Impedance matching issue (mic to mixer)

  • Thread starter Thread starter warble
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warble

warble

New member
Hey all-
We've got a band member that plays harp (harmonica) and uses a Shure "Green Bullet" mic. Right now, I'm trying to figure out a way to get him into the system. We played a few weeks ago, and I ran him directly into my Yamaha MX12/4 mixer into an 1/4" unbalanced mono input (all I had left). Didn't sound too bad, but the sound guy had to pump the gain up pretty high for a decent signal (which I figured would happen). The Green Bullet pretty much outputs at a level similar to a guitar (I'm thinking), and there is a definite impedance mis-match going on here. I'd love to get him into a direct box and run him balanced, but the open channel mu Yamaha in unbalanced - so no benefit there. I could've gotten a transformer to go from 1/4" to XLR, but again, don't have the input for it.

An idea I had was to possibly run his mic into a small amp, then run the line out of the amp into my Yamaha. That would provide for a hotter signal, no? He said he's got a small amp he uses, so I guess I could give it a shot.

Any thoughts, ideas on this issue? I'm starting to grasp this live sound thing a bit at a time, but my Yamaha is kinda limited (and no $$$ to upgrade the board anytime soon).

Warren
 
Why not just mic his amp? Those mics sound best like that. Guitar amps have enough input impedance to keep that mic happy. You are on the right track with the amp/line out idea, but at that point I'd mic it.
 
my sans amp bass di has a post gain 1/4" out, and it will run on batteries.
you could just run the mix (effected signal vs. unaffected signal ratio) all the way on nil.

their is a switch that determines what kind of out the 1/4 is (as in inst vs. mic)
 
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you could use a cheap mic pre, such as an art tube MP, and either plug directly into it from the harp mic, OR use a DI box between the mic and the pre.
 
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