Mic a koto live?

T

Tommy Le

Freshman
Nov 11, 2013
10
0
1
As the title implies, does anyone know how to mic a koto live? I'll be mic'ing 3 to be specific for a weekend theater gig per my previous post.

I have 3 audio-technica pro35x and 8 at853a with stand mounts as mic choices at my disposal.

Should I mic on stands in front or use the clips to mic in the hole?

Thanks in advance!
 
Re: Mic a koto live?

Tommy Le said:
As the title implies, does anyone know how to mic a koto live? I'll be mic'ing 3 to be specific for a weekend theater gig per my previous post.

I have 3 audio-technica pro35x and 8 at853a with stand mounts as mic choices at my disposal.

Should I mic on stands in front or use the clips to mic in the hole?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

A lot is going to depend on whether the instrument is on a stand or on the ground. My two basic rules when encountering a new instrument are:

1. Listen to the instrument while the person is playing it and find a place with a smooth representative sound.
2. Ask the instrumentalist where they prefer the mic to be.

Depending on the type of music being played, the koto is a candidate for dual micing. I would think about one at the sound hole underneath. And one over the strings from above and basically in-between the players hands along the length of the instrument.

A handy trick with the pro35 is to take the element out of the clip. It is just held in place by friction on the wind filter. A small piece of tape can be used to unobtrusively stash it wherever you decide on the instrument.
 
Re: Mic a koto live?

Micing koto would be similar to micing acoustic guitar. I mic'ed a Dulcimer before using just one Heil PR35 on a stand in front of the Dulcimer on stand, and it sounded adequately well.

My experience with pickup in the hole of acoustic guitar, is that there is quite a bit of proximity effect. So unless it's an omni, I wouldn't use it in the hole.

But to put it on a stand in front of Koto, the mic needs to have good sensitivity. Is a large diaphram mic too unsightly for your application?
 
Re: Mic a koto live?

Since the gig has already occurred, your response is a bit late. But there are both grammatical and technical issues in your post.


Sean Chen said:
Micing koto would be similar to micing acoustic guitar.
Click to expand...

No, the sound comes out in a totally different way. And it's "miking", not "micing". No diminutive rodents are involved.

I mic'ed a Dulcimer before using just one Heil PR35 on a stand in front of the Dulcimer on stand, and it sounded adequately well.
Click to expand...

Well...as opposed to sick? It could sound good, but not well. And "adequately" is redundant.

My experience with pickup in the hole of acoustic guitar, is that there is quite a bit of proximity effect. So unless it's an omni, I wouldn't use it in the hole.
Click to expand...

Putting a mic "in the hole" of an acoustic guitar is arguably the worst way to attempt to record or reinforce it. It's just not done.

Is a large diaphram mic too unsightly for your application?
Click to expand...

Unsightly has nothing to do with it. It's the wrong mic for the application. An SDC would be a better choice.
 
Last edited:
Re: Mic a koto live?

Rob Timmerman said:
Merriam Webster would disagree with you on that, as would a cursory examination of the etymology of the term. Although there are several Mikes on this forum, none of them (as far as I know) were involved with the amplification of thes instruments...
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll remember that the next time I'm mousing an instrument in the mix from the StudioLive VSL on the computer.
 
Re: Mic a koto live?

Tommy Le said:
As the title implies, does anyone know how to mic a koto live? I'll be mic'ing 3 to be specific for a weekend theater gig per my previous post.

I have 3 audio-technica pro35x and 8 at853a with stand mounts as mic choices at my disposal.

Should I mic on stands in front or use the clips to mic in the hole?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Hi Tommy!

I had the pleasure of having Hiroshima come through a jazz festival I was mixing over the summer and they feature a koto in their band.

IIRC they had a contact mic inside the instrument feeding a tuner and we took a DI off that, and they also had what looked to be a Shure Beta 91 tucked up in the sound hole.

Their BE mixed both in the PA and I think we just had the DI in the monitors.

Here is a video (not of this gig) of them playing where you can see what I'm talking about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWd8rkidW3I

Hope this helps! When in doubt, take some extra time at soundcheck to really move the mics around. If you have someone out at FOH and a patch guy moving the mic it should only take 5 minutes or so to find the sweet spot for that instrument.

-Mike Brown
 
Re: Mic a koto live?

Mike Brown said:
Hi Tommy!

I had the pleasure of having Hiroshima come through a jazz festival I was mixing over the summer and they feature a koto in their band.

IIRC they had a contact mic inside the instrument feeding a tuner and we took a DI off that, and they also had what looked to be a Shure Beta 91 tucked up in the sound hole.

Their BE mixed both in the PA and I think we just had the DI in the monitors.

Here is a video (not of this gig) of them playing where you can see what I'm talking about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWd8rkidW3I

Hope this helps! When in doubt, take some extra time at soundcheck to really move the mics around. If you have someone out at FOH and a patch guy moving the mic it should only take 5 minutes or so to find the sweet spot for that instrument.

-Mike Brown
Click to expand...


Looks like a Conn Strobo-tuner like we used to have in the high school band room back in the '50's...although ours was an older, larger model.

I totally agree with the interior mic with the 91. That's pretty much how I do hammer dulcimers and some esoteric harps. My 91's are SM, not Beta, but their low profile really lets you get right in there and get plenty of attack.

Thanks for the video link. Great stuff.
 
Last edited:
Re: Mic a koto live?

To avoid confusing people further, let's add apostrophe to spell mic'ing - the abbreviated participial of the act to microphone.

Mic'ing a dulcimer with 2 large well placed microphone would sound even better.

The reference to acoustic guitar mic'ing is studio AG mic'ing, with one mic to pick up the picking, and the other to pick up the ambience. Similarity between Koto and AG is that both are stringed picking instruments with a resonating body.

EOM
 
Re: Mic a koto live?

In the context of an audio forum… miking, micing, and mic'ing all mean the same damned thing. Even though Dick is correct in his insistence on miking (as once upon a time, miking was the ONLY acceptable term), it's not worth bickering over.
 
Top Bottom