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Microphones convert sound into electricity, and tiny changes at this end are amplified at the other, where loudspeakers convert electricity back into sound. This is why microphone selection and placement can make or break an audio system.
When mic'ing acoustic guitars in a full band environment, Audio Engineer David Stagl favors using the guitar's acoustic pick-up through a Neve RNDI or Radial J48 DI. “There are so many quality built-in acoustic pickups these days,” he notes, adding that in quiet situations, it can be worthwhile to incorporate a large or small diaphragm condenser mic.
Words of Wisdom
Pick-ups also come in handy for Andrew Stone, production manager and audio director at Church on the Move in Tulsa, Okla. “The player’s normal movement will change what the mic hears, so even in the studio I prefer a pickup—there are so many good ones now—or a combination,” he says. He notes that in his church’s large worship space, which is equipped with a sizeable PA, “a mic is just not going to be clear enough.”
For vocals, Mike Anderson, assistant technical director at Blue Ridge Community Church in Forest, Va., opts for the Shure Beta 87, or a Neumann KMS105. Stagl also prefers Shure—either the KSM9HS or the Beta 58. Stone also uses the Shure KSM9: “It’s hard to find a vocalist who can make it sound bad,” he says. He also notes that the Audix OM5 and OM7 are “rock ‘n’ roll standbys with good rejection.” For Shure and Sennheiser handheld transmitters, he notes that Neumann capsules “are not that expensive.”
Large diaphragm condenser mics are what Stagl uses on the choir. “With a band, the choir has to be the loudest thing on stage at the microphone locations to make them usable,” he explains. “I’ll aim Audix microphones with hyper-cardioid capsules at the choir and put the drums in the null of the pattern.”
"With a band, the choir has to be the loudest thing on stage at the microphone locations to make them usable,"
- Dave Stagle, audio engineer.
Stone points out that while a soloist should stand out and be clear, choir sound is more “meaty,” with more midrange and lower midrange without the need for a lot of highs. “In a controlled environment, I use Audio-Technica 4050s, but AKG 414s work better in front of a big PA,” he says.
One issue that audio engineers face is whether or not to mic electric instruments and guitar amps, or go direct. “A great microphone on a great instrument beats a DI, but on a loud stage, bleed can quickly render any mic useless,” Stagl notes. And, he adds, mediocre instruments and pickups won’t sound all that great even with the best DIs.
At Church on the Move, Stone’s team isolates the guitar amps to keep the stage volume low. “I mic them both in front for clarity, and in back for a more percussive low end,” he explains. In this configuration, the church’s Vox AC30 is mic’ed with a CAD N179 on the front and an AKG on the back. One Fender amp is rigged with a Shure KSM32 in front with a Beta 56 on the back, while another has a Beta 27 on the front and a Sennheiser 421 on the back. A custom Morgan amp has a Shure KSM313 on the front with an Audio-Technica 4050 in back.
Oftentimes professional horn players want to use their own wireless systems, which can present challenges when it comes to frequency coordination. “In situations with a lot of RF devices, everything needs to be coordinated; it’s not easy for someone to just bring in another wireless system,” Stagl says. Still, he wants musicians to feel as comfortable as possible, which requires a bit of negotiation. “If I have a microphone on hand that I know will work better, I might ask the musician if we can try it after trying their microphone first.”
Mix & Match
Stone relays that [at] Church on the Move, no one uses their own mics. Instead, he uses a number of Applied microphones because of the versatility of their mounts, as well as DPAs and Shure SM57s.
When it comes to micing drums, Anderson aims to quiet things down to achieve the best sound. “For most churches, the drum set is already too loud, with lots of highs and upper mids but no lows,” he says. “I prefer to bring the drums down and use the system to make them sound big and full.” He recounts that when he first joined the technical team at Blue Ridge, the drummers were using standard sticks with a shield on the front and sides, and the kick was the only element incorporated into the house mix. “The partial shield didn’t absorb sound, so it didn’t lower the volume, and we had weird reflections in the drum mics,” Anderson recalls.
To resolve this, Anderson did away with the shield and asked the drummers to use hotrods instead of sticks. “We had a cleaner looking stage and more consistent sound from drummer to drummer, [which was] easier for our audio team, but we still had major cymbal bleed in our vocal mics,” he explains. Several months ago, the church invested in a drum enclosure to address this. “The drummers are happy and the singers are very happy without loud cymbals behind them.” When purchasing an enclosure isn’t possible, Stagl will place small pieces of Plexiglas directly in front of the cymbals. “It’s a nice compromise,” he says.
All-important Placement
Because mic placement is a critical component of achieving good sound, some precision is necessary. “I start between the center of the drum and the outside rim with two fingers between the drum and the capsule, but I’ll go a bit higher if I can [because] I think it’s more natural sounding,” Stagl explains. For more attack, he’ll aim the mic towards the center; for more tone, he’ll aim it off-center. But most of his drum sound comes from stereo overheads: “A good drummer will naturally self-balance, and the overheads can provide a good sonic picture of the kit.”
Stagl will also put at least one mic on every drum, even if it may seem unnecessary at first. “It’s always easier to turn off mics I don’t need than to add more,” he notes. He uses two different-sounding microphones on the kick and the snare, adjusting the overall sound by changing levels between them. And, if one of the mics fails, he has a backup.
Stone relays that the team at Church on the Move has tried a number of different kinds of drum shields, including custom shields, shields with lids, shields with half-lids, and blocked cymbals. “We eventually decided that controlling the acoustic volume makes a better experience for the musicians,” he says. The church owns all of its drums and provides sticks, giving the audio crew more control over achieving good sound at low volumes, and everything is close mic’d because there is too much bleed from stereo overheads.
To reduce the highs that make drums loud, Stone explains that Church on the Move uses eight-inch snare drums tuned low “so you can lay into the drum and it’s still nowhere near as loud as a higher pitched, brighter snare would be,” he says. “Our toms are custom-made like Beatles-era Ludwig toms, with rounded bearing edges—they’re not as loud as modern designs, but they sound beautiful.” Bliss hand-hammered cymbals by Dream complete the kit: “Again, they’re not loud, but when you put a mic right up underneath they sound really earthy and thick.”