From: ddaye@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (David C Daye)
Subject: Help miking weird instrument
Keywords: acoustic, folk, Irish
Organization: The Ohio State University
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 18:43:25 GMT

I play the Irish uillean pipe, a quiet and very rare lap-bagpipe you might
have seen/heard in the band The Chieftains.  If I'm  *very*  lucky, one
of you might have worked for them on a tour.

Periodically I find myself on a professional stage, and I'm looking for 
advice on how to deal with the likes of you so that everybody's happy.  I know
of no pickups for these instruments which number under 100 in N.A. and probably
under 1,000 worldwide.  My goal is to have an entire audience hear the 
instrument exactly as I do.

Description:  Played seated.  Drones (rich soft bassoon sound) located 18"
right of the right shin.  Melody ("chanter") is a semi-upright strong oboe
near the right knee.  Its bell is often clamped shut on the knee; sound comes
from bell (when up) and finger holes spread over a linear foot.  Accompani-
ment ("regulators") are a set of pipes lying on the upper right thigh with
a dozen normally-closed holes (sprung-keys) in an area the dimensions of a
shoe box, also like strong oboes.

Precautions:  All pipes used intermittently but *you* can't tell when they're
going on and off.  The instrument may for some gigs be part of a band, hence
substantial feedback opportunities not present for solos.  The music does not
generate enough cash for kilobuck mikes, but it's worth enough to me not to
gamble on pure luck or homebuilt gadgetry.  Also, this instrument demands
incessant tinkering so it's no great bother to keep track of a few electronic
knobs in addition to the keys and reeds, if it contributes to an easier gig.

I have found it best to fashion my own mike stand, at least for the chanter
and regulators.  Would it be helpful if I provided my own mikes also?
What about using two mikes spaced vertically for the foot-long melody
pipe?  I'm thinking they could be moved much closer to the source since
whatever holes were outside the pickup pattern for one would be within the
pattern for the other.  Are there any reasonable quality clip-ons I could
rig for the drones?  Benefit (again) is proximity without worrying about
the quiet source swinging away from a stationary mike.  Drawbacks are
likely harsh source (reed pipes meant to be heard from 6' back or more), and
feedback as pipes swing the clipon thru sound zones on the stage, especially
when putting the instrument aside temporarily.  Is there an effective EQ
I could have on stage, maybe parametric (?), to work w/ whatever drone mike
I'm using in order to deliver a reasonably accurate sound to a sound man
who's never heard it before?  If I'm providing all my own mikes, does it
make sense to use an on-stage mixer to relieve the sound man of trying to
set relative levels for this rare contraption (I'm presuming that the 
relative levels would be constant electronically, as they are acoustically,
from one gig to the next.)

Is there a high-quality foot pedal volume control for stage mikes?  Would
it help the sound man if I could kill my own sound when I knew I was going
to be silent or changing instruments or whatever, or would it risk trouble
later when I put the volume back on?

======================

Or do I just continue throwing myself on the mercy of the court?

If you can think of other folk/ethnic/accoustic musicians who might benefit
from your answer, go ahead and post; otherwise I'd be happy for any e-mail
as this is a pretty esoteric problem.  

David Daye