Hello,
South 14 is a bluegrass band from the Ozark Mountains of North Central Arkansas. We've been playing regionally for about 6 years performing traditional tunes with a little new grass thrown in for spice. We also like to play traditional gospel and take a stab at some of the pre-war old timey stuff. South 14The group is comprised of: banjo, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and upright bass. We also do a lot of three part harmony singing.

We hang three microphones off of a centrally located single mike stand and the band 'works' this stand as we play and sing. The current microphone setup includes:
1-Heil PR-40 Dynamic for vocals, fiddle and general sound.
2-AKG Perception 170 small diaqhram condensers one each for banjo and mandolin.

The upright bass is the only instrument we use a with a pickup and it is amped seperately. The pickup is a Realist and the amp is a Phil Jones Briefcase. (awesome little 100W amp that only weights about 25 lb.)

[url=http://toonz.ca/sketcher/showBand.aspx?SketchID=3947]

Like other bluegrass bands who want to work around a single microphone set up with condenser, we have to do it all without monitors because of the feedback issue. The 'surround the single microphone' concept is done on purpose so as not to have to depend on monitors (of course when the single mike way of playing got started there was no such thing as stage monitors anyway; it was out of necessity), but let's face it, even when you can pull the band in tight around the microphone, sometimes in some venues you still cannot hear each other.

So, we set out to solve this problem when we discovered the L1. We have just purchased the L1 system and have practiced with it twice and performed with it once. I must say we are all totally impressed with the L1. First, we really didn't think it would put out enough sound to be heard by anyone let alone be able to monitor ourselves without a lot of feedback, but we were desparate for a solution so we bought it. Simply put, we were wrong in our thinking. The L1 is the stuff.

For the first time, we can actually hear what we are playing AND hear what the audience heres. It's a whole new musical experience. For me personally, I have discovered that I have a lot of work to do on my singing!<g>

Before purchasing the L1, we also did some serious thinking about where it is we play most of our gigs. With only two exceptions, we play most performances inside small venues like coffee houses and restaurants. When we play outside, the venue usually provides a PA. So, for 95% of our gigs, the L1 is perfect; the other 5% is not an issue to begin with. Not to say it couldn't handle the outside event, and we'll give it a try later this year, but for almost all of our performances, the L1 fits our need.

Other info: We have also used a large diaphram condenser with the L1 in a small room (a practice). The mike is one of those inexpensive MXL mikes. It's not a super sensitive condenser but a condenser non-the-less and we did not have any real feedback problems with the L1. A more sensitive condenser might create an issue with feedback, but I am thinking the L1 can handle it.

Quality of sound: We video taped our performance Saturday night. I watched and listened to it yesterday. Wow! The best we've ever sounded on tape! I know audio on video is not high quality, but I must say that the L1 did it's job.

Thanks for reading and hope it helps you guys out if your thinking about an L1 for your band.

Lyn

Hi Michael Lyn,

Thank you for joining the Message Board, and for taking the time to tell us about South 14.

Thank you too for using the Sketcher. Here is your Sketch.


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