Question:
Clarinet in Big Band: miked or unmiked?
I'd like to hear from folks on the Forum who double on clarinet in a big band. Is your clarinet miked or unmiked? If it's unmiked, please describe what you and/or your director did to achieve a workable balance between the clarinet and the rest of the band.
Thanks, Roger

Answer:
What I've done with my group is to mike each of the solo spots (Alto 1, Tenor 1, Baritone, Trumpet 1/2, Trombone 1/2) with an SM 57 on a mike stand. The feed from each of these is sent to a Yamaha mixing board, and from there one is sent to one of the trimmable input holes on our PA head, a Peavy 685R (I think that's what it is, at least).
The mikes for the alto, tenor and bari spots are on grip and slide stands, while the ones for the brass folks are on normal (i.e., cheaper) stands. Since all of the sax players double sax and clarinet/flute/bass clarinet, they need to be adjustable in a hurry to properly place the mike. Also, the grip and slide mechanism produces far less mike rumble noise when it's used over the standard mike stands.
We do not normally play the brass and woodwinds into the mikes. As they are pretty directional, they are positioned so as not to pick up the "normal" playing. When soloing, the player stands, points the bell or center of mass (for the flute, piccolo, clarinet or bass clarinet) into the mike, and goes at it. When done, the simple act of sitting down "turns off" the amplification for that particular instrument.
(Note that this does not allow for miking at the top and middle of the clarinet. However, this is a field setup, not a recording one, and it produces decent enough results for a live performance. The recording setup is much more complicated, and I couldn't begin to describe all of the junk that the engineer hangs around us for that.)
The only problem with this setup is that my bass trombone player, who does a couple of wonderful solo numbers (Fools Rush In is one that is particularly good, an excellent slow dance tune on an instrument that sounds surprisingly melodic), has to displace from his spot in the group and move to a vocalist mike to do his work. I'd add a mike for him, but that would mean another mike stand, and another mike feed to worry about. Since there aren't any open holes in the mike box, and since space in the van is at a premium right now, he'll just have to move.
On the mixing board, I trim the inputs for each horn down so that they produce about one higher dynamic level when the horn is being pointed into the mike than when it is being played "normally". We've found that this is all of the "help" a soloist on clarinet or any other instrument needs to shine out above the group.
Once the initial settings are made and the whole affair is properly balanced, I then can trim up or down on the Peavy to suit the acoustics of the venue. We've found that the sound sponge that is a large group of people can vary by quite a large margin, and I will periodically have one of my vocalists walk out in the house and listen specifically for balance issues, then make the adjustments as indicated.
Originally, I was going to go with an elaborate system of foot switches to cut the mikes off when not in use, but (with the possible exception of the trumpets if they are not careful), just using the directional method is good enough and far more simple. By going with the Yamaha "sub-mixer", we avoided getting a huge PA setup for very little increased utility.
In fact, I tend to run every "auxiliary feed" through the sub-mixer so that I can kill it all (if necessary) through the twist of a single knob or a flick of a single fader. (The only one that I'm using now beyond the horns is a SM 58 that mikes our "compact" conga and quero from below.) We've never had the horn stuff feed back yet (as none of it goes through the vocal monitors up front), but you never know what might happen if you play in front of some windows or a concrete wall. Having it all on one switch makes certain that it won't cause big time problems.
One other problem is that all of this sound stuff does make for a mare's nest of microphone cords running hither and yon, and (left unmarked) they all tend to look the same. As a result, tracing a bad cord can be problematic, particularly under performance conditions.
We've gotten over this by color coding all of the various feeds with 3M brand colored electrical tape and white hockey tape. Vocal stuff and main audio feeds are just one color (green, yellow, orange, purple, brown, black, white, grey), while instrumental feeds are one color over an underlayment of white vinyl hockey tape (the most useful substance in the universe, even moreso than duct tape). The various holes and pins on the equipment are similarly color coded with dots of the same color, allowing for it all to get rigged up right quickly.
If only the vocal monitors were as simple as the horns are...

Answer:
When it's a smaller private party we usually do not have mics. For those situations I need to use a shorter barrel to prevent being under pitch while trying to project over the ensemble.

Answer:
Sinkdrain,
Follow up question..... Say you're playing a chart with your band that uses clarinet in the middle to low range rather than blasting away in the high range. What would you do? Will your band know to listen for your part and adjust the over-all dynamic level of the ensemble or will you simply do what you can to be heard?
Thanks to you and Terry for the replies so far!
Roger

Answer:
Two months ago I did a show with an augmented big band (added two Fr. horns and one tuba), and the only amplification was the bassist's small cabinet (even the acoustic guitar was un-miked!). The goal of course was to try and keep things acoustic and balance orselves internally as a group, just like the "old days". All of the reed players (some of whom were tripling and quadrupling) were used to loud playing environments and had no trouble blasting away if needed. The solo violinist, OTOH, had to ask us more than once during rehearsal to get quieter, and I don't know if we entirely succeeded...
The event was captured by a video recorder on the balcony, so the sound is mono and a bit distant, but if you listen to the clips on the page below you can hear how the clarinet and other soloists were able to make themselves heard (I'm playing drums, BTW, as I'm only just getting back into playing sax):
Again, it's all about internal dynamics. Start putting mics up and everyone feels it's OK to play as loud as they want.

Answer:
Originally Posted by Roger Aldridge Sinkdrain,
Follow up question..... Say you're playing a chart with your band that uses clarinet in the middle to low range rather than blasting away in the high range. What would you do? Will your band know to listen for your part and adjust the over-all dynamic level of the ensemble or will you simply do what you can to be heard?
Roger
When first reading a chart in a rehearsal the band, more times than not plays over me when i'm in the lower register. I often have clarinet parts in this particular small swing band. I usually have to resort to saying something like, "hey...this section would sound great if we brought it way down."
What a wonderful sound when the blend/balance is such that a clarinet can be heard without having to push. Doesn't happen enough

Answer:
Suzy and I went to the Glenn Miller Orchestra concert this weekend. Now there's a classic example of blending 8-)

Answer:
I agree about the dynamics issue. You have to control the basic musicianship first, and then worry about the amplification. If you have folks who are not sensitive to dynamic levels (particularly in the trumpets), that has to be dealt with administratively rather than through a sound system. But, that's a hiring and firing issue rather than an acoustic one.
(Incidentally, I find that it is far, FAR harder to get the right dynamic mix with "pop" (i.e., everything since the big band era ended in the early 1950's) than it is with classic big band stuff. Most players don't understand that the notes in pop are more than just fill, and they tend to play them all at one dynamic level. When we work through a new chart, particularly an R & B or rock one, I often have to "shape" each phrase to get the punches, swells and fades that make an otherwise decent performance into an outstanding one. Getting these fine dynamic points across to guys who were last young in the 1950's is not often easy.)
Once you've controlled the musicianship overall, it's far easier to just give the soloists an "edge" (particularly with instruments like the clarinet) with a mike than it is to ensure that all of the rest are playing at a perfect level for an environment that may be 169° out of phase with your previous performance location. Ditto outdoors, where a whole new set of rules start applying.
And, in a room where the environment is "variable" (one where the crowd builds and wanes over the space of an evening), using a sound system to "control" things is much easier than communicating that same information to each sideman. I.e., it's easier to tweak a fader than it is to get everyone to bump things up a half dynamic level.
"Smaller private party" means a combo job to me. If there's no vocalist, then there's no additional equipment brought to those jobs save the bass and guitar players cabinets plus the electronic piano setup. Even at that, I still walk out into the room, evaluate the levels, and then get them to adjust accordingly.
With a vocalist on a combo job, I usually use a JBL Eon-10 powered cabinet, mounted on a low set speaker tripod. These are compact units, come in a nifty carrying bag, and accept XLR input without any additional connectors or boxes in between, or without an external amplifier. They also have minimal equalization capabilities built right into the unit.
Although the manufacturer claims that it's an all in one solution for everything up to and including a moon landing, I have found that this is the only setup where it works well as the primary front of house element. Even then, you need a singer who can work well without monitoring, and some have real problems there.
However, virtually all that we do beyond the occasional combo job is with at least one vocalist, and usually it's with up to four. Individual mike techniques vary, carrying power varies, venue size and reflectivity vary, musical mixes vary, and all of these factors combined virtually mandate a "normal PA" setup.
(Incidentally, the little Eon cabinet mentioned above becomes one of my vocal monitors when doing a full setup job. They are excellent for this purpose, sitting on a designed-into-the-unit angled base. They (two of them) also serve as a backup sound system should something go very wrong with the main PA system. At $500 to $600 a unit, they are a good "lifeboat" to have on hand, and are relatively low profile when used as a monitor to boot.)
One of the worst things about live music is that "you" have real difficulty hearing exactly what "you" sound like. Add to this that no two rooms are the same, and you can go very wrong if you don't pay attention to this factor.
This is why the real rock folks all have a board with an "engineer" sited out front of the stage. Rockers have enough trouble standing up on their own, and expecting them to understand such a complicated musical concept as the difference between pp and p is really too much. So, their sound guy (or guys) shapes the raw materials given through the feeds to provide a decent mix to the audience, and makes his/their adjustments on the fly as the bourbon and drugs kick in or out.
Most horn players (with emphasis on the word "most") are far more skilled than your typical "three chords and a stuffed crotch" rocker, and for them such elaborate precautions are not needed. As a result, there's no need for me to pay an extra share out to a sound board guy (as our needs are relatively simple). I've got one girl and one boy vocalist each trained to deal with the normal sound problems as they occur, and their parking area is behind and to the side of where I and the system normally are located. (As mentioned earlier, these are mostly related to vocal monitor feedback issues.) But, it is one more damn'd thing to keep in the back of my mind at all times.
Finally, I have yet to see an "all in one" solution book that covers what I have needed to know in setting up a sound system to suit our needs. I have purchased a number of the "standard" texts in the field, but most dismiss the miking of horns in a sentence or less (and that is no exaggeration, either).
What these books will tell you is how to handle the basic equipment purchase and set up, how to deal with "venue problems", how to repair stuff, how to hang your stacks of six high speaker cabinets from the top of the venue, how to deal with sound delays in a large venue, and how to deal with miking a guitar or bass amplifier. Some of the rock-related stuff can be funny at times, particularly their concerns about intonation.
From what I picked up from those books, plus what I learned on my own from working in the trade, plus the occasional bit of advice picked up here and there on the side, I've managed to piece it together. Not an easy learning process, and not one I'd want to relive. Perhaps I should write the definitive "wind band" related book on the subject...
And, if that's bad, the modern stage lighting field is even worse. There are a few texts in the theatrical stagecraft area, but they are sadly deficient on modern light systems and electronic controllers. When you get into this area, you really are entering an apprentice-master relationship to learn anything.

Answer:
Unmiked - I play loud! :twisted:

Answer:
i solved this problem by using a metal clarunet with a rico metalite mpc (yes they did make these) and plasticover reeds. no mike needed! . a shure 57 works good cause you can actually stick it into the bell of the clarinet and it will pick up the mid range well this way

Answer:
If the arrangement is ok, and the players are ok, there should be no problem! Vandoren has some clarinet pieces that can really cut through. We did a modern version of "swing swing swing" the other day, and I even liked it :D

Answer:
At least in highschool they mike which can be a proableme as they tend to use one mic, badly placed so all but a handful of notes end up unmiked

Answer:
Selmer Series 10G, Rico Metallite M9.....no mikes need apply!

Answer:
Unmiked unless soloing.

Answer:
I'm not a huge fan of trying to balance a band through miking. That is a matter of musicianship. If the band is playing over the solo, then someone needs a thumping. So the solution is this; "if you aren't hearing the solo, then y'all are playing to darn loud." IMHO, the trumpets are the frequent offenders when it comes to this.
Also, clarinets are hard to mike and a single mike on a clarinet will generally result in uneven volume depending on the register. Mike high and you lose the bottom and mike low and you lose the higher notes. About the only decent solution is something like an AMT twin boom mike.

Answer:
Originally Posted by rwilliams I'm not a huge fan of trying to balance a band through miking. That is a matter of musicianship. If the band is playing over the solo, then someone needs a thumping. So the solution is this; "if you aren't hearing the solo, then y'all are playing to darn loud." IMHO, the trumpets are the frequent offenders when it comes to this.
... or the arranger.

Answer:
Arrangers; don't get me going.....:evil:
I am so sick and tired of arrangers who dump note for note the string parts onto clarinets where the original score had a dozen plus strings or a full orchestra string section. If that is arranging then I guess I'm an arranger because I can transpose between C and Bb.

Answer:
Originally Posted by rwilliams
I am so sick and tired of arrangers who dump note for note the string parts onto clarinets where the original score had a dozen plus strings or a full orchestra string section. If that is arranging then I guess I'm an arranger because I can transpose between C and Bb.
That's transcribing.

Answer:
haha, I thought you were saying milked or unmilked :P
it took me a while to figure out what you were saying