singer, I just think that you would get a bigger benefit with using something like a E845

the response of a e845

 

responce of a SM58

 

see why I prefer would prefer the e845 for a solo singer (singer and piano) now?

 

 

Plus im a sennheiser boy; I dont know why,

theres just something about them that makes them always sound good without having to tweak the EQ much.

 

 

 

You can put your guns down now.

[SoLiEn]

I didn't say that I don't like the sound of a SM58, It is perfect for live sound. We all know that!

 

to be honest it depends on what genre the solo singer is singing. if it was pop, rock music fair enough.

How many solo opera style singers do you see with a SM58 in front of them?

I wouldn't give Amy winehouse a SM58

I would however, give the Kaiser chiefs a SM58

For a kid's voice, I doubt that they could produce anything like a big opera singer, I just think that you would get a bigger benefit with using something like a E845

the response of a e845

 

responce of a SM58

 

see why I prefer would prefer the e845 for a solo singer (singer and piano) now?

 

 

Plus im a sennheiser boy; I dont know why,

theres just something about them that makes them always sound good without having to tweak the EQ much.

 

 

 

You can put your guns down now.

 

 

I know what you mean, Some Sennheiser mics seem a lot more polished then the ever faithful sm58.

[cedd]

Sorry to bump this one folks, but rather than start a new thread entirely..........

 

As you may read above, I've had some of the cheaper hanging mics for a while now, and have saved enough money to buy myself a set of decent ones.

 

The question is, what to go for?

 

I've heard the CK33 with the HM1000 hanging module work well, but also know that the engineer who uses them started with the CK31 capsule and fell out with it pretty quickly due to feedback issues, so the choice of the CK33 was out of necessity and because he already had the HM1000 hanging modules, rather than because he chose that particular mic over others.

 

So, what should I get? I'm after 3 mics. I normally use foot mics, PZM's and whatever else I can find to amplify a stage, but in this instance am particularly after hanging mics. Budget will stretch to around £500 for all 3, though as much change with decent results would be nice. Shure make the easyflex range, Audio Technica make several in various price ranges and AKG have their own offerings, as do Samson and audix.

 

What have worked well for people? These are particularly for use picking out chorus members in musicals and also spoken word in plays, etc. They will be hung just in front of the pros and I normally put them just within stretched arm's reach.

 

What do we think? Go with the CK33's and have the flexibility of a removeable capsule for use in other jobs (lecterns or that nice long goosekneck for stage use without a bulky mic stand), or another brand of modular mic, or a purpose made hanging mic of similair cost, or a cheaper one with money left over for something else?

 

 

Reasonable investment this, so am looking to get something that will work well for me, but clearly if there's not much to tell between the expensive ones and the cheaper (though not as cheap as the cpc ones - I already have them) ones, I may as well go for the cheap ones and have spare cash for something else (like a nice pair of headphones, or a graphic EQ, or a cheap pair of small diaphragm condensers, or.........).

 

Your thoughts, reviews and experiences welcomed.