Best Mic for a Violin / Fiddle live performance with other stage noise?

G

grunshaw

New member
Hey Guys,

My wife plays the Violin (but she prefers "Fiddle") in our church praise team. In the past, we all used SM58's for vocals and her instrument. Obviously, not a good choice for her Fiddle. I later bought her a Samson C01 Condenser, which has vastly improved her sound, even members of the congregation have noticed the improvement.

The Mic picks up more stage noise than the dynamics we have up there. Directly behnd her is the drummer - fortunately, he plays on an electric kit, so his sticks hitting the rubber pads are not that loud, but around her are amps for the guitarists and floor wedge monitors as well.

If I can improve the sound, I want to - it's my job to do this for the church.

What Mic would you use for this purpose?
Do you have experience with your recommendation?
Do you have experience with my current setup and what do you think?

Regards,
James.
 
Mic it as close as possible and remember the "3:1 rule" for mic placement. If possible, try to separate other sound sources at least 3x the distance of each other's mic distances.

For mic choice, I would check out this thread: https://homerecording.com/bbs/equipment-forums/microphones/looking-new-microphone-364592/ . For live sound, however, some of those mics might not be so ideal as they are condensers and may introduce more issues than good. I would personally choose a warm small diaphragm and put it near the bridge and point towards a soundhole.

P.S. also, I found this thread for you on a different website: Micing a violin
 
In general getting the mic closer to the source will improve rejection of bleed. That big Samson mic is hard to keep close enough to the instrument.

My research indicates that an AudioTechnica Pro35 or AT35 clipped to the shoulder rest is a better option.
 
As far as separation goes you could always go with a pickup then to a Di or the type of microphone that Alan suggested.

Myself I usually go for a SM57 and get as close as possible in a live situation.
 
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