Internal mic placing

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Internal mic placing

Postby CalvinP » Mon Jun 16, 2014 10:33 pm

I am also a soundman at the club where I work. So it is natural for me to know about placing a mic, but I have never seen an internal mic placement for congas. Has any of you used such internal mic system yet? Whether using an boom extension to put it inside, or permanent screwed in mic. I am sure sensitivity of the mic would be increase, and you wouldn't have to play so hard to compete other instruments to be heard.
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Re: Internal mic placing

Postby jorge » Wed Jun 18, 2014 3:30 am

I have tried various mics inside a conga and the sound is very distorted regardless of the mic. It just doesn't sound like a conga. I still like SM57 a few inches above the skin on the side away from your hands so it doesn't get in the way. Others I have liked include SM58, EV N/D468, Earthworks TC30 and Sennheiser MD421-II. For clip on mics, the Sennheiser e604 and e904 sound pretty good but do pick up some conducted sound from the shell/rim. How clean you play makes a bigger difference with a mic than without one, you want to really get your tones and slaps distinct.
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Re: Internal mic placing

Postby CalvinP » Wed Jun 18, 2014 4:23 am

I don't know Jorge, if it's distorted I am not sure if the soundman knew what he's doing. Too much gain on the mixer perhaps? Inside the conga it's very loud, the gain have to be turned down to prevent that. However they do use internal miking for drum, which is louder with stick hitting it. As far as I know no problem. I will try that soon since I am a soundman and I report it here. Inside the conga would provide isolation too, since the gain has to be low, then it is less sensitive to other intruments outside
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Re: Internal mic placing

Postby jorge » Wed Jun 18, 2014 5:22 am

Slaps sound echo-ey and don't sound dry and clean. The bass is exaggerated and harder to control than when sitting and lifting and lowering the drum with no mic or external mics. Although you may think all outside sounds are reduced inside the conga, there are resonances that actually amplify some frequencies and may need to be EQ'ed to prevent feedback if there is a monitor nearby. Plus there is a ring at about 700 Hz that you normally don't hear onstage but it gets amplified with an internal mic. I have tried taping the mics high and low inside, and a short boom stand inside. You may want to experiment with dampening the sound with towels or foam or something to try to get a more natural conga sound. I only tried internal mics in my studio, I would not want to try it in a performance until I get the sound right in my studio. Internal mic'ing is a cute idea and I haven't completely ruled it out, but my initial experiments have not been very successful so far. External mics work fine, so there is no immediate need for internal mics unless you can make them sound even better than external. What mics are you using for internal placement?
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Re: Internal mic placing

Postby CalvinP » Wed Jun 18, 2014 8:43 am

I haven't tried it yet. Just bought my congas set, and would try it this week if I have a chance. I have drum mics and some Shure 57. Like I said where you place the mic is also important and like you mentioned EQ too
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Re: Internal mic placing

Postby CongaTick » Fri Jun 20, 2014 8:11 pm

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I have to agree that internal mic-ing has some disadvantages and frequency/ringy funkiness, though when playing with an amplified band in a raucous bar/club it doesn't seem to matter too much. Lately, I've been switching tween my CongaPlaytz mike setup and a pair of 57 + one 58 external in front and slightly above for a cleaner crisper sound which requires far more gain than the internal mic.
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Re: Internal mic placing

Postby burke » Sat Jun 21, 2014 1:13 am

So this is a comment from a guy who has absolutely no experience with mikes, sound or any of the stuff you guys are discussing ... but wouldn't sticking a mike inside a small wooden chamber where the sound waves bounce around like mad be a totally difficult prospect to make work?

Likely stupidity ... so ignore this if its a really dumb comment.
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Re: Internal mic placing

Postby CalvinP » Sat Jun 21, 2014 7:52 am

Internal Miking can be done many ways. You can place the mic right inside to the hole few inches inside, but not deep inside. Or you can use separate EQ to control the frequency before feeding them into the PA mixer. Certain frequencies may bounce or boom, just reduce/control it with EQ or gate/compressor. Most soundman would love to use less gain on a mic if it can be done to prevent feedback. There is a thing called sustained decay or overtoned, floor tom normally has a lot of those, soundman can control it with just prametric EQ knobs sometimes
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Re: Internal mic placing

Postby Derbeno » Sat Jun 21, 2014 8:31 am

As an alternative...I use Beyerdynamic

Soundman always comments on how has clean the sound comes through.

It small, hardly noticeable with a strong but easy fit clip as mounting. They have dynamic or condensing models

http://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/s ... -d57c.html
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