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Does anybody here amplify their horn for playing in rock bands? I currently simply play into 58 stuck high on a mic stand but this has many drawbacks including feedback and tippiness from sticking a mic 7 feet in the air. I run the mic direct into the board but have considered running it through my effects and amp for monitoring purposes. I use a Conn fiberglass sousie for these gigs. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Craig McClelland
Craig@sonicabsurdities.com
www.sonicabsurdities.com

Craig,
There are some fantastic mikes available out there that have a clip to attach to your bell. One of those, run through a pre-amp, then into the bass amp can give a really nice sound and avoid a lot of hassles.

Whatever Andy K. (tubist with the Dixie Power Trio) uses would be a great way to go.

AKG makes a C 419 clip on mic.
This mic requires phantom power so I run it through an AKG B29L battery supply unit. This mic can also be run through a wireless set up if I ever decide to go that route. The bari sax player in my band has a Shure wireless set up which is pretty nice, but I do not know the frequency range of that mic. The frequency range of my AKG is great, somthing like 20 - 20,000 herz. wide enough to pick up my lowest notes.
I think the whole set up cost me about $350. I don't remember exactly.
ken k

Thanks,

Great suggestions from all. The wireless route seems the way to go. I will let you know if I find out anymore interesting info researching this.

I assume that the clip-ons aren't especially centered on something as large as a sousaphone bell as they would be on say, a trumpet bell. Is this important?

Thanks again for everybody's help and input.

Craig McClelland
Craig@sonicabsurdities.com
www.sonicabsurdities.com

I used to play in a band called "Big German Nurse" on helicon. I used a sure clip on mic that cost about $75 in 1988. I do not know the model. I ran it through a small crate bass amp/ speaker combo. Nothing fancy. It worked well with almost no feedback.

If I were to do this again, I would definitely go wireless.

I've tried many setups for electified tuba. At first I used an Audio-Technica kick drum mic mounted on a bracket at bell level pointing inward. The tone was fairly accurate, but feedback from the speakers and hall made the sound muddy. I also tried a nice 1" condenser mic which had a phenomenal sound, but again the amplified sound was muddy because of feedback. My final solution was to remove the mic element from the cheapest karaoke mic Best Buy had, a translucent audio technica model for $8. I wrapped it in duct tape for some moisture resistance and threw it down inside the horn. The sound from that mic is nice and clean, with plenty of bass. The sound can be a little tubby, so I use an overdrive pedal to give it a very electric top end. Instruments in modern rock bands are really just input sources for the effects anyway. You can play a bass, tuba, hum, whistle, fart, or blow your nose and it all sounds the same on the other end of the effects box.

-Eric