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 sometimes use a Shure 55SH mic, which packs modern components into the classic Unidyne 55 body, to announce numbers. The picture below (with the late Tom Lange on bass) shows our typical setup at Boulder Coffee with the 55SH running into their house sound system.

We can fit in a much tighter space when needed, like at Starry Nites Cafe (shown below). The overall footprint is about 7 X 7 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.

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