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As some of you might know I run a piano party each year here in Bulgaria. This year it had to be cancelled due to corona virus problems. So I am planning my 2021 party. The soloists for the party will be a jazz pianist and a singer.

As the singer's opponent will be playing the 9' Bluthner I shall have to amplify her voice. I am in process of getting a Roland AC90 amplifier. I already have a microphone. Will that be adequate? I really know nothing about the subject.

Hi Philip,

I sing with my playing a lot. In fact, my playing is so poor, my singing actually improves things a good bit.

I have two setups that I use to amplify my voice; in my piano shop I use my Roland KC350 keyboard amp, that has a 3-pin connector for the low impedance microphone chord, and I use a Sure SM58 microphone. Despite not being a dedicated PA system, the Roland KC350 amp with the Shure SM58 mic sounds very good to my old, injured ears.

I also have a Yamaha Stagepass 500 PA system with another the Shure SM58 mic set up in my music room in my house. The Yamaha PA system sounds very good for singing, but not head and shoulders better than the Roland amp. The Yamaha has more settings and adjustments than the Roland amp for a broader range of sound.

I Googled the Roland AC90 amp, and it looks bigger and more powerful than my KC350. Not sure what kind of microphone you have, but I would think the set up would be plenty good enough for your star performers singing!

I'd like to attend your Piano Party event in Bulgaria one of these days, although I've never been out of my home country. I don't even have a passport... but now, they probably wouldn't let me into the country anyway. And if they heard me play the piano, there would be two reasons not to let me into the country

Good luck!

Rick

Shouldn't need a mic

Maybe I should try That


~Lucubrate

Steve, the acoustics in the ballroom aren't great. If she is singing against the 9' grand I think she might welcome a microphone.

I think a microphone would be a good idea. The AC90 will provide plenty of sound to go up with a 9' piano. I would suggest lifting the amplifier off the ground so that it can project over people's heads as opposed to projecting sound into their feet. If the stage is significantly higher than the floor you may onlky need to tilt it back a bit to accomplish the same thing. One last consideration, don't put the amp too close to the singer. Feedback can be a real problem. It's also best if the amp is in front of the singer projecting toward the audience. If the singer can't hear themself then maybe you need a different singer.

Thanks Steve. I know exactly how I can do that

I have just been and measured up for my plan.

Being a jazz based evening I intend to have small tables with groups of people sitting around them. The piano and singer will not be on a stage. I have an oak hogshead which is 1.1m tall. The amplifier/speaker could go on top of that. Would that be OK?

Hi Philip, 3-4 feet off the ground would help. Can you tilt it back a bit? It's hard to really know without seeing the space. Chances are you'll be fine.

I hope the hogshead will add resonance.

Philip, you should make a video recording of the event and post it here. I think we would all like to see and hear it! The next best thing to being there.

Rick

Philip,
You have chosen an excellent amplifier similar in price to my AER acoustic 60 III. You might find that the output of yours, like mine, can be too powerful and I wouldn't let others set its volume!
As Rickster said the Shure SM58 dynamic microphone is a good general choice for singing and it has an advantage for male crooners as it has a "presence" frequency characteristic that when held closer to the mouth boosts the low voice range frequency. However there are better microphones more suitable for lieder and female voices. These are condenser microphone and are available in small or large diaphragm types. The former are also very appropriate for use as recording acoustic piano microphones like my matched pair of Neumann KM184. See:
https://www.shout4music.com/neumann/neumann-km184-microphone-review/
Ian

The singer I have booked is a woman. I already have a microphone. She will get that!

These are two different things. The "proximity effect" is the boost in bass that all directional mics exhibit when they are close to a sound source. The "presence" band is at the opposite end of the audio spectrum.