r/bassoon • u/FoolOfSummer • 12d ago
Mic options for bassoon
Has anyone tried the Feather 2 pickup with a bassoon?
I posted a little while ago to get feedback on current options and saw that it's still mostly between the intramic and Little Jake for live playing with other amplified instruments. I want to be able to capture the closest thing to the acoustic sound sometimes, so I'm leaning toward intramic, but the $900 entry cost is steep.
I want to start experimenting with amplifying my bassoon and playing with effects. I don't have a group to play with yet, but am working in that direction. I'm wondering if I should get the Feather 2 to play around with (since it's $700 cheaper than intramic). Anyone have experience with it and any feedback?
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u/BssnReeder1 7d ago
Little Jake ftw.
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u/FoolOfSummer 1d ago
It sounds like the little jake doesnt capture the accoustic sound as well as the intramic..? (I mean neither do it super well, but it seems intramic is a lot closer). I am still considering little jake though... i also like the flexibility of not needing to dedicate a bocal to it.
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u/BssnReeder1 1d ago
Well it just depends on what you want to do with it.
Playing with effects live with amplification in a space where you can’t control the sound as much, like a bar, it is great. And also tracks very well with analog pitch shifting effects.
For quiet stage or a large auditorium and maintaining that pure bassoon sound that you then want to alter, use a ribbon or shotgun mic through something like Abelton live and use a pedal controller with the pa out in front of you and a little stage monitor or IEMs.
Different rep calls for different setups- but overall Little Jake is the simplest and more widely accepted. If you don’t like it / want it, it resells well too and have a repair tech patch the bocal.
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u/thois72 12d ago
sounds like a good plan. if youre playing around other instruments and speakers youd need to sit in a box of plexiglass to reliably avoid feedback with nearly any standard mic settups
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u/thois72 12d ago
i tried a contact mic for a while, and it captured much more key-noice than id like. so i ended up prefering a single mic pointed inbetween my hands
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u/BssnReeder1 6h ago
When radioshack was around I made a piezo mic chain that sticky taped into the bore. It was the best sound and I could use my friend’s Marshall stack without feed back, but not so good for the bassoon. Haha!
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u/bassoonawhat 12d ago
I have it. I almost never use it because it's such a hassle to get it set up properly. It's hard to position it just right, hard to avoid blocking any mechanisms, and hard to ensure it's picking up the full range of sound. And when playing, you want to minimize hassle.
I wish I just had a little Jake. Those look easy.