So you know how you see some old video of a band playing from the 60's or whatever and the singer always has 2 mics taped together?
What's that about, why did they used to need to sing into 2 mics?

Two options:
1. one mic goes for the pa. second mic is for recording the performance.
2. 2 mics = more volume!

eliya wrote:Two options:
1. one mic goes for the pa. second mic is for recording the performance.
2. 2 mics = more volume!

Alternatively, one can be for monitors and one for P.A.

If they are facing the opposite way (one towards the vocalist/ one towards the audience) one is reverse phased to cancel crowd noise through the P.A. The Dead were big into that from what I hear.

Robert Plant did that. He didnt have to though, because of that bulge in those skin tight Levis was zeppelin.





I actually tape mics together when I record

One mic could be crazy reverb.

There is a way to keep ambient noise (from amps, PA, crowd, and drums) out of the vocals by mixing in an additional mic, with the polarity reversed right next to the vocal mic. When the singer isn't singing into one of the mics, they pick up the same sounds, and cancel out. When the singer sings into either mic, the difference is amplified. This is also how the PA on the el works.

I think it was a phasing or balanced-line thing. I dunno

?

PINGING Steve or Bob!

greg wrote:with the polarity reversed right next to the vocal mic. When the singer isn't singing into one of the mics, they pick up the same sounds, and cancel out.

that makes sense, its like recording someone in the room with monitors.

pwalshj wrote: The Dead were big into that from what I hear.

correct. this was an important part of the Wall of Sound PA system, since the mains and monitors were one and the same, pointed directly at the vocal mics.

greg wrote:There is a way to keep ambient noise (from amps, PA, crowd, and drums) out of the vocals by mixing in an additional mic, with the polarity reversed right next to the vocal mic. When the singer isn't singing into one of the mics, they pick up the same sounds, and cancel out. When the singer sings into either mic, the difference is amplified. This is also how the PA on the el works.

my dad was a live sound guy in the 70's and told me this is why they were doing it.

he told me about doing sound for maria muldaur who was opening for the dead and it was really problematic as she was used to one mic and would move on and off of it to control her volume from quiet to loud parts. anything about 4" from the mic's was pretty well canceled out.

he also worked in the bearsville remote truck and said they would never use two mics where one was for recording and one was for the pa. they would always run the mics through their board and then split it from there to the front of house board and the tape machine.