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Mics Vs Pick-Ups – the acoustic players dilemma

I’ve used Fishman pickups in banjos and guitars for performance work for years and yet in a recording situation I’ll always choose a microphone.

On stage, amplification is only as strong as the weakest link. You can spend hundreds of dollars to get the best personal equipment and it’s a total waste if the PA is junky, under powered, uses bad connections, faulty leads, has an inadequate mixing desk or the operator is inept.

A microphone will always give the truest sound. On stage, don’t be too afraid of ‘spill’ from other instruments – use a unidirectional mic and stick close to it. Learn how far you can move away when you’re not singing or soloing so you influence the volume without disappearing. Shure SM57 or SM58 mics are good value for money.

There’s been a resurgence of use in the single microphone on stage – usually a powerful condenser (eg Rode) with a 180-270 degree field. The whole band can use one mic which needs to be a cradle type to isolate it from bass vibration, foot tapping and occasional knocks to the stand as musos move in and out of field to take solos. The band needs a lot of rehearsal (almost choreography!) to work cleanly through the set and use the mic to best advantage but this type of stage work makes for a more exciting and dynamic performance both for audience and for the band.

Working with individual mics can cramp your style. With everyone in a row like a chorus line you can’t make eye contact with the rest of the band and if you move too far out of the sound field you disappear. Individual mics cramp you in a psychological way too; you can be so concerned with getting the correct distance that your performance can become rigid – focus too much on technology and there’s nothing left for expression, either physical or musical. Mic stands also present a physical barrier between you and the audience.

Personally, I don’t mind exchanging a bit of tone for the freedom a pickup gives. I like to be able to work the stage and groove around as the mood takes me. A belt-attached pre-amp makes sense and gives a little more control. If you’re right handed I suggest you hitch this onto your left hip/back rather than the right. That way you can adjust the volume while you keep picking. Of course, the ultimate in stage freedom is wire-less. Look Mum! No cables! No stands! (Don’t know how ‘authentic’ it looks for bluegrass though. Wouldn’t want to be accused of looking like ”…a slick Nashville wanker.”)

The positioning of a pick-up inside the banjo is crucial. The instructions that came with mine spoke of “… a cigarette paper’s distance between the diaphragm and the underside of the pot.” And they weren’t kidding. This type of pick up is usually clamped onto the coordinator rod. Tilting it one way or another by even 2mm can make a huge difference to tone. You need to find a block of time to experiment and make sure you do this through a clean system. By that I mean don’t use a guitar valve amp, or anything that’s coloured by a graphic or effects filters.

Pub audiences don’t generally focus on any one instrument for very long – unless the sound or playing is extremely good, bad, loud, soft, feeding back, muffled whatever. What the audience perceives is the general impression and the bald fact that “…there was a banjo player!” And in general, that’s how it should be. In a band you’re part of a team – you’re all there to form a complete ‘sound’. Good luck in finding yours. Hope this has helped. Regards, Wendy.