Help us amplify a washboard!

February 8, 2010 11:25 AM

Musical washboard aplification -- suggestions, please!

We have a musical washboard in our band, and she has to move about onstage instead of just getting plunked in front of a microphone and standing there. Can you suggest a way that we could mix her so that she is not bound to one place? Something that we can actually attach to the washboard would probably be best, although we're open to other suggestions.

The washboard also has a cowbell and a triangle at its bass, so those would also have to be picked up by the mic.

posted by Astro Zombie to media & arts (10 answers total)

A musical washboard player, rather. The washboard doesn't wander about under its own initiative.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:26 AM on February 8, 2010

Um, and "mic" not "mix." If we wanted to mix her, we could just stir her with a spoon.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:31 AM on February 8, 2010

Clip on mic - commonly used for brass instruments or drums.

I have three of these, they work quite nicely.

You could get a wireless version if she has to move a lot..
posted by davey_darling at 11:36 AM on February 8, 2010

Maybe a piezo mic? Apparently this kind of thing has been done before. (It's not going to help with the other percussion, though.)
posted by malocchio at 11:36 AM on February 8, 2010

Clip on a drum mic or tape / clip on a decent Lavalier.

One thing to watch with drum mics are the clips. Most are designed specifically to clip to the rim of a drum and might be tricky to attatch to the washboard. A lav would be more unobtrusive and lighter.
posted by jjb at 11:50 AM on February 8, 2010

I'd be careful about a clipped on mic. I would think that the entire mic vibrating might not work out too well. But a drum mic might make sense, because it is clipped to a vibrating instrument. You could have her move up to a pre set mic when she's going to hit the the other instruments attached to the washboard.
posted by Ironmouth at 11:56 AM on February 8, 2010

Shure makes a variety of wireless mics you can attach to people or objects.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:34 PM on February 8, 2010

please tell me you have someone playing the jug and the washtub bass.
posted by toodleydoodley at 1:08 PM on February 8, 2010

I played both, but the band got a little more cowboy than hillbilly, so now I play electroacoustic bass and yodel a lot.
posted by Astro Zombie at 1:47 PM on February 8, 2010

I know nothing about mics or washboards, but I recently saw Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band and they had a well mic'ed washboard. Maybe you can determine the setup from pictures or shoot them an email.
posted by nestor_makhno at 2:37 PM on February 8, 2010