Central Florida Folkie
Member
Howdy, Fellow LTG-ers! I just have to share my giddiness over finally finding a live sound I'm happy with after many years of trying all sorts of things:
So, I am a real stickler for sound. I love guitars that are only mic'd when live if possible, and love the live recordings from the 60's and 70's of the folk artists that just stuck a mic on front of their guitars because that's all there was to do! I think John Denver's "An Evening With John Denver" album from 1975 is the best example of a live show with full band and orchestra that relied solely on mics. It is a superb recording and sort of my reference for live acoustic sound. His F50R and F612 sound amazing on that album.
I've tried many various pickups over the years: K&K Pure Western, K&K Trinity System, JJB's, Fishman Matrix, Fishman Aura, LR Baggs M1A. I've plugged them into various DI's: BBE Acoustimax, LR Baggs Para DI, the Fishman Aura DI box, K&K Dual Preamp...but I gotta tell ya:
This morning I had to do some work on the church's sound system and since I got some new gear to get ready for this John Denver show I'm doing a week from Saturday I thought I'd try it all out. Since its just a solo acoustic show I firstly got an Audix ADX51 that sits on a small mic boom on my mic stand pointed at a 45 degree angle to the guitar on the bridge side of the stand as opposed to the neck side. WOW. Talk about a beautiful tone for my DV62 and G212. That mic does a gorgeous job!! Given that the vast majority of my live playing is in quiet spaces like churches, museums, etc I can get away with only a mic most of the time. I LOVE this condenser, and I was able to find it on Ebay for only $100. If you are looking for a nice mic for your acoustic, check that one out (and it goes nicely with my Audix VX5 mic for vocals).
But what I was really excited to try was the Tonebone PZ Pre which arrived today. Since I am switching between both guitars during performance I was drawn to the PZ Pre for its dual channel abilities along with the fact that it is so well reviewed and has a robust feature set. My DV62 has a passive LR Baggs IBeam in it, and the G212 has a LR Baggs Lyric mic installed. I ran them into the PZ Pre with Monster Acoustic cables, ran to the board with an XLR and HOLY SMOKES!!! I initiated the piezo buffer on the IBeam to boost the signal and I haven't heard a better sound out of it in the 7 years I've had the guitar. The Lyric mic in the G212 is mind-blowing. The PZ Pre is hands down the nicest Preamp/DI I've heard and used and am really happy to finally have one. Anyone else have one of these? They truly rock.
The icing on the cake was then using both the ADX51 along with the pickups. The combination of the two is the best mic/pickup combo I could possibly think of. It was a trip to hear the natural tone of my Guilds echoing in the sanctuary. Whether delicately fingerpicking "Christmas For Cowboys" or strumming the dickens out of "The Eagle And The Hawk" the sound was just "there." Now when I've got to play with other folks in church or around town I can rely more on the pickups and be perfectly happy, and when it's just me I can use this ultra-sweet combo or just the mic and enjoy the experience of truly hearing my guitars amplified.
Sonic bliss achieved! Just had to share Anyone else really happy with their live sound? Share your bliss!
Peace, Shawn
So, I am a real stickler for sound. I love guitars that are only mic'd when live if possible, and love the live recordings from the 60's and 70's of the folk artists that just stuck a mic on front of their guitars because that's all there was to do! I think John Denver's "An Evening With John Denver" album from 1975 is the best example of a live show with full band and orchestra that relied solely on mics. It is a superb recording and sort of my reference for live acoustic sound. His F50R and F612 sound amazing on that album.
I've tried many various pickups over the years: K&K Pure Western, K&K Trinity System, JJB's, Fishman Matrix, Fishman Aura, LR Baggs M1A. I've plugged them into various DI's: BBE Acoustimax, LR Baggs Para DI, the Fishman Aura DI box, K&K Dual Preamp...but I gotta tell ya:
This morning I had to do some work on the church's sound system and since I got some new gear to get ready for this John Denver show I'm doing a week from Saturday I thought I'd try it all out. Since its just a solo acoustic show I firstly got an Audix ADX51 that sits on a small mic boom on my mic stand pointed at a 45 degree angle to the guitar on the bridge side of the stand as opposed to the neck side. WOW. Talk about a beautiful tone for my DV62 and G212. That mic does a gorgeous job!! Given that the vast majority of my live playing is in quiet spaces like churches, museums, etc I can get away with only a mic most of the time. I LOVE this condenser, and I was able to find it on Ebay for only $100. If you are looking for a nice mic for your acoustic, check that one out (and it goes nicely with my Audix VX5 mic for vocals).
But what I was really excited to try was the Tonebone PZ Pre which arrived today. Since I am switching between both guitars during performance I was drawn to the PZ Pre for its dual channel abilities along with the fact that it is so well reviewed and has a robust feature set. My DV62 has a passive LR Baggs IBeam in it, and the G212 has a LR Baggs Lyric mic installed. I ran them into the PZ Pre with Monster Acoustic cables, ran to the board with an XLR and HOLY SMOKES!!! I initiated the piezo buffer on the IBeam to boost the signal and I haven't heard a better sound out of it in the 7 years I've had the guitar. The Lyric mic in the G212 is mind-blowing. The PZ Pre is hands down the nicest Preamp/DI I've heard and used and am really happy to finally have one. Anyone else have one of these? They truly rock.
The icing on the cake was then using both the ADX51 along with the pickups. The combination of the two is the best mic/pickup combo I could possibly think of. It was a trip to hear the natural tone of my Guilds echoing in the sanctuary. Whether delicately fingerpicking "Christmas For Cowboys" or strumming the dickens out of "The Eagle And The Hawk" the sound was just "there." Now when I've got to play with other folks in church or around town I can rely more on the pickups and be perfectly happy, and when it's just me I can use this ultra-sweet combo or just the mic and enjoy the experience of truly hearing my guitars amplified.
Sonic bliss achieved! Just had to share Anyone else really happy with their live sound? Share your bliss!
Peace, Shawn