Microphones
A microphone has one job and that is to collect sound and convert it to electricity. While all microphones perform this function, they each have their own unique sound qualities that affect your tone. The following are some of the commonly available microphones you might choose.
AKG 414
The AKG 414 is an extremely sensitive condenser microphone that gives a clean, faithful sound with no distortion. If you're looking for an exact reproduction of your source sound, this type of clean studio mic is for you. The AKG 414 is currently available for about $950. The AKG 414 condenser mic demonstrates a clean sound.
FIGURE 12-1: AKG 414 condenser mic — demo
TRACK 41
Shure SM-58
The Shure SM-58 is one of the workhorses of the microphone world. This is the mic you're most likely to run across on stage at concerts or clubs because of its reliability and durability. Translation — these mics are hard to kill, no matter what happens to them. The SM-58 has a warm sound and will produce some distortion if the signal is loud going into the mic, which can be good for your tone. It is currently available for $100. It sounds like this
FIGURE 12-2: Shure SM-58 mic — demo
TRACK 42
Shure 520DX
The Shure 520DX Green Bullet is the current model of the legendary Shure 520, originally manufactured by Shure from 1949 to 1977. After being discontinued for several years, the mic was reintroduced as the Shure 520D, made in Mexico.
Many of the Chicago sound players used this type of mic, and ever since Little Walter, Big Walter Horton, and Sonny Boy Williamson came on the scene, the standard for blues harp players has been the Green Bullet microphone, a high-impedance crystal mic. Originally these were armyissue microphones, which might explain why there were so many of them around. Later they were called into action as taxi dispatching mics because their intense reproduction of the midrange made them easy to hear over traffic noise.
The current version of the Shure Green Bullet mic is the 520DX model, which has many of the advantages and fewer of the foibles of the earlier microphones. The 520DX is less likely to feed back and, because the crystal has been replaced by solid state electronics, it is less fragile. The size and shape are also perfect for cupping the mic with the harmonica. The 520DX has a built-in ¼-inch guitar-style plug on a good length of cable. It is suitable for most amplifiers, and the new volume knob provides much better control of the mic while playing. It is currently available for $90.
Keeping multiple harmonicas organized can be tricky. Some players use a leather belt or bandoleer with pockets for each harp, keeping them in order by key and remembering the order for quick access. Or you can put stickers on them which are easy to read and can be seen in situations with little light.
As you will hear from the microphone demonstration tracks, there is a big difference from other microphones in the way a Green Bullet translates sound into electricity. When you play through it you may find that your whole presence becomes more focused on your playing because this microphone is made for this instrument alone. You can, and some people do, sing through a Green Bullet mic, but its true purpose is for playing electric blues harmonica. Many other harmonica microphones are out there, but none have the tried-and-true reputation of the Green Bullet.
The biggest disadvantage of the Green Bullet mics is that they are somewhat heavy when compared to other Shure stage mics. The 520DX Green Bullet mic, reissued from Shure, sounds like this.
FIGURE 12-3: 520DX Green Bullet mic — demo
TRACK 43
All three of these recordings of microphones are done without any effects whatsoever. These are only the sounds of the microphones themselves.
Other popular harmonica microphones include the Shure 545, which some players prefer to the modern Green Bullet for its shape, tone and power ($115), and the Beyerdynamic m160 double-ribbon mic which comes close to more expensive condenser microphones in its clean, flat response ($600).
