The Worst Thing

Matt Henry · August 2013

For me the worst thing is playing through an amp. I'm sure it's partly more of a problem for me specifically because I have hearing loss in one ear from Ménière's disease and surgery I had to fix it when I was a teenager. But I just wanted to say for the record that I think playing through an amp is a total pain in the ass.

Playing through a PA isn't much better but I have fewer bad experiences with that so I'm not as bent about it. I guess I should start practicing with my AI amp since it's how I have to play nearly all gigs. I'm tempted to buy a nicer mic like a DPA or get creative with placement but it's hard to be optimistic.

For reference I have a 2-channel Acoustic Image Coda these days with the optional extension cabinet. I play it through an AT 831b or Pro70 and use the other channel for vocals (which sound quite good, really). In the past I've also used a Schatten pickup and an AKG C411 contact mic. Don't particularly care for any of it.

I do find that my lavalier mics yield better results when I use the putty from the AKG contact mic and stick them down below the bridge. None of my guitars sound right with that little clip AT sells for the sound hole.

That's all I got.

Craig Bumgarner · August 2013

Yeah, I feel your pain. You would think after, what, 70-80 years since the advent of instrument amplification, we would have this acoustic guitar amplification thing figured out. Sometimes it seems easier to build a guitar that sounds good than to put together an amplification system that will amplify that guitar and make it sound at least as as good as it does without it.

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with your gear, (as you know), I use the same thing. What is it that you hear that you don't like? Tone problems, feedback?

I've been using my AT mic more often recently. I still use the AKG for louder gig which is good because it sounds best when cranked up. It has taken a long time, but I'm getting better at placement and EQ with the AT mics. On louder gigs, feedback control is improved by getting the amp off the floor (on a chair for instance) and off to the side. Mic placement is very important and you MUST experiment, state of mind is not an excuse :evil: I never had any luck with the AT sound hole clip either. I use the Unimount, Joli Gadjo uses the velcro violin mount. They both put the mic in the bridge area. Interestingly enough, I did not have much luck using putty to stick the mic to the top, sounds okay, but feedback threshold is lower.

Craig Bumgarner · August 2013

BTW, practicing by myself with an amp doesn't help me at all in dialing in a sound I will like on the gig. For me, it is always different, which does make dialing it in difficult. Guitars are like that too. What sounds good in the practice room may not on a gig and vise versa. And of course, guitars and amps ALWAYS sound better in a room by one's self than on a gig.

Additionally, each venue sounds different, requiring different tricks for each. All part of the puzzle.

If your group rehearses together, you could probably realize some benefit from rehearsing with amps. I wouldn't know, for better or worse, our group never rehearses.

Passacaglia · August 2013

Guys, sorry to piggyback, but how do you feel about headphone monitoring through your amp, as a proxy for some kind of feel for what you'll sound like out?

-and, I hate the soundhole clip. I'm also a techno-dumbass, and can't figure out how Gonzalo does the inside-soundhole thing. Mostly, because I didn't see his chord coming out....I did say I'm a dumbass. Craig, I use the gooseneck and place it just where you've shown...parfait, thanks!

Matt Henry · August 2013

Hey Passacaglia, I actually had a reply of my own typed out where I was considering some sort of headphone monitoring but I must not have hit Submit from my other computer. I think I'm going to try this next. Maybe just some inconspicuous earbuds to let the other instruments bleed in since we're not all through the same system. I only use the hanging kind of earbuds anyway because my ear canals are too narrow for the kind that really seal.

So I'm thinking something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDRE828LP-SL ... 0015AM30Y/

with something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-Straight-Hea ... 0010CTUW6/

With a little 1/8" to 1/4" adapter.

It'd be cool to spring for some real in-ear monitor setup like pop stars use on stage, but then we're hardly ever running into a house PA so there's no point in that approach even if it wasn't super expensive.

Craig, I'll be the one at Joli's going away party with the ten foot headphone cable trailing around behind me. =P

Good thinking and thanks for the ideas guys!

kevingcox · August 2013

Pass, Gonzalo often seems to leave the clip there even when there is no mic, which is why sometimes you won't see the chord.

I agree amping sucks and I hate it, but it is a necessary evil. Our band uses Ischells to varying degrees of success, and it is all about good placement on the top.