In my previous column
[
“Acoustic Amplification,Pt. 1,” August 2011], we talked
about the basic principals of
how an acoustic guitar operates.
Understanding these
principals will certainly be useful
when choosing the type of
pickup system that best suits
your needs. Equally important
in making the proper choice is
deciding on why you want to
amplify in the first place.
The first thing that comes to
mind is that you probably want to
be able to project more sound. If
playing out is your thing, this certainly
will be at or close to the top
of your list of reasons to amplify.
You should also carefully consider
the type of venue (small club,
large hall, or outdoors), as well as
the type of gig (solo or band).
Of course, there are plenty
of good reasons to amplify an
acoustic instrument if you don’t
play out. Style and technique,
access to effects, home and studio
audio recording, writing and
arranging, practice methods,
and teaching are all components
of your musical activity that can
benefit greatly from the use of
amplification. We will explore
all of these areas in greater detail
later, but let’s tackle a live-performance
scenario first.
Playing in front of an audience
can be a truly fun and
rewarding experience, but if you
are not properly equipped, the
experience can quickly become
a nightmare of frustration and
embarrassment. There is nothing
worse than spending weeks or
months preparing material for
an important gig, only to have
the characteristics of the room,
the idiosyncrasies of the sound
system (or the person running
the system), or the failure of your
own gear—either literally or
functionally—totally obliterate
all of the subtlety and substance
of your performance. If it has
happened once, you can be
assured that it will happen again.
Your only options to prevent this
from ruining your day is to really
understand how to choose and
use the right gear, quit playing
live, or take up heavy drinking!
Over the course of this column,
we’ll examine some of
the more typical live situations
and consider what type of gear
will be appropriate to deliver
the great performance we all are
looking for. This month, we’ll
take a look at a solo performance
in a small, intimate room
with an attentive audience.
In the case of a small room
that accommodates 100-150
people, the amplification
equipment demands are pretty
straightforward and generally
not problematic. The house will
often provide a small stage PA
with no monitors, or ask the
performer to bring their own
PA or stage amplifier. You will
not have to worry about monitors
if the stage area is small
enough and the amplification
source will be close enough that
there are no serious issues with
delay. A boom-mounted microphone
placed in front of your
guitar will deliver everything
you need. You should choose a
good quality dynamic mic that
has a directional—cardioid,
supercardioid, or hypercardioid—
pickup pattern, add a
little reverb to the amp or PA,
and call it a day.
The benefit of these directional
mics is the isolation you
get from their rear rejection,
because rejection cuts down on
feedback and ambient noise.
Additionally, directional mics
all exhibit what’s known as the
“proximity effect.” In audio this
is an increase in bass or low-frequency
response when a sound
source is close to a microphone.
This can be a useful tool that
allows you to “work the mic”
like a good singer, adding variety
and emphasis to certain parts of
your music. You may also want
to experiment with a small-diaphragm
condenser mic for
better sensitivity in the high end,
but to avoid feedback problems
or picking up unwanted ambient
sound, stay away from the larger
diaphragm condensers or ribbon
mics in a live situation.
If sitting or standing still in
front of a microphone feels too
constraining to you, a hybrid
or blended system for your guitar
might be the ticket. These
systems use a variety of pickup
types (undersaddle, soundboard,
or magnetic soundhole) in combination
with a small onboard
microphone that is either inside
the guitar, or suspended in or
near the soundhole. In this
case, the pickup is generally the
primary source and the microphone
is blended into the mix
to add some “air” or ambience
from the internal reverberation
present in the guitar.
This type of system can
sound quite nice and there is
usually not a feedback issue
with an onboard mic at these
volumes. If the signals are
split and you have separate
control over the volume and
EQ of both sources, then you
will be able to dial in a sound
that offers more volume and
dynamic range than you can
get from a stage microphone.
You will not be able to work the
mic with this type of system,
but you will be able to employ
some of the tapping and body-percussion
techniques that are
common with many of today’s
more innovative players.
It’s time to wrap it up for
this month. We’ll explore some
of the more challenging live
performance situations next
time, and hopefully provide
some concepts and tools that
will make you sound great no
matter what type of live situation
you are faced with.
Larry Fishman holds
more than 30 patents in
transducer and musical
instrument design. He is
president and founder
of Fishman Transducers,
which he began in his
garage in 1981. In the early ’90s, he
also co-founded and managed Parker
Guitars (which was later sold to U.S.
Music Corp.) with his friend Ken Parker.