Anyone got a good way to mic up the audience without backline spill?

[coffee_king]

Hi Guys
We all use IEMs in my various bands and of course you can feel a little disjointed from the audience as you cant hear them very well.
So I was looking at sorting a channel for the audience so we can hear them better in our IEMs.

A few notes:
I want something thats quick to set up
I DONT want to set up another mic stand on stage.
I DONT want it to look too obvious that theres a mic recording the audience as I dont want them coming up and shouting down it.

I was thinking of some sort of clip on my existing mic stand that faces the audience holding a cleverly disguised mic that has some sort of half sphere cowling around the back to stop any backline spill.

Anyone done anything like this before or have a MUCH simpler way of doing this?
Thanks in advance.

[Happy Jack]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nady-SGM12-Shotgun-Condenser-Microphone-Shotgun-Mic-New-/361392575625?hash=item5424ad1489

Attach it to an existing pole (lighting, banner, whatever) pointing at the back of the room.

[coffee_king]

Nice idea, but its the dancing guests I want to pick up really. The ones that are directly in front of us on the dancefloor (Sorry I havnt explained myself too well)

[Happy Jack]

Point it at them, then!

[crez5150]

Use of a boundary mic is very much recommended. Just make sure you only feed the IEM and not the FOH.

We use one of these - [url="http://www.electrovoice.com/product.php?id=109"]http://www.electrovoice.com/product.php?id=109

[/url]

[coffee_king]

Thats a good idea, I'd thought about a boundary mic before, its just how I can attach it to the front of a mic stand easily now I need to sort out.

[crez5150]

Don't put it on a mic stand..... the idea of a boundary mic is that it needs a surface to collect the reflected sound from. We find either right in front of the stage works best

[coffee_king]

On the floor? iI'll just get trodden on with my band/guests.

[yorks5stringer]

[attachment=201749:images.jpg]

[crez5150]

[quote name='coffee_king' timestamp='1443528059' post='2875517']
On the floor? iI'll just get trodden on with my band/guests.
[/quote]

Put it right at the front of the stage.... they are fairly roadworthy

[coffee_king]

Stage? I wish, we're usually playing on the floor/dancefloor.

[RhysP]

We used to just give them both a mic each.

[KevB]

Yes it needs to be on floor with a big rectangle of gaffa round it and a big sign 'this is recording the audience, do not shout into it under any circumstances'.
hth

[Dad3353]

It's a darned expensive way to get audience ambience into iem's, in my view. Maybe for recording stuff in the Albert Hall, but overkill for pubs and such. An ordinary 'shotgun' condenser mic, or even a humble lavalier mic would give more than adequate results, for a couple of tenners. Just sayin'...

[crez5150]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1443546401' post='2875725']
It's a darned expensive way to get audience ambience into iem's, in my view. Maybe for recording stuff in the Albert Hall, but overkill for pubs and such. An ordinary 'shotgun' condenser mic, or even a humble lavalier mic would give more than adequate results, for a couple of tenners. Just sayin'...
[/quote]

I guess it depends on how serious you take the set up..... spend £1000 on an iem system for the band and feed the ambient mix with a £30 mic.

Edited September 30, 2015 by crez5150

[51m0n]

One of these:-

http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_sc140.htm

They're small, cheap and surprisingly reasonable sounding.

[pete.young]

How about a Tandy/Realistic PZM clone? Can't get them new any more but they pop up on eBay from time to time.

[brensabre79]

Boundary Mic / PZM, as mentioned above, just hang it off one of the speaker stands, or use some gaffa tape. They don't look like microphones to most people.

Although I just can't help but think there's something fundamentally wrong with the whole set up if I'm honest. If you're only playing small gigs (no stage etc.) do you really need such an elaborate monitoring system that so effectively disconnects you from the audience?

Why not just use normal monitors (wedges or stand mounts) for vocals only, sort the backline levels out on stage and wear decent earplugs?

[Bankai]

I use these to attach microphones for recording ambient crowd:

[url="http://www.djmmusic.com/p-3299-lp-small-claw-for-microphones.aspx?gclid=CjwKEAjw1riwBRD61db6xtWTvTESJACoQ04QIKIKr7x1Znl_LpBuHVpeyxJJkcw0qG7D7IpCvT5lmxoCqdTw_wcB"]http://www.djmmusic....T5lmxoCqdTw_wcB[/url]

That way I can clamp the microphone to the PA stands, mic stands, lighting truss, etc, as appropriate.

If you look at videos from big gigs and festivals, you'll see those LP Claws in use everywhere and for everything! They're very handy!

Edited October 2, 2015 by Bankai

[crez5150]

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1443799212' post='2877845']

Although I just can't help but think there's something fundamentally wrong with the whole set up if I'm honest. If you're only playing small gigs (no stage etc.) do you really need such an elaborate monitoring system that so effectively disconnects you from the audience?

Why not just use normal monitors (wedges or stand mounts) for vocals only, sort the backline levels out on stage and wear decent earplugs?
[/quote]

Well it gets rid of monitors on the floor for a start.... that people usually tend to fall over in a pub. less to carry.... an IEM system takes a minute to set up and can be done with a single cable. Your whole set up is less prone to feedback as you have less interference into the mic/PA.