My six-member old-time acoustic band is back to rehearsing and we have three gigs lined up through June. The nature of our upcoming gigs requires us to use a PA, but I don't want to mic every individual voice and instrument.
I'm thinking about setting up 3 or 4 condenser mics strategically in front of the band and using these to amplify our live sound. Has anyone done this either successfully or unsuccessfully? I like the idea of setting up just a few mics rather than a dozen.
We recently recorded a rehearsal with these same condenser mics set up around the room and it picked up everything very well, although the banjo, harmonica and hand percussion could have been a bit lower in the mix. This issue might be solved by just listening to the recordings and self-adjusting.
Here is the makeup of the band:
Singer, Lead & Banjo
Singer, Lead & Guitar
Singer, Lead & Mandolin
Singer, Backup & Hand Percussion
Singer, Backup & Upright Bass
Harmonica
It's common in blue grass circles for everyone to gather around a single mic. The band manages the mix by doing a little dance and using player dynamics. When someone solos, they take a step or two forward and play a little louder. When they are done soloing they step back to their section position.
Whether this sort of technique will work for you, depends on the acoustics, the PA, how the PA is set up, and how loud the music will be. Because it is necessary for the players to do the dance to manage the mix, the visual presentation is compromised to some extent for the sake of the auditory presentation. Be mindful of this.
Here's a post I wrote awhile back that you may find useful:
Single Mic Technique? Consider reading the entire thread.
One particular problem is the different timbre and volume capabilities of each instrument. Banjo is rather loud and obnoxious, but it also tends to feed back very easily. Keep in mind that mics are directional and use this to your advantage. For example perform mic technique experiments to determine how to achieve the right balance between the banjo and banjo player's voice. Then figure out which instrument(s) are best to pair with the banjo player. You mentioned that harmonica and hand percussion were too loud. If they share a mic with the banjo player, they will probably need to stand farther from the mic, because their instruments are held up high (near mouth level). You don't won't the harmonica and hand percussion to cover up the lead vocals, right?
It would probably help to have all three form a semi-circle around the mic with the banjo player in the center (on axis), with the mic relatively high to pick up more voice than banjo. Since the harmonic and hand percussion are of to the sides, the sound will be a bit darker and lower in volume, so they may not need to stand as far away from the mic for proper balance. The more to the sides the stand the darker and lower their volume should be.
I suggest doing some experiments and then drawing a stage plot after you get something that works. If time allows, consider spiking the stage with gaff tape before the gig, so everyone knows where to stand for their solo and section position. During the show you can go out front and take a listen; then advise people if they need to move closer or farther from their mics.
Always advisable to do an extended sound check before the gig if possible. That way you can make adjustments to the mics, where people are standing, and also to the PA system. It really helps if you know the performer's tendencies. Unfortunately most people sandbag a bit during soundcheck, and then play noticeably louder during the actual gig. When you know the band well you can compensate for this, because most people sandbag a consistent amount from one gig to the next. It may help if you ask the performers to play at the level they will play during the show, but some people sandbag intentionally so that they will be heard better during the show.
Hope these ideas help.
Good Luck!
