Here are the chapters! 1:25 - Setting up the first mic 3:15 - How the mixing desk works 3:54 - Soundcheck with first mic 5:19 - Make your soundcheck super simple 7:08 - Explaining the 80hz bass rolloff 8:42 - How the EQ works 10:07 - How I setup my main good mic 11:03 - Let's learn about Phantom Power 13:39 - Plugging in and setting up properly 14:09 - Time to do the EQ for the second mic 15:19 - Adding a nice reverb effect 15:39 - Soundcheck with the second mic 19:09 - Talking about foldback mixes 21:06 - Enjoying the sound and playing grooves 22:03 - Benefits of using your own mic for live shows 22:45 - Benefits of not needing a mic stand on stage 23:40 - Outro and members club information
If you’re not already aware, I believe you’re not quite understanding comp correctly. A compressor takes the low volume sounds and brings them up, but also takes the high volume sounds and brings them down. This is very useful if you want a higher volume on the track but the track keeps peaking. Hope this helped!
Nice video! With some great playing and tips. Thank you, you have inspired many, many cajon players! Personally, whenever I put a microphone inside a cajon I think, "This is the reason some people say all cajons sound the same." To me the sound on the inside lacks personality and sounds rather raw. The outside of the entire cajon box resonates with every hit, and they are all different. A mic on the inside seems to miss all that. But I understand the compromise - in a live situation a single mic on the inside is wildly convenient. I don't play much live but when I do I use a Zoom H5 on the upper part of the tapa and a MXL A55 bass mic on OUTSIDE of the sound hole lined into the Zoom. The Zoom sits on a short goose-neck extender fixed on top of a desk microphone stand. No big unwieldy mic stands involved. The Zoom stereo line-out goes to a DI box and I like to have the board pan the left channel to the right and right channel to the left. I hear the cajon in stereo, I like to mic it in stereo. But wow, it's not nearly as convenient as a single mic for sure! Many live venues may not have the acoustics and sound system that would justify a complex setup. I get it, but I'm stuck on the quality side for now. I make my own cajons and when I play them in public I want them to sound the way I hear them day-to-day.
@@rosslmccallum Yes, I've thought it might be a good setup for you. You travel a lot and a Zoom H5 or H4 Pro or similar portable recorder would be multi-purpose and small. You could do all your RU-vid videos with it. It has the two XY built in mics for the tapa, and two XLR inputs. You could use one for a proper bass mic and one for a lavaliere mic. Record direct to the SD card, separate the channels in post in whatever DAW you use. No other sound equipment or computer needed on location. I use a very lightweight camera monopod to hold the Zoom up when I'm traveling, it's precarious but portable. It shows up in some of the Colombia videos on my channel. And then the entire system can be used for special venues when you want high quality sound for a cajon.
I mounted a mic holder just under the sound hole so I can put in a 57 or any other mic. I aim the mic toward the snares. Plug it in and forget about it. No mic stand, more stage space. You can get an adapter for european mic's that takes a standard 5/16 coarse bolt.
Yeah that’s awesome! Probably one of the best solutions I’ve heard from other players in recent times. I might have to make a video just about mic mounting options. Thanks.
Nice insight... Personally i like to mic my cajon from front and back both...back i use a kick mic normally... Sennheiser e602 and in front i like either sm57 or some pencil condensers like Rode M5 for catching those highs. And it also allows me to give separate effect to the snare sounds and i can also use shakers on that mic
Yeah that’s a nice setup man!! I also think having another mic for separate effects and being able to pickup shaker is a good idea. But I do love having no mic stands haha so I can’t decide!
Thanks Ross. I hope to ramp up my live cajon playing with a guitar player. I just recently tried out my new DW cajon pedal & love it (see my latest video here on my RU-vid channel.). That was just picked up with a smart phone. I’d love to save up for the mic you use here (inside the cajon), just to explore more sonic possibilities. I tried a bass drum mic in back & 57 in front. However, the one internal mic seems like the way to go. Keep up the great videos! Cheers.
Hi , Ross McCallum , Thanks a lot for this detailed information , also may i know if i join your channel at level-1 is there possibility to upgrade to next level to get more learning in same month?
Hey there!! Yes absolutely, there’s 100% flexibility. Just join or leave any level at any time. RU-vid will definitely let you upgrade but I don’t know if they’ll just let you pay the difference or make you pay the full price. To be honest, the real learning is in the “class” level though! My advice would be to join that and if you’re not feeling like continuing after a month, that’s totally fine, just spend some time practicing what you’ve learned and re-join when you need more.
Hey, appreciate what you are trying to do but I believe having a basic working knowledge in audio engineering baics could help any live musician. Even the dynamic SM58 like mics, I'd have used two, one in the back, one in front and have the EQ seperately. Turning the high EQ all the way up can mess you up when least expected. In fact turning anything all the way up is a bad idea. Contrary to the common misconception that a compressor is to increase volume, you can actually use it to make it sound better. Even in your pro setup, you are using the same mic for both highs and lows, sending both of them equally to the reverb, which is going to make the mix super muddy. Hope you take this as constructive criticism as it is intended.
