Here's the idea for our sound: Clarity of vocals is the priority, with acoustic instruments sounding as close to natural tone as possible, and a rock 'n' roll rhythm section. (Think Los Lobos without quite as much volume). It's ethnic folk music with a big rockin' bottom.
Just a suggestion: The best way to get a feel for the sound we want is to come up on stage and let us run through a song acoustically for you before sound check. If you can come close to reproducing the tone you hear from our instruments and voices in the house, we're happy. We can also provide you with the band's latest CD; you should be able to get one from the promoter, they're usually given several before we appear; if not, contact us directly as soon as possible.
VOCAL MICROPHONES:
Four vocal microphones (SM58s are fine, Beta 58s preferred) on boomstands, one each for Nancy McCallion (front line, center stage), Kevin Schramm (front line, stage right) and Danny Krieger (front line, stage left) and Dan Sorenson (back line, stage left, preferably on a boom stand). If there are a limited number of high-quality mikes available, give the best vocal mike to lead vocalist McCallion and, if there are two, Krieger.
INSTRUMENT MIKES:
One instrument mike (SM57, Sennheiser 421 or condensor mike) on straight stand or gooseneck next to Kevin Schramm's vocal mike stand to be used for his button accordion and (sometimes) banjo. He ALSO uses this mike as a volume boost for the right-hand (lead) side of his piano accordion ("the big one" - chromatic 120-bass) on solos. One instrument mike (SM57, Sennheiser 421, etc.) on boomstand for Danny Krieger’s Music Man guitar amplifier. He runs both his electrics (the larger - deep red Danelectro - one is a baritone) and his acoustic through the amp.
A minimum of two mics on stands for drums (kick and overhead), and under ideal situations in larger rooms up to six mikes (kick, snare, rack, floor tom, sock cymbal and overhead). SM57s are adequate, but a low-frequency capable large-diaphragm mike is preferred for the kick; and an open-pattern (omni-directional) condensor mike on a boomstand is preferred for the overhead (primarily needed to mike hand percussion). A bit more gain may be needed on the snare mike when Marx is using brushes, Blasticks or HotRods rather than sticks. *Although the drummer may be able to "carry" a small room without miking, that will force him to play harder to get the desired punch out of the kick and snare sound on the louder songs; by using at least two mikes (kick and overhead/snare) even in small rooms, and giving him some of the kick in his monitor we can keep the ambient stage level down, thereby keeping the monitor level down, thereby sounding a hell of a lot better. Also, a bit of mid-range knock on the kick (in the house) will allow it to be heard more clearly with less overall drum volume.
INSTRUMENT DIRECT LINES (XLR):
Two XLR direct lines are needed for Kevin Schramm (front line, stage right), one for his piezo-pickup stringed instruments (acoustic guitar, bouzouki) and one for his piano accordion (which has a built-in microphone). He carries two direct boxes. He will switch between several instruments on the stringed instrument direct line; he has a pad on his DI to kill the channel while he does the input switching.
Nancy McCallion, front line center stage, needs one XLR for her acoustic guitar's six-string piezo pickup. She carries a direct box.
One XLR line, stage left, for the direct output on the back of bassist Dan Sorenson's bass amp. Please EQ for my preferred tone: a growling acoustic tone on the Stingray electric fretless and the Zeta upright electric (big bottom, plenty of low-mid, hold the top end back a little bit). Please give a listen to the sound I get out of my stage rig and try to get that in the house. Thanks.
EFFECTS:
A small amount of natural room-style reverb is preferable to a "slap back" delay. Nancy McCallion's vocal mic is also used for "tin whistle" and harmonica. We want, above all, to keep the vocals on top - clear and understandable. So, if the room is very reflective, no delay at all may be needed. A slightly wetter (reverb) sound is desirable for the whistle than for vocals.
MONITORS:
A minimum of three, ideally five.
If only three are available, two placed on front line, one to either side of Nancy in center stage. The other monitor is to be placed to the left of drummer Marx Loeb.
If four are available, place three on front line, one adjacent to each front line vocal microphone, and one to the left of the drummer.
If five are available, place fifth monitor in front of or to the left or right of bassist Dan Sorenson's microphone.
SOME PREFERENCES:
Please, please, please don't "ride" the sliders as our vocal and instrumental entrances are very hard to predict, and we're used to controlling our relative volumes on vocals and instruments. We work off the monitor mix we start with. Obviously, we expect the house engineer to adjust house volumes as seen fit, but please don't zero the level on any live channel expecting to bring it up in time for a vocal or instrumental section.
Thanks for taking the time to try to find out what we want to sound like. Any questions, just ask. We try to sound our best and we'll work with you.
dan sorenson
P.S. Copies of our latest CD were sent to the promoter. Please ask for one, if you have time to familiarize yourself with our sound and material. Or, if that doesn't work, ask us for one while we're loading in.
P.P.S. I usually come back to the house board after the first set and ask if there's anything we need to do from our end. But, if I get hijacked by a bass player asking about my Zeta or an offer of a beer, I may wander off. Hunt me down. We really do want to do whatever we can to make it possbile for you to make us sound good. Just ask.
