microphone on acoustic guitar in a live worship environmnet
It's difficult to rely on a player’s ability to keep a consistent physical relationship (distance) between microphone and guitar in order to present a consistent tone and level. Therefore, you rarely see this approach (above) to mic'ing acoustic guitars in a live sound or worship environment, unless the player is seated.
You can find many articles on the selection and placement of microphones for church productions. So there’s lot of good information on how to mic vocals, pianos, guitar amps etc. However, one area that seems to lack attention is how to treat acoustic guitars in live productions.
Now, in fairness, this is likely due to a variety of reasons, as there tend to be difficulties mic’ing acoustic guitars. Stand- or boom-mounted mics rarely work well for players and worship leaders in a live sound environment. To do so relies on the player’s ability to keep a consistent physical relationship between microphone and guitar in order to present a consistent tone and level. Stage volume and amplification requirements may make it particularly difficult for the microphone to capture enough usable sound without causing excessive bleed or feedback issues. Issues like these are why we generally use an acoustic guitar’s internal pickups as a direct input to the PA through a DI box, etc. While this is a very dependable and easy solution, one downside is that the mix engineer is generally limited on the tone provided by the guitar
The down side to relying on the acoustic guitar's pickups is the mix engineer is much more limited to the tone provided by the guitar.
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Finding middle ground
There is, however, a middle ground between using a DI and using a microphone--one that delivers a lot more flexibility for the sound engineer. It’s a multi-input hybrid approach that makes use of both a direct input patch (from the onboard guitar pickups) as well as a microphone. This is not a new concept and is one that is widely used with acoustic guitars in recording studios. The end result is really quite similar to a common approach for mic’ing electric guitars and basses. These instruments often use two inputs--one from the guitar's or bass’s direct input and the other bringing in a signal from an amplifier or processor. This allows the operator to mix the signals together (properly time-aligned, of course), shaping the tone and characteristic as needed.
acoustic guitar microphone from Audio-Technica
A hybrid mic’ing approach--mixing the signals from an internal pick-up with that of an external microphone--is highly flexible and makes it easier to get to the overall sound that you want. The Audio-Technica ATM350a condenser cardioid mic with the AT8491GL acoustic instrument mount is available for $349 MSRP.
Using this hybrid approach with an acoustic guitar allows the mix engineer to not only control and shape the tone of the instrument, but to do so without compromising on bleed or feedback. For instance, mixing in smaller amounts of sound from the mic can provide better definition and clarity to the direct signal without the need to open the mic up enough [to] create problems. Additionally, other creative options exist for hybrid mic’ing techniques. One idea would be to use one of the signals strictly for reinforcement and use the other signal as a source for effects, such as reverbs or delays, creating more complex textures in your mix.
New thinking
Manufacturers are also thinking of solutions for acoustic guitar, and numerous options are available. Recently, Audio-Technica released a new mounting system for its ATM350a microphone that makes using this technique on acoustic guitars fairly straightforward. The ATM350a is a small cardioid condenser microphone that is well suited for mic’ing acoustic instruments. The new AT8491G mounting system gently clamps onto a guitar body and makes use of a small gooseneck, allowing you to place the microphone where you want it in order to get the best tone for your application, whether it be down by the sound hole or somewhere closer to the neck. And since this system directly attaches to the body of the guitar, the player or worship leader doesn’t even have to be concerned with trying to keep their positioning or distance consistent to a mic stand. It’s a win-win.
Hybrid mic’ing approaches like this are highly flexible, and they make it easier to get to the overall sound that you want. And with manufacturers jumping in with new tools to simplify the process, it's becoming easier and more affordable to try it out.
Update at 4:50 PM Eastern, Feb 5, 2019: The Audio-Technica ATM350a condenser cardioid mic and AT8491GL acoustic instrument mount package price was updated. A previous version of the article stated an incorrect retail package price.
