How do I boost an old Shure 55 mic?

[GuitarArt1980]

I have a vintage Shure "Elvis" mic than has a quarter inch cable attached. I'd like to use it for recording and routing through my pedalboard for effects. Only thing is the mic's volume is very low, even when I crank the pre on my Duet.

Do I need a DI or something else to up the gain on this mic to make it useable?

 

[subtomic]

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CL1Cloud

 

[GuitarArt1980]

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CL1Cloud

Aha, thanks!

 

[jmoose]

I have a vintage Shure "Elvis" mic than has a quarter inch cable attached. I'd like to use it for recording and routing through my pedalboard for effects.

The 1/4 cable means its high impedance. Perfect to run right into pedals.

If you use a cloudlifter good chance you'll have to modify the wiring of the mic to avoid blowing it up with phantom power.

Not really worth it. Better to spend the $150 on some sort of cheap condenser.

 

[subtomic]

The 1/4 cable means its high impedance. Perfect to run right into pedals.

If you use a cloudlifter good chance you'll have to modify the wiring of the mic to avoid blowing it up with phantom power.

Not really worth it. Better to spend the $150 on some sort of cheap condenser.

Not so fast.

The cloud lifter prevents any phantom power from reaching the mic. That's why people like using them with ribbons - in addition to the volume boost, it protects them from phantom power spikes.

Shure mic -> pedals -> cloudlifter -> interface should work just fine

 

[loudboy]

I'd use a good active DI.

Cloudlifter won't work, it's XLR I/O, you'd have to still use a DI to get the impedance correct.

 

[jmoose]

Cloudlifter won't work, it's XLR I/O, you'd have to still use a DI to get the impedance correct.

Yup. And its not like the 55 is a really great mic anyway, especially not the HiZ version.

Best to use it for what it is, perfect for going through a RAT & memory man... otherwise its just not worth it.