Classical Guitar & Singing - Live Setup

[microscope]

Hi

I am playing classical guitar and singing solo.
Is it better to mic the guitar and vocals, or to plug in the guitar?
What are the pros and cons, and factors that inform your opinion?
And what would be your preferred gear setup in each scenario for
Guitar under $1000
Guitar mic under $1000
Vocal mic under $1000
Guitar amp under $1000
Guitar amp + ? gear?

Thanks

[rob2966]

What type of venue? How much PA power is going to be needed.

For small/quiet rooms it is more feasible to mic the guitar, if the room is bigger (louder PA) then micing the guitar can be problematic (feedback).

For vocals you can't really go wrong with a Shure SM58 (or similar) - classic, indestructable, and quite cheap (<$200).

If you want to mic a guitar (in a quiet room) you can use a pencil condensor (Neumann KM184 is a favorite) but they are sensative and will pick stuff up. You can also use a clip on like a DPA 4099 (or similar); however, again they are prone to feedback as the volume goes up.

A guitar with a UST or similar will have more feeback rejection, but less accurate tone, often requiring a good pre-amp to dial it in. However, once dialed in it is a simpler setup.

Good luck,
Rob

[microscope]

Thanks Rob.
It will mainly be smaller venues like 1,000 sq ft type thing with 20-50 people.
Also, the music is mainly folk/country and I don't have a pick attack style like Willie for example.
So it's finger picking and strumming.
I lean to classical because I like the nylon string sound - no other reason really.
Any ideas, including those crossovers, for $1000 and under?

[M Hayden]

There are a lot of good solutions. Here's one:

- instrument with pickup (your choice - there are lots of decent-sounding pickup-equipped nylon-string guitars)
- preamp (if needed) - Redeye, Solstice, Raven, Pendulum, etc
- small mixer with effects
- one or two powered speakers (QSC K8 or K10)

That would sound good, provide a lot of control, and be small enough to load in and out easily....it'll all fit into one of those folding nylon-and-steel wagons, which are a musician's friend for sure.

[microscope]

Originally Posted by M Hayden

There are a lot of good solutions. Here's one:

- instrument with pickup (your choice - there are lots of decent-sounding pickup-equipped nylon-string guitars)
- preamp (if needed) - Redeye, Solstice, Raven, Pendulum, etc
- small mixer with effects
- one or two powered speakers (QSC K8 or K10)

That would sound good, provide a lot of control, and be small enough to load in and out easily....it'll all fit into one of those folding nylon-and-steel wagons, which are a musician's friend for sure.

This is sounding like the way to go.
Any guitar suggestions while we're at it?
I just have a basic classical and want to upgrade.
Thx

[perttime]

All pickups sound more or less artificial to me. That might not matter in a band situation.

In some thread, "the single microphone solution" was mentioned: one mike that can take both guitar and vocals - maybe a small ensemble.

Something like http://www.eartrumpetlabs.com/produc...ophones/louise into a small PA, or active speaker.

[microscope]

So if pickups don't sound so hot, maybe a mic for the guitar and a mic
for vocals - or will there be bleed/distortion?
And could a mic'ed guitar nothave similar issues to a quality pickup?