Great mic for a tricone

[Hugh Crumley]

Just wanted to share a mic setup I tried on my 1930 National tricone that worked really well. The mic is a Sennheiser e604 — usually meant for drum toms — but the clip fits perfectly on the metal strap over the bridge. That puts it right over the “sweet spot”: about four inches above the coverplate screw that’s dead-center between two of the cones and the grill.

From that spot, the grill gives you the big, warm woof, and miking in a way that includes more than one cone really lets the tricone shimmer come through. I’ve used an SM57 there before and got good results, but the e604 is way smaller and lighter, so once it’s in place, it doesn’t budge while you play.

Tone-wise, it’s in the same ballpark as a 57, but the placement is easier to nail, and it’s less in the way visually. I grabbed mine for about $150, and after my last gig with it, I’m sold. See the pic for exactly how it’s mounted and where it’s pointing.

[Paul Seager]

Thanks for posting. That's an interesting choice and I'm glad it's working out for you. I recall Sebastian Müller told me he uses a Shure Beta 98 for live, clipped to the same place. Both mics are designed for woodwind and percussion and share similar specs but your choice wins on price!

I am contemplating a DPA 4099; Substantially more expensive but, with the appropriate mounts, could be used with dobro, tricone, guitar and upright bass. Unfortunately, the live scene is in decline in my area and the use case to blow $600 on a mic is fading with it!

I shall add your choice to my "items of interest" list.

[Peter Shenkin]

@paul, Did you ever try the DPA 4099? If you use wireless, that could be a win, since you'll get phantom power from the transmission unit. Otherwise, a nice thing about the Sennheiser is that it's a dynamic, so you don't have to worry about phantom power or wireless.

I'm thinking of trying to find a way to mount a 604 to my L7 acoustic, for the above considerations as well as the cost of a 4099 plus a wireless rig. For what it's worth, I just heard Mamie Minch play her 1937 National Duolian at her monthly gig at Barbès in Brooklyn. She sounded great with a DPA-4099. I've been a fan for years.

I do have a piezo under-bridge strip pickup on the L7, but I'd like to get a "woodier" sound when plugged in.

[Gary Meixner]

I bought a Myers mic / pickup a while ago and have been quite happy with it. I don't know how its specs compare to the other models mentioned, and certainly some of you may have a higher standard than this little thing is capable of, but it sounds very natural on stage with good feedback rejection. I like that they are discrete and don't weigh very much. The model I have puts the small preamp / volume control within easy reach which I find very handy.

I discovered a nifty way to mount mic and preamp on my guitar that is reliable and reversable.

I took a standard marine upholstery snap and mounted one half of the snap on the preamp. The other half of the snap I mounted on the guitar by using one of the coverplate screws. At the gig the whole thing snaps together quickly and stays put. The mini microphone is on a flexible whip and easy to position / reposition in the sweet spot.

The photos show it on my standard reso. The same mounting will work on my Tricone I just need to get a slightly longer machine screw. I put a thin felt washer underneath the snap to avoid any chance of scratching the guitar.

Gary