Astatic 850 SA ball-head XLR mike?

dennis · Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 15 Location: NYC

Anyone have any experiences with an Astatic model 850SA mike. Is it worth messing with. It has an XLR connector attached to the mike and has an SM 58 like ball head. Thank you. p.s. Someone gave it to me as a gift today hence my ignorance. dennis http://www.myspace.com/blowintheblues

fishfeathersmacteeth · Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:39 pm Post subject:

...not one I've heard of Dennis....

...no doubt you'll try blowing it and seeing...

..nice work on Myspace..

...I think you're the third RN on this forum along with myself and T-Bone Bruce.. Cool

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Fish Feathers MacTeeth

dennis · Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 15 Location: NYC

When I find time I'll get the right cable and plug it in. If it does (fate is too mercurial to bank on though) work out I'll see if Greg Heumann can spice it up for me. I'm been wanting to try his work for a while. I'm a Hospice R.N. by day and when possible hit the stage at night! My best. Dennis
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http://www.myspace.com/blowintheblues

bloozefish · Joined: 26 May 2006 Posts: 46 Location: Central Florida

3 RNs, oops, I better duck.........I teach the dreaded Anat/Phys pre-req that put you guys through such hell back in the day! Laughing

James

fishfeathersmacteeth · Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:47 pm Post subject:

Jeffrey Spoor · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 12:36 am Post subject:

Ah, the joys of being an instructor. It's a good feeling knowing you've made a difference, eh Bloozefish?! I should know, I'm an instructor, too! video/web kind of stuff. Nobody gets hurt if I screw up!

Woolfey · Joined: 10 Jan 2009 Posts: 1

I have a pair of these I bought offa the E-Prey... My son used them through Audio production school .. and they came back to me... they are long out of production .. Mine came in the original boxes with their original odd XLR4 broadcast connector cables.. I like them fine ... The gal I talked to at Astatic after I scored them told me they were great instrument mikes and good voice mikes .. My sons and I play Bluegrass and my number 2 son blows harp but he uses a JT30 I got in a trade...

If anyone would want the spec sheets on these mics I"d be glad to scan them and post them in the appropriate area... I found this forum doing a search for more info on these mikes...

Cool

Chevus · Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 9:53 pm Post subject:

I am not trying to hijack your thread, but I'd love to learn more about Astatic mics.

I'm new to the harmonica (less than a month), but I have played guitar for more than 15 years. That said, I appreciate utilizing quality/affordable gear to recreate the "perfect" sound (subjective) that is rattling around in my head. Plus, I know it will help my development to play both acoustically and amped!

My goal is to find a mic that I can use for practicing with my low watt amp (Pignose 7-100) and that will sound great through bigger amps as I progress as a player. I have been researching various products and trying to listen to clips online, but I could use some solid advice to help me narrow my search.

There seem to be a lot of great mics in the $60 to $150 range, and certain brands are referenced quite frequently on the various forums. I'd prefer to spend $100 or less on a quality/durable mic that is comfortable to play...I like some raunch but don't like it too muddy, if that makes sense.

I have been impressed with the Astatic mics and recently saw a clip for the Astatic T3 that nailed the tone in my head (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRzJXiyL_jM). What other brands/models should I consider?

Thanks in advance for your help!

BTW, it seems like there are some intelligent folks around here...As a victim of the economic downturn, I lost my most recent job this past October. Luckily, I had decided to return to school prior to that, and I'm two classes away from my second master's (in marketing this time)...I hope it helps!

Anyway, I look forward to learning more about harp gear on this forum!

jbone · Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 10:42 pm Post subject:

hm, something to remember about mics: they are either low or high impedance. it has to do with the strength of the signal the mic puts out. depending on the amp a choice is made which type is used. the pignose amps are for a low impedance mic. even then it can be tricky to get volume without feedback. i say this with a bit of experience, having owned a 7-100, a g40v, and a g60v. some pigs are tube amps which are more friendly to a high impedance mic, but i never found one that i liked tone wise and that i could tame the feedback- squeal!- issues on.

at any rate i never could find the "right" mic for the 7-100 but i don't doubt there's one out there.

now for that tone you hear in your head- i would guess it may be from a tube amp and a "hot" bullet mic. although sometimes with a good solid state p.a. and a sm57 or 58, a player can rock the house too.

tube amps come in hundreds of brands and varieties and vintages. as do mics that are impedance matched to them. part of the quest of many of us has been to find "that" amp and mic to give us the sound we hear in our heads.

there are more knowledgeable minds here and i should love to hear from them also. i just wanted to give you a short overview of high and low issues.
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the blues, the whole blues, and nothing BUT the blues!

Chevus · Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 12:27 am Post subject:

jbone,

I appreciate the reply and all the information!

I totally agree with you, and there is definitely a tube amp in my future that will be strictly dedicated to harp...Probably 15-25 watts tops, not sure what model/brand yet.

FWIW, I have Mesa Boogie F-30 in my guitar rig, but I don't see a lot of people mentioning Mesa amps for playing harmonica...This thing is a beast...Sounds much bigger than 30 watts.

Catch ya later!

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