As a straight-up jazz group, we’re a pretty simple setup. We never mic the drums or trumpet, and the guitar and upright bass have their own amps, which have knobs that stay around 3 and do not “go to 11”.
We usually use a Shure 55SH mic, which packs modern components into the classic Unidyne 55 body, to announce numbers (shown at left with nifty flag). The picture below shows our typical setup on Park Avenue Green, with the 55SH running into our speaker. If there is a house PA, we run the mic into that, and if the venue is big enough, we also run line outs from the guitar and bass amps into the PA and aim our amps in as monitors for us to hear. If the venue is outdoors and needs to be louder, we add a mic to the drums and bring a mixer and a second speaker. Whatever you’ve got, we got you covered!
We can fit in a much tighter space when needed, like at Starry Nites Cafe (shown below). The overall footprint is about 8 X 8 feet, and the mic stays in the bag. Playing next to a window in a small space makes for a very live ambience, but we’re quiet enough that folks still can carry on conversations.
Mid-Century Modern Jazz Quartet 