Butterfield "stick" mics
Hello stick mic players,
If you like the way your harmonica sounds playing through a Shure 545, or SM57 microphone, but not the way it feels in your hands, you may be interested in trying out these two microphones:
> AUDIX i5
> Blue en-CORE 100 (I performed with this mic when I was in Japan last month)
Contact Christopher Geissler at Sweetwater 1(800)222-4700 x1297 and tell him Kinya sent you.
Your Harpsmith,
Kinya
Hi Greg,
No need to be defensive my friend, many Harmonicats out there in the harmonica universe already know I have been a fan of the Shure 545/SM57 for many years--with and without--the numerous girth altering modifications I had developed over the years.
You brought up a terrific point about the short comings of the Audix i5 ... thank you for that clarification.
As for the "out of the box" Blue en-CORE 100, thanks to the ring located at the top of the microphone--it is feels more secure and comfortable in my hands (over the Shure). I would be interested if you could perform your magic on this model. I think providing the harmonica community with more choices would be desirable. Let me know if I piqued your interest, and I will ship my Blue en-Core 100 to you.
~Kinya
Kinya, Have you ever tried an Ultimate mic? Part of the problem with holding comfort on the 545, especially the pistol grip ones, is the weight. Even an SM57 or 545 without the pistol grip is heavy - and long. If you add a volume control they get even longer. The length has as much to do with handling comfort as the weight. The longer the mic, the more leverage the weight (and weight of the cable) have to pull down on your grip.
That's the point of the Ultimate.
Relevant Picture: http://blowsmeaway.com/images/Ultimate_ad.jpg
As for the grip ring you like - I understand that. You can do that with an Ultimate 58 by using the grill from a Shure Beta 57:
Relevant Picture: http://blowsmeaway.com/images/Ultimate575.JPG
However with either the Beta 57 grill or the Blue mic - you have to have a LOT of the grill inside your cup in order to air-seal it, which makes it difficult to get an effective cup. If all you want is an acoustic sound, that's fine - but the 545 and 57 heads are significantly different in this regard. You can get a complete seal on them much more easily when you want an overdriven sound because of the grill design. I actually DO like these mics - but not used as I would a 545 or 57. I use mics like this as combo vocal/acoustic harp mics, plugged into the PA.
I'm not trying to downplay either of the mics you talked about. I'm sure they're nice mics. But just by looking I can see neither of them will respond as well to cupping as a 545 or 57, so they will not sound very similar. I think if we just started all over again and you posted this as "two mics I've tried that you might like" - we probably wouldn't be having this discussion. No worries - it is all good!
Mention of the beta 57 reminds me of an experience with one on stage several years ago. The most comfortable mic to hold I've ever used I think
Hmmm. I'm feeling defensive so I'll just admit that up front. I don't think there was a question in there Kinya, but I'll respond anyway
"If you like the sound way your harmonica sounds playing through a Shure 545, or SM57 microphone, but not the way it feels in your hands" I have a much better idea. KEEP the tone you love, make the mic much shorter and lighter than it was, (and probably shorter and lighter than an i5 or Blue en-Core 100,) AND get a built in volume control, AND get your choice of impedance and connector......
... simply have your existing 57 or 545 Ultimatized for $139. And if you want to change grip size or get a deeper cup you can have it Bulletized too.
More info on the Ultimate Series mics and conversions: http://www.blowsmeaway.com/ultimate.html
More info on the Bulletizer: http://www.blowsmeaway.com/bulletizer.html
FYI - the Audix page says "The i5 is used for stage, studio and broadcast applications and is able to handle SPLs in excess of 140 dB without distortion."
That's the same spec as an Audix Fireball. It is an engineering marvel - but because of its INCREDIBLY high tolerance of high sound pressure levels, expect your cupping technique to give you almost no effect on your tone, just like a Fireball. That's not true of the 545 or SM57, which allow you to get a much broader range of tones by varying the tightness of your cup. Sometimes a good engineering spec works AGAINST us as harp players.
/Greg