Kara-Moon Forum

Played a little gig the other day: a farmer's market in a parking lot. Well, not the sexiest location ... but they did pay me (very little).

Problem with my saxophone. I decided that it needed to be amplified (parking lot!) so I put on a audio-technica AT8538 clip on mic. This is a condenser mic, and it works just fine. If I did this all the time I'd invest in a wireless rig ... but ... for the occasional time I need the extra boost I'll deal with the chords.

Now, the problem. About halfway though the gig the wind came up. A few times I thought that I, my music and the canopy shielding us from the sun were going to end up a long ways away. Truthfully, it was probably not all that bad, and did keep us cool. But the little mic sure didn't like the wind! Picked it up and blew it though the speakers.

I ended up stealing a foam shield off an extra vocal mic and stuck it over the clipon with a clothespin. Not too elegant, but it helped quite a bit.

Any better suggestions (other than avoiding parking lots)?

Bob,

I've never mic'd a saxophone in a live situation, but my inclination is to use a Shure SM58 on a stand with a foam wind/pop screen fitted over it. The SM58 already has a built-in screen, and the extra foam layer will cure any but the most extreme wind conditions. Adjust the mixer's tone controls to compensate for the slightly muffled response, and for the SM58's predominant mid-range.

The SM58 works okay for sax. But, the problem is that on a stand ... well, it sort of means that you have to stay pretty still :) I'm not a shaker/mover/dancer (getting too old I guess), but I've noticed that even 1 to 2 foot moves back and forth make a huge difference. Hence, the advantage of the clipon.

Of course, one big advantage of the stand mic is that one can change the volume by moving back and forth :)

Honestly, the clipon sounds just fine. Until the wind comes up. I'll have to stop in at the music store next time I'm in the "big city" and see what they have in foam cones and see if I can adapt one to the AT.

Personally I like the SM57 sound on alto and tenor. Cuts thru pretty well in a mix.
I have a pop filter that clips on to the stand and I probably would have tried rigging a wind block on that which shielded the mic from the direction the wind was blowing. Maybe tape some heavy cardboard to it or something..  I don't like the windscreen that comes with the 57 or 58.  They tend to muffle the sound for certain frequencies (to my ear) so if you could block the wind and keep the sound, I'd go that route.
 Playing to a mic on a stand in a live situation can be a beneift in many ways.  Besides controlling the sound with distance (like you mentioned), when compared to a clip-on there are a lot of times when extra noise is avoided.  I'm thinking more of recording than just 'front of house' sound reinforcement here. I think it's easier for a player to remember to play into the mic when needed than to think about the clip-on that is live at all times (like worrying about stepping in front of the guitar cabinet, or walking out in front of the mains where the mic will pick up the other sounds, or the drums coming in and out as you change position, etc.)
 Just another opinion..