Karaoke Forums

I was just looking at some harp mics (harmonica). My question is if you mount one of these on a mic stand, can you use it as a singer mic, as well as a harp mic? I was looking at some vintage Turner, and Shure mics, as well as Hohner. If more specifics is needed, let me know.


Rosario

Generally harp mics don't work well for singing. I have Shure 520 Green Bullets, Astatic Jt-30's, and a Hohner Blues Blaster and various other "harmonica mics". I don't use any of them for singing due to poor sound for vocals. However this makes them good for the dirty Chicago Blues sound on harp. With the proper EQing you might be able to make them sound better for singing but it will adversely affect the sound for harp. Harp players with a clean sound are often playing through a Shure SM58.

Possibly an SM57?

Harmonica mics are EQed with boosted highs and mids and a CUT gain pattern, since harmonicas produce such high energy tones.

Novel idea. They make these things called VOCAL microphones. Use those for vocals.

If you need drums amplified, they make drum microphones.

Seriously, though, if you want a VOCAL microphone with the LOOK of a harmonica microphone, check out a SHURE 55SH or a BLUE BABY BOTTLE mic:


http://www.amazon.com/Shure-55SHII-Dyna ... 498&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones- ... B000RLF7HI

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Topher, I actually use a mic like the 55sh for my personal mic at our show. I've seen the baby bottle mic, and was actually thinking of getting one. I did find a mic on ebay that looks pretty cool, and is made for harp, and vocals. Looks like a bullet type mic. Solid chrome look, supposed to be good for cupping for harmonica, and also singing into. I figure I can put it on a stand, for regular singers, then if someone brings in a harmonica (which I have one regularly) he can lift it from the stand, and play.

Rosario

I am a harmonica player myself, and own a Shure Green Bullet harmonica mic. It doesn't sound horrible to sing into it, but it certainly doesn't sound good. The mic has a default EQ for a harmonica, not voice. You can't have both similtaneously. Professional harmonica players that also sing always have two mics, a harmonica mic and a vocal mic. I play harmonica at my karaoke show here and there, but just do it through the vocal mic. My harmonica mic stays at home.

Sure, you can EQ a harmonica mic to be a good vocal mic, but why would you want to? Then you have a crappy harmonica mic, until you normalize the EQ. If you can afford two mics and don't mind the "inconvenience" factor, there is no reason to sing through a harmonica mic! The mic you have that is advertising that it is BOTH is misleading, because the most important factor that differenciates the two isn't the shape, it is the default EQ curve of the mic.

Anyway, on this same topic, I remember someone posted a few months ago that they bought a Shure 55SH for their show, and found that their singers could not handle the learning curve of the mic technique for that type of mic, so they stopped using it after a few shows. I think they look cool, but I tend to agree that it is best to stick with a modern vocal mic for vocals at something like the average karaoke show.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Thanks for the info Topher. I agree with the part about using the Shure 55s for the singers, NO WAY, they haven't got a clue, and I don't have the desire, or the patience to instruct them on how to use it, so I just use it for myself. On the other mic, I thought it would be a novelty, and if the singers sound good on it, that's fine. The guy that plays the harp only can play (1) tune to ALL songs, kind of like a 12 bar blues, and not that great either, but again, a novelty. The mic I was looking at is only $65 so, I figured, "what do I have to lose", If it doesn't work, I'll have ANOTHER mic for home use. Thanks for the input.

I have never seen the best harp players using a harp mic for singing. The vocals don’t sound good. You can find plenty of options for different mics on eBay.

I have a couple guys that come in the play/sing really well and they use the SM58 I have with no issues - said that's what they use when they play live as well. If you have a good compressor/limiter on the mic, it seems to work pretty well for both vocals & harp.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Thread is so old I thought it was new!

I read through all the posts and don't understand why anyone would have any issues singing with a Shure 55S. I use them at 7 of our 11 shows and the singers love them. Sure, they are intimidated at first, but once they have performed with them a few times, most prefer it over any other mic.

As for teaching singers how to use one, I think it is pretty easy - "Just sing into the dot and I will handle the rest". I rarely have to tell anyone anything more than that.

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-Chris

I use the SHURE 55m at all my shows. It's the ONLY MIC I will sing on. I have for over 18 years.

Each new singer has to be shown how to use it. But once they try it they are HOOKED! They can get their Lady Day, Ella, Frank and Elvis on...............just like they did back in the day. They never go back to handhelds after that. I even hold "MIC TRAINING 101" to show them how..........."Now for those of you who have never even seen this kind of mic before....there is a Very SPECIFIC TECHNIQUE to singing on it..........What you do is wrap your hand around it, lean over with it and PUT SOME LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE INTO THAT MIC...........THAT IS HOW YOU DO IT!!". Gets big laughs but then they all know how. Mic is mounted on stand with round metal base with push...so can be easily moved and leaned into, removed from stand and paraded around like Freddy Mercury. (Unlike the awkward and confining TRIPOD mic stands, or the ones with the twist adjuster). For the few who cant deal with the Shure, I provide a Sennheiser handheld. My DJ mic is a basic budget handheld.

The Shure provides a feeling of showmanship that comes with the big Silver STAGE MIC. It makes my show UNIQUE and completely different from those who don't. I provide the choice of either and the singer a unique experience of singing on a big elegant silver stage mike. There's only two others in Portland I know of that do this.........KJ MANN (Who I introduced to Shure's) and another long time KJ in Portland.

In Seattle the only KJ I know of who does is Chris Avis. (And if I remember correctly, he didn't start using Shure 55's until he came down to Portland one business trip and I showed him mine). I've been trying to convince LONNIE(Lonman) and Karen K(Ive taken my mic to her show and let all her people use it) to get Shure 55's....but they still resistant to the idea.

Oh well, I'm SHURE they will see the light (reflected off the shiney chrome finish) one of these days!

Advice to KJ's: get a Shure 55 and provide your customers with that unique experience of singing on a Shure Stage mic....It may require a bit more patience teaching the newbies, but that makes for a GREAT OPPORTUNITY to provide a bit of INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMER SERVICE to EACH OF YOUR NEW CUSTOMERS, by doing so you will help to build their comfort, confidence and loyalty.

Use it as an IMPORTANT show building and marketing tool! Advertise It, promote it...put it on your songbooks, fliers, showbills, song slips, photos of yourself with it, your KJ website/facebook with pics of your singers rocking out on it! Use it to build a bond that keeps them coming back to see and hang out with YOU as YOUR REGULAR FOLLOWERS......BECAUSE they want to sing on that big ol' silver mic. Not to mention building the bars clientel, sales and business.

They can sing on handhelds ANYWHERE else. They are common, routine, the same old thing. But the Big Silver Mic is new, different. It looks different, it feels different, it SOUNDS different! Broaden and enhance their on-stage experiences!

Be the only show around that offers something THE OTHERS DON'T!!

BIG ADVANTAGE TO YOU!

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

A few more pics.

And YES, I am ALL DISC ALL THE TIME!

And yes I am "LEGAL", having had my SC audit conducted by Kurt Slep himself, the Oregon Investigator at the time and KJMANN observing at Kurt's hotel room near Portland International Airport during his last visit with open to public question and answer session.

500+ discs at 15 songs per disc= approx. 7500 songs titles with few repeats. Only 25+ SC discs needed. Very solid assortment to choose from. If you cant find something to sing with my selection, then there's something wrong with you. Personal store-bought discs are always encouraged! No BURNS!

System: 300w Yamaha portable mixer/amp, 300w Yamaha 12 mains with stands, 3 steel base mic stands, Shure 55m Audiovox Sennhieser mics, 9" TV (soon to be upgraded to flatscreen), JVC Karaoke machine, Sony CD player for dance music. Music stand and additional cables to mic up/connect instruments for open mic applications, cable to connect laptop/devices as needed(shared DJ show applications).

System MORE THAN ENOUGH to fill a typical club, parking lot, large backyard with clean, accurate, thumpin', groovin' sound!

Songbook cover sign made with PRINTSHOP 6.0 (an old version). All photos shot by me.

Event in photo...4th of July parking lot picnic at Northstar mental health office. Latest show....mid August in Snoqualmie, Wa at ISIS (a old school KS person) housewarming party(DJ'd from 3pm to 1am).

Club pics...Grand Cafe(Just closed in July) in Portland, Ore where I DJ/KJ'd for 10 years and learned to sing Karaoke in 1996...when the ONLY MIC they had was a Shure 55M. It was Karaoke bar from 1990 to 2014. My home away from home!! And source of ALL KARAOKE GOODNESS!!

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

Shure 55S mics at KJMANN's show.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT