Low fi microphone

acousticmood

New member
Hello, there is a blues musician named John Nemeth that I really enjoy. He uses what looks like a vintage microphone and gets a very low fi or different sound from it. Kind of like he’s sing through a toilet paper tube or something- grungy but not overpowerin. I want to emulate it without an affect box just with the mic. i would be great full for any suggestions

thank you
George
 
It would be helpful if you could link to a video or mp3 that gives us an idea of the specific sound you're referring to.
 
I've listened to some of his live stuff with a couple different mics and it doesn't sound too much like the toilet paper roll effect. Just an exceptionally clear voice. Might just be EQ'd with High-Pass and Low-Pass filters just trimming the ends to mostly get rid of the low end fullness. Mehby.. IDK.
 
Here is a you tube video where he is using the Mike. Song is You ain’t to old. The effect is even rougher on the same track From his album “Blues Live”. He mostly uses this mic for the harp but I love the effect on vocals.

 
Are you talking about his vocals or his harmonica playing?

On vocals, he's used everything from an RCA 77 ribbon to an SM58, neither of which is "lo fi".

If you are talking about his harmonica playing, many times, they use a crystal or ceramic mic which is decidedly low fidelity. Something like the Astatic /Hohner Blues mics are common, although they are getting harder to find. Newer recreations using dynamic elements are available. The other trick with a harp is to use an old amp. I have a early 50s Valco amp which is one sought after for harmonica players.
 
Are you talking about his vocals or his harmonica playing?

On vocals, he's used everything from an RCA 77 ribbon to an SM58, neither of which is "lo fi".

If you are talking about his harmonica playing, many times, they use a crystal or ceramic mic which is decidedly low fidelity. Something like the Astatic /Hohner Blues mics are common, although they are getting harder to find. Newer recreations using dynamic elements are available. The other trick with a harp is to use an old amp. I have a early 50s Valco amp which is one sought after for harmonica players.
Here he is singing through his harmonica mic and it's got that sound.

 
Spantini,

The problem with the Kool Aid Pickle video is that it's a staged lip sync. Heck, the drummer isn't even on time!

There are a lot of harp players on Youtube that show you how to get that sound. Some of it is how you cup the mic around the harp. I know one guy who is really good at it. He can get that sound with whatever is on stage, usually an SM57 or 58.

Something like this is real!

 
I'm not a fan of the Placid Audio products. You can do essentially the same thing with an equalizer. I recorded this in one shot with my Senn 935. I cut the track in the middle, and put a high pass and low pass filter on it. It's a classic technique for simulating a telephone sound, which uses a ceramic mic. I misspoke when saying I cut everything from 3000kHz to 300 KHz. (I can't speak in ultrasonics o_O ) I cut everything below 300 and above 3000 Hz.

Add some distortion to it, and you've got a similar sound to their $500 Carbonphone mic, and it doesn't cost you a dime.

View attachment LoFi Mic Equalization.mp3

 
I was going to say, the lowest fi mic is probably a carbon jobby as fitted to old telephones. There should be plenty of carbon inserts about on the web. You will need a bias supply, PP3? And caps to isolate the DC. Better a transformer.

OR! You might find one of the crystal mics supplied with the early domestic reel to reels? They were pretty crap!

Oooo! >
 
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