Doyle Lawson – Luegra

Jim Mills, one of the best banjo players I have ever seen, passed away May 3rd of a heart attack at his home in North Carolina. He was 57 years old, a way too young age to pass away for a man who showed us so much on the five-string as well as being an expert on the history of the banjo, especially pre-war Gibson models.

Both his father and grandfather were also banjo players. His hearing of Flatt& Scruggs’ “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” cemented his interest in the instrument as well. As a youngster, he was so infatuated with Earl Scruggs that he would put a toothpick between his two front teeth to create a gap like what Scruggs had.

After performing with some regional bluegrass bands, Mills spent much of the 1980s and 1990s performing with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, recording four albums with the band. He then joined Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder around 1998, and stayed with the band until 2010. Afterwards, he spent most of his time collecting and detailing history of banjos, especially early Gibson models. Huber Banjo issued a Jim Mills signature model, which was a replica of his prized Gibson Mastertone RB-75 “Mack Crow” model.

During the 2000s, he was a studio stalwart, recording with Dolly Parton, Dan Tyminski, and Alan Bibey, as well as with Skaggs and two banjo-centric albums for Huber. In 2012, he served as banjo player for Vince Gill on a brief bluegrass tour. He also found time to record three solo albums.

His research with banjos produced a book on Gibson pre-war models in 2009 entitled Gibson Mastertone: Flathead 5-String Banjos of the 1930s and 1940s. He built a museum of sorts in his basement of vintage banjos, including a Gibson RB-4 model that was originally owned by Snuffy Jenkins. He welcomed anyone from collectors to just browsers to his home to check out the collection. He would eventually expand his collection to include vintage guitars, including pre-CBS Gibson Les Paul models.

As far as accolades, he won six IBMA Banjo Player of the Year awards, and was on six Grammy-winning albums. There wasn’t a vintage musical instrument shop in the country that he didn’t stay in contact with, and his knowledge was always called upon when a unique banjo appeared at a shop.

I was fortunate enough to get to see him play with Kentucky Thunder at The Ark in Ann Arbor back in the mid-2000s. As fast as Skaggs like to play the songs, Mills could easily keep up and well as keep his cool. Although his biggest influence admittedly was Scruggs, his picking style and speed was much more akin to J.D. Crowe. No matter how fast the fingers were going, there were never any slip-ups or wrong notes. Everything was perfect.

I recommend checking out Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky live recording Live at the Charleston Music Hall to really hear how great Mills’ picking was and how well he fit into the band situation.

Jim, you are now able to do some jamming with Earl. Rest in Peace, sir.

Chew on it and comment.

Back in 2003, Bluegrass Unlimited published an article entitled “Single Mic Performance: A How-To.” It covered the basics of a bluegrass band performing live around a single microphone, which was the norm for both live shows as well as recording and radio broadcasts back in the early days of recording and radio. As audio technology improved starting in the 1950s, it became more common for individual instrument/vocal miking.

Starting in the 1990s, some bluegrass bands brought back the charm of single-microphone performances. Bands like Hot Rize, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, and the Del McCoury Band would perform with one microphone, or a variation using two mics (one dedicated to the instrument playing a solo). Karl Shiflett & Big Country recorded a few albums using only three mics covering the entire band sound, with two pointed toward the band and a third dedicated to the standup bass. Even today, Billy Strings and his band will perform a short set standing around a single ribbon mic in front of his arena-sized audiences.

The single-mic performance is an art form for bluegrass and other acoustic bands that sounds wonderful when done correctly, so let’s go over some of the ideas that can make this work out for any interested party.

Position: Each instrument, as well as vocals within the ensemble, has its own dynamic. The banjo cuts through a lot louder on its own than the mandolin or even a normal dreadnaught acoustic guitar. Moreover, a tenor voice tends to cut through over a bass or baritone unless the singer(s) know how to control their own volume. In probably 80% or more cases with bluegrass bands, the lead singer is also the rhythm guitarist, with background vocals handled by most of the other instrumentalists. A “U” shaped pattern around the microphone will most likely not sound good, as with each instrument equal distant from the mic will have a lousy level balance. For a five-piece bluegrass band, the most common popular set-up is the “3-2″ pattern, with the lead singer/guitarist center in front of the mic about 1.5 to 2 feet away. Two instrumentalists, particularly ones that offer backing vocals (mandolin, banjo, or fiddle) would stand on either side of the guitarist, close but not bumping, and turned facing the mic as well. Remaining musicians (bass, other lead instrument) would stand behind in the gaps formed between the three members up front, again close but not bumping into other members. This leads to the next consideration.

Choreography: First, when singing, the singer will lean in slightly to the mic for his/her voice to be the focus. As the chorus comes in, the lead singer leans very slightly back, and the two (or more) backing singers will lean in to the mic. This will create a more pleasing “self mix” of the vocals. The more skilled movements come with the instrument solo breaks. The lead singer and upcoming lead instrument need to make the correct move so that they don’t trip over each other. In most cases, I have seen band members move in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise movement. For instance, if there is a banjo solo and the banjo player is standing immediately to the left, the singer/guitarist will step back (with the musician who is in the back giving that person some room) and move to the left where the banjo player once stood. At the same time, the banjo player moves toward the center position in front of the mic. Once the solo is complete, the guitarist and banjoist rotate in the same circular way. This takes a lot of practice (i.e., perfect this before trying it in front of an audience), which also means keeping the headstock of one’s instrument in the corner of the eye so it doesn’t bump another player while moving.

Microphones: While the durable dynamic mics such as the Shure SM57 and SM58 prove reliable in some stage settings, this is not one of them. Dynamic mics do not perform well with distant sounds, since all of the musicians will be standing about 2 feet away. This situation calls for more sensitive mics such as condensers or ribbons. If going the condenser mic route, it should be a large-diaphragm type. The standard of this type is the AKG C414. However, these price well over $1,000. AKG, as well as a few other manufacturers such as TASCAM, Behringer, and Audio Technica, produce condenser mics that are way less expensive, a few priced under $100! While these cheaper mics may not have the warmth of the C414, they do have similar features such as switches for pick-up patterns and bass roll-off. Note that condenser mics require a phantom power supply, usually of 48 volts DC. Most mixing consoles have some form of phantom power, but to be safe, have a stand-alone power supply available. A similar situation goes for ribbon mics. Professional ribbon mics can price over $6,000! However, more consumer-friendly models can be found for under $200. Results are similar to condensers as far as warmth and quality. Passive ribbon mics have a low output, so they require a mic preamp, while active ribbon mics have the preamp built in, but require phantom power. My immediate advice is to contact a reputable sound engineer or the customer service reps at Sweetwater.com for the best choice in a microphone.

Practice, practice, practice!: If you and your bandmates are serious about performing around a single microphone, it takes a lot of practice, just like practicing your instrument. Set up the microphone, and record your practices, then listen to see how each song comes off. This is something no band that wants to sound good should attempt live after only one or two practices. Those bands previously mentioned that implement this mic technique into their live performances work on this tirelessly. Check out single-mic band performances by either attending shows or searching on YouTube.

Chew on it and comment!