Guitar Mic - Am I the Only One?

[Gary Blanchard]

While I have used acoustic electrics at times for some music, I find that I prefer to work with a guitar mic for most gigs. I like the sound more, I like the ability to easily switch from guitar to banjo, and I like the feel of it. I guess I am an anomaly.

[Stackabones]

I prefer micing the guitar. As you said, it also helps when switching to other acoustic instruments. If I have to plug in for a gig, I just use an electric -- it sounds a lot better than a plugged-in acoustic. When I hear that piezo sound at gigs, I usually don't stick around too long. It's like listening to a bad singer.

 

I did a one-mic setting for a while in my solo sets, a bit like the bluegrassers do. It was great. I may try that out again. Usually just run two mics -- or if the room is right, no mics at all.

[Gary Blanchard]

I tried the one-mic thing but can never get enough sound without feedback. How'd you manage it? I have a condenser mic at home.

[fingerpicker]

No way to use a mic in my duo, we are high energy and moving around too much.

[Gary Blanchard]

No way to use a mic in my duo, we are high energy and moving around too much.

 

When I gigged with my brother I plugged in as well. My current style is low energy and sedentary.

 

I'm doing a Pete Seegerish thing now, so I don't feel so compelled to move.

[Stackabones]

I think it depends on your focus. I sing and play guitar (etc) at my sets. The voice is the focus, so it gets priority over the guitar on most tunes. I sit when I play, but when I stand I wear my guitar high. Just gotta get the mic in the right place. It's tougher to do in some rooms than others.

 

Also, I'm not trying to be loud or fill up the room. In most of the situations I play in, I've noticed that if I get louder the room gets louder; if I get softer the room does too. I learned this from playing all-acoustic, no mics at all. It works for the one-mic set up too.

 

There are two kinds of rooms imo: listening rooms & service rooms. In listening rooms, the audience is actively engaged; it is a show and folks want to hear what you are doing. In service rooms, the audience is doing something else besides paying absolute attention to the music; this is the typical restaurant, winery etc gig. One-mic setups work for both rooms in my experience, but just in different ways.

[Pine Apple Slim]

No you are the sane one actually.

If Im solo I prefer just my D28 and an SM57, and an SM58 to sing into.

Whats so complicated about that?

Easy and sounds natural.

[ProToneThinline]

I've done it a couple of times. Each time I swore I'd never do it again, for a couple of reasons -

 

First, the mic'd sound of an acoustic doesn't translate into the audience nearly as well as you think it does. Second, unless you're working with an engineer, an acoustic mic is a bear to control from the stage.

 

Also, the quality of transducer systems has improved vastly. Sure, in some situations a mic will sound better, but not enough to justify the giant pain in the a$$ a mic represents.

[Pine Apple Slim]

 

I tried the one-mic thing but can never get enough sound without feedback. How'd you manage it? I have a condenser mic at home.

 

 

Ya gotta get the mains way out in front of you, and dont use a monitor.

[Stackabones]

+1 to what PAS said.

 

Even if one-mic doesn't work, two-mic is just fine and it'll sound so much better than plugging in. And it's a lot easier than having to plug in several different instruments and having to fiddle with the board for each instrument change. With the mic, you just play louder or softer, or just get closer or stand further away.

 

To give you an idea how the one-mic will sound, record using one mic. You can experiment with mic placement and then discern whether it's right for you.

[Pine Apple Slim]

Lately it seems Ive been on a pickup binge, despite what I said above.

Other than my upright, Ive never had a pickup in any of my acoustic instruments until recently.

It started with these 2 duos Im in, my partners feels compelled to plug in, and I found that I need to as well to balance things out.

Also it seems we're always doing these open mics with a house PA, and they usually have a crappy little head and maybe 2 mics, and just expect all the instruments to go direct.

Plus I have the goal of someday being able to play some of these things in a full band with drums situation.

So I put a Baggs M1 soundhole in my little Recording King 000.

Then came a Baggs Ribbon undersaddle & Misi endpin pre in my uke.

And then a Fishman Bridge on my mando.

Recenly I put a Schatten in my open back 5 str.

And a Baggs PADI for the stuff without preamps.

The dobro, Im still undecided which way to go.

 

One thing for sure, no way in hell Im putting one in my trusty old D28 or my RB3.

Some things are sacred.

[donkey 12]

I use a microphone for every gig I play, but occasionally also use a soundhole pickup for my acoustic when I need more volume. My resonator is loud enough that I have not needed to use a pickup with it, though I do keep one in the case with me. We also use monitors and have not had feedback problems.

[ido1957]

A rsonator is 10 time louder than a regular acoustic too....

[donkey 12]

I don't know about 10 times louder, but it is really loud. Mine is a Vintage Steel National and it can be uncomfortably loud playing inside my house if I really dig in.

[Dingoist]

I try to "one mic" it for the acoustic sessions I host (actually it's a couple of mics placed around where the players are sitting) aimed towards face level, but will pick up ambient guitar noise. It seems to work.

 

When it was just me last week, I did some experimenting with the setup, I started off with one mic (actually an EV Raven), which picked up vocals and guitar nicely at decent proximity. There wasn't too much audience noise, as there wasn't too much audience, so it carried nicely. Towards the end of the evening, I plugged my guitar in (wired with a fishman matrix infinity), and brought it up slightly.

 

Definitely gave more presence to the guitar, in a controllable fashion without being too piezo quacky.

[Gary Blanchard]

I am pretty used to doing the 2 mic thing and will probably stick with it. For the music I am playing it feels and sounds like the right thing. Nice to know there are some others out there that still mic the guitar. I always freak out the sound folks with that.

 

"I can't find the jack on your banjo. Huh? You do what????"

[sfarfsky]

I prefer micing the guitar. As you said, it also helps when switching to other acoustic instruments. If I have to plug in for a gig, I just use an electric -- it sounds a lot better than a plugged-in acoustic. When I hear that piezo sound at gigs, I usually don't stick around too long. It's like listening to a bad singer. I did a one-mic setting for a while in my solo sets, a bit like the bluegrassers do. It was great. I may try that out again. Usually just run two mics -- or if the room is right, no mics at all.

That's because its a piezo :poke:

[MusicalSchizo]

Quack quack quack went the piezo...

 

I have friends who have recorded their own songs at home and PLUG THE PIEZO-EQUIPPED GUITAR IN! AAAAAAAGH!

 

You're not on a stage - just use a mic, please! It sounds so much better.

 

I have to admit, though, I like the way my (electric) Variaxes sound most of the time - they're nowhere near as quacky as a piezo, even though they employ piezos to get the vibrations from the strings. Plus they play like electric guitars, which is much less fatiguing.

 

But for amplifying an acoustic in a medium-to-small-gig setting, a mic works great so long as you can stand not having your monitor too loud and don't plan on moving around much. It simply sounds better than the gronky quack of a piezo.

Brian V.

[Stackabones]

gronky quack of a piezo.

 

Fav new word.

[Gary Blanchard]

But for amplifying an acoustic in a medium-to-small-gig setting, a mic works great so long as you can stand not having your monitor too loud and don't plan on moving around much. It simply sounds better than the gronky quack of a piezo. Brian V.

 

I have never used monitors as part of my sound system, but I usually play small enough places that I don't need them. When I play a place that has monitors they actually freak me out a bit.

[Terry Allan Hall]

I used to use a SM57 along w/ a p/u in my instruments, but almost never do anymore, unless I trust the soundperson a lot...it's surprising how few soundpersons understand how to get a good sound out of acoustic instruments w/o pickups.

[MusicalSchizo]

I used to use a SM57 along w/ a p/u in my instruments, but almost never do anymore, unless I trust the soundperson a lot...it's surprising how few soundpersons understand how to get a good sound out of acoustic instruments w/o pickups.

 

Is it really surprising considering how few of them are confronted with amplifying purely acoustic instruments in this day and age? Disappointing, surely...

 

Brian V.

[Gary Blanchard]

I am not sure when sound people began looking at me like I had two heads when I say I want a guitar mic. Even a lot of acoustic players look at me wide-eyed when I say that. You are right, though, Brian, it really is not surprising.

[thirschler]

There's lots of pretty good stuff out that overcomes (in large part) the quack thing. My Taylor sounds good plugged straight in. Sound guys always trying to plug me in using a direct box and I tell them it's not needed as the preamp is decent and sends a balanced signal. I've also tested some acoustic processors (LR Baggs and Fishman) that made $200 crap guitars sound stellar. They usually use some kind of modeling for part (or all) of the signal. For me, using a mic leaves too much to wonder about: whether the mic will feed back, whether I am moving too much, is it loud enough? I want to focus on playing/singing, not technical issues. Having said all that, it is tough to beat a mic'd sound.

[daddymack]

A lot of times what is wrong isn't necessarily the piezo. That 'quack' can be fixed with proper EQ. I will admit the re was a certain inherent 'thin-ness' to the early transducers and piezos, and I resisted them. For years I went back and forth between micing and soundhole P-Us. For my '71 Guild, I still use a Bill Lawrence P-U, or a SM57. But the newer A/Es (I have a Martin with a Fishman system, and an Epi with a Shadow Nano system ) have what I consider very good electronics, and sound very natural plugged in ( and my 'Custom Chinese' A/E which even sounds pretty good, but not great ). But again, a lot of that is paying attention to how you EQ it.

I was a sound guy for years and worked with horns, stringed acoustic instruments, percussion, pianos etc. No 2 horns EQ the same, and neither do guitars, banjos, mandos, uprights, washboards...there is no one setting fits all, and every room is different.