Bluegrass guitarsists who use dreads plugged in

[Sadie-f]

I expect it depends on the quality of the internal pickups/mics.

Almost all the acoustic music I hear at our local venue is plugged in. While this place is a listening room with small audiences who are invariably quiet, the performers mostly perform in bars and clubs with high ambient sound levels, so I think their default is to play amplified, and the house sound system is a good one, the sound people do a great job.

And when I've seen instruments played that don't have internal pickups - anything from a. Kalimba to a banjo, it's being mic'd with an SM 58, a mic that's better suited to vocals than instruments. So if the venue even has condenser mics, maybe they don't bring them out for every performer. It's a non-profit operating on a shoestring budget, so my guess is that they just don't have the higher quality equipment, and it's not keeping the performers sound from being spot on.

[Mr. Jelly]

I agree with the OP. The only reason I see for using a dread is because they are used to the bass sound from it. And looks, as I believe music is allot about image, whether people want to admit it or not. Let's call it tradition.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

There is a lot of purism in bluegrass.

[Kyle215]

Well, almost everyone learns how to play bluegrass in jam settings, often in a place where there is nowhere to plug in even if they wanted to. Relativity few of them will ever set foot on stage, and I reckon those who do are comfortable with the guitar they learned on at that point.

Billy Strings’ mandolin player told a story about the first time he toured with the band… he did not have a pickup in his instrument and didn’t really understand why he couldn’t just use a mic… in other words, he was good enough to tour with the the band, but never had occasion to play a room where it was necessary to plug in before.

[DurangoArbor]

Woah, I don't remember typing "Acoustic vs Electric Bluegrass, which do you prefer and why?"

Some good answers by page 2 at least. It makes sense that some players have one good gigging guitar, are more comfortable on the guitar they learn on and play in acoustic settings, plus a healthy dose of tradition.

I personally love playing bluegrass, but intensely dislike jams where I can barely hear myself without an exceptionally loud dreadnought. I don't enjoy picking or strumming hard all the time and having to shout over a banjo.

I also love "jam-grass", which is nearly always plugged in, yet you still see dreadnoughts used in those bands.

[SoggyBottomBoy]

I have had the bluegrass bug for the past several years now -- travelling to festivals and various other camps to pursue the interest.

Anyway, the very best fun I've had has always been when the musicians play acoustically only and self-regulate their volume. When the crowd/show grows, I've loved the setups with high end condenser style mics (Ear Trumpet Labs seem to be well favored). I've played with a few ensembles in front of these fine mics and I love them enough to want to get one myself.

You can imagine my shock and awe when I learned an "acoustic jam" was a weekly occurrence in a nearby park. I spent a few days daydreaming about how convenient it would all be.

Amusingly, there were about 20 attendees that had each brought their own battery-powered PA-style setups (Bose S1's, Fishman Loudbox Charge, etc etc...) and they were all blasting each other away.

It was... in a word... bizarre.

Oh and on the shape subject, I played 20+ years of OM / OOO shaped guitars. When I got into bluegrass, I forced myself to switch to a dread. Once I got used to hearing the lower frequencies, my OOO sounded like a plinky toy compared to my dread. I would be giving up a lot to switch back to the OOO.

[Kyle215]

Originally Posted by SoggyBottomBoy

I have had the bluegrass bug for the past several years now -- travelling to festivals and various other camps to pursue the interest.

Anyway, the very best fun I've had has always been when the musicians play acoustically only and self-regulate their volume. When the crowd/show grows, I've loved the setups with high end condenser style mics (Ear Trumpet Labs seem to be well favored). I've played with a few ensembles in front of these fine mics and I love them enough to want to get one myself.

You can imagine my shock and awe when I learned an "acoustic jam" was a weekly occurrence in a nearby park. I spent a few days daydreaming about how convenient it would all be.

Amusingly, there were about 20 attendees that had each brought their own battery-powered PA-style setups (Bose S1's, Fishman Loudbox Charge, etc etc...) and they were all blasting each other away.

It was... in a word... bizarre.

Oh and on the shape subject, I played 20+ years of OM / OOO shaped guitars. When I got into bluegrass, I forced myself to switch to a dread. Once I got used to hearing the lower frequencies, my OOO sounded like a plinky toy compared to my dread. I would be giving up a lot to switch back to the OOO.

This is a good post… for me, a good part of the artistry of this style is getting all the tone and volume one needs with technique and nothing else.

Well, I guess nothing less but a big ol dread, lol.

[lowrider]

Plugged in Blue Grass or New Grass is nothing new at all. You shouldn't be offended by it. Music is a moving target. Not everyone wants to play the same old stuff that your grandfather played the same old way.

This has been around since at least the sixties. Don't take too much offense when you run into one of these;

[Kyle215]

Originally Posted by lowrider

Plugged in Blue Grass or New Grass is nothing new at all. You shouldn't be offended by it. Music is a moving target. Not everyone wants to play the same old stuff that your grandfather played the same old way.

This has been around since at least the sixties. Don't take too much offense when you run into one of these;

Most of what I listen to would probably fall into the newgrass/jam grass category. No beef whatsoever with any of that….

[Robin, Wales]

I saw Jonathan Byrd play Shrewsbury Folk Festival a few years back. He turned up with a D-18 with no p/u.

They put him on stage 2 (2000 seat) with just a mic for voice and a mic for guitar - the sound was great. He went down so well they gave him an evening main stage slot (5000+). Just a mic for vocals and a mic for guitar - the sound was great.

My take on this is that it's the way folks use a vocal mic that creates the unbalanced sound. If you play and sing with your guitar purely acoustically then guitar and voice balance. However, if you use a vocal mic like a rock star or x factor singer you will need a pickup on your guitar. But if you are 12" back from the vocal mic and your guitar is 12" back from an instrument mic then everything balances.

The trouble is that folks "eat the mic" and then want to plug in to get the guitar "loud".

[s2y]

Originally Posted by Bob from Brooklyn

There is a lot of purism in bluegrass.

I think they're still talking about the first time someone used a Fender bass in the 1960's.

[Andy B]

Can’t understand how all the legends used a mic and sounded great as opposed to the awful digital pick up sound.

[Br1ck]

This is akin to the winery I visited in Tuscany. The "real" way to make wine is no irrigation. You take what each year gives you. "Real" bluegrass is played around one mic. It is just a matter of how much you vary from old school. I think the guitarist in The Stringdusters plays an OM. But old school, a guitar tends to get lost in the mix. I'd rather hear it than not, however that might be done.

Americana bands often have a dread and a 00 or 000 15. The 15 cuts through a mix better, as do the Waterloos. It depends on what you want to sound like. I do notice the young guns can go to town on old school, but can do everything else too A band like the Punch Brothers can hire the best sound guys and play with mics and sound great.

[DurangoArbor]

Originally Posted by lowrider

Plugged in Blue Grass or New Grass is nothing new at all. You shouldn't be offended by it. Music is a moving target. Not everyone wants to play the same old stuff that your grandfather played the same old way.

This has been around since at least the sixties. Don't take too much offense when you run into one of these;

90% of the comments didn't seem to read the post and just defaulted to this dead horse discussion of acoustic vs electric bluegrass and saw this as an opportunity to interject an opinion that is only tangentially related to my question.

Just curious, and not single you out, but where in my post did you infer that I was offended by new grass?

[AfterViewer]

Originally Posted by rstaight

The Bluegrass jams I attend have a rule, acoustic only. The one exception is the bass player. There are not enough stand up bass players so we allow a retired gentleman to bring is electric bass. He does have the volume at an acceptable level.

I guess. But still sounds like cheating from a purist perspective.