POST YOUR LIVE RIG - FOR AMPLIFYING CLASSICAL GUITAR

[alohachris]

Aloha Friends,

I started this thread here rather than in "Amplification" because so few Classical giggers participate in that forum.

Therefore, would you please post your live signal chain for amplifying your classical guitar at gigs.

And, could you also please explain a few of the "why's" about your choices in your discussion, what has worked & what doesn't work.

Mahalo a nui,

alohachris

[dkstott]

simple for me... I plug my Cordoba GK pro directly into the open mic places system.. Then I adjust the controls on the Fishman system a bit and I'm good to go. I rarely carry an amp with me anymore.

[Turp]

Admittedly, I play fingerstyle, very little traditional Classical, on mostly steel string but am increasingly adding nylon string to performing. My playing partner, who plays a Buscarino Starlight, and I use a ToneDeq pre-amps. We went through, and tested, a number of signal chains before he came across the Tonedeq. We've now been using them for 2 years. He only adds a Boss Looper to his rig.

I've played various UST equipped guitars, nylon and steel, and get very good results. The pickups included the LR Baggs Anthem, Element, Taylor ES, Taylor T5 ES, B Band, and Fishman Sonitone UST. The best PU I've heard is the Barbara.

I found the Tonedeq and TC Electronics components were the most transparent, meaning there was no perceivable artificial coloration added to the tone. The Delay I use is mostly for the steel string. (I don't always use the Boss tuner) Although the Tonedeq has several effects, it is very accurate. We found many multi-effects "digitize" or color the tone to varying degrees, but some are still pretty okay. I use one at home quite a bit (Digitech RP360xp) because it has a built in looper and headphone jack.

[randalljazz]

schertler dynamic microphone and schertler david amplifier. not quite as true a sound as vocal mic and quality PA, but light and compact--good enough for background...pricey.

search the subject at delcamp for many good ideas.

[Paultergeist]

I play almost exclusively nylon-string guitars (finger-style).....so....here goes....and I am placing things in what I have found for me is the order of importance:

1. The guitar. In brief -- at least for the pickup systems I am using -- the guitar itself has to sound good un-amplified.

2. The pickup. If anything, THIS is the secret sauce which I may have to contribute to this discussion. I have owned a number of guitars, and it is a commonality of cut-away type instruments that they usually come equipped from the factory with some kind of on-board electronics. For my personal tastes, I have always found the factory-installed electronic systems to be lacking; I wish the manufacturer never cut the big hole for the ugly electronics panel in the first place. I do mean "always," as in I have always installed MY OWN pick-up system after-the-fact, even if in meant removing the OEM system and leaving a *dead* barn-door electronics panel on the bout.
My first choice pickup is a Barbera Transducer. To my ears, it is simply the best I have encountered. And no, I haven't heard every pickup ever made.
My second choice is a Baggs Hexaphonic system. Baggs does not seem to be actively producing/promoting these any longer, but there are some still available.
I am not critical of anyone who has good success with microphones, but I typically stand while I play (and I guess I move around a bit). My attempts to use mics in the past have also resulted in picking up a lot background noise and (especially!) feedback, so I am committed to the pickup method.

3. Pre-amp (and cable). I list the cable here only because -- as a matter of personal preference -- I do not like to have pre-amps and batteries inside of my guitars. Since the pick-up signal from either the Barbera or the Baggs itself is rather weak, the cable between the guitar and a pre-amp needs to be relatively short. I find 10-12 feet is about max; some folks wear a belt-mounted pre-amp and use a much shorter cable. Pre-amp wise, I really like the Red-Eye (which I recently adopted), but I previously used a Tech-21 Sans Amp with very good results.
The pre-amp needs to be the first thing the guitar signal "sees" in the signal chain.

4. Effects. Much less important, and much more aligned with personal tastes. I find -- like many -- that just a touch of chorus and some light reverb is a pretty good starting point for building a nice live sound. I will say that many of the modern effects seem pretty intense for nylon-string guitar. I recently added a MXR Analog Chorus to my pedal-board with very good results; I felt the MXR did *subtle* very well.

So....those are my experiences finding a live-sound pickup system for nylon-string guitars......your mileage may vary.

My setup is much less sophisticated that what many others use. I use an Audio Technica Pro 37 microphone into a Yamaha MG10XU mixer, 2 Yamaha DBR10 speakers, and a Yamaha MSR100 speaker for monitoring. This is the same setup I use for my acoustic and resonator guitars, and vocals. I use an EV N/D767 if the conditions aren't good for the Pro 37, and if I need to use a pickup, I just don't use the classical guitar.

[Red_Label]

Cordoba GK Pro --> Fishman Loudbox Mini --> Yamaha DXR8 PA speakers

OR

Cordoba GK Pro --> Fishman SA220

OR

Cordoba GK Pro --> Roland Cube Street EX PA Pack


All sound great. Sometimes I play my Cordoba F10 with K&K Pure Classic pickup or my Cordoba C12 classical with Audio Technica lavalier mic into one of these systems.

[ceciltguitar]

ymmv, but in my (admittedly limited) experience, no really good solution.

Best sound reproduction is with direct microphone. Used to use Shure SM 57s. Problems with using a microphone are feedback, extraneous noise and keeping the microphone at a constant distance from the guitar.

The Baggs dual source systems were and probably still are nice, I still had problems with feedback. Notch filters on amp help.

All of the piezo systems have piezo quack. I hear great things about Barbera, have not yet had the chance to try one.

I am happy with the sound from the "B-band" pickup on my Emerald. Have only gigged with it a couple of times though.

Currently mostly use a Parker Spanish Fly (1999 model) with custom installed RMC pickups. No problem at all with feedback, still get a bit of piezo quack though. This is a nylon string guitar, it is NOT a classical guitar.

For the past decade or so I have used a Red-Eye pre-amp, a TC electronics reverb, and usually the Fishman Soloamp. (The name of the Soloamp was changed to SA-220 not long after we bought one back in late 2008.) Also occasionally use an AER Compact 60-3. These 2 amps are good enough for our applications.

97% of my gigs these days are guitar backup and some soloing while accompanying my wife, who sings and strums or fingerpicks chords, mostly at retirement homes.