Getting on stage with an electric guitar and amp is pretty much a no brainer. You set the amp up, plug in your guitar, tweak the tone and you’re off.
The biggest decision beyond that is whether or not to mic the amp through the PA – and that’s largely decided by what size venue you’re playing.
But with an acoustic guitar, the choices are not always as clear cut. There a few approaches you can take – including plugging into an amp, putting a mic on the guitar, or running direct into the PA system.
Plugging into an amp
Assuming your guitar has on-board electronics, going into an amp is an option. Although a standard electric guitar amp will work, there are a number of good amps on the market that are designed for the nuances of an acoustic guitar and are highly recommended if you’re going this route.
Most of these amps come equipped with a “direct out” XLR (low impedance) jack on the back, so that in larger venues, the amp can be run into the PA.
Putting a mic on the guitar
This can be a good option because a mic will pick up the true tones of the acoustic, but it can also be a little tricky.
Using a condenser mic is always preferable over a standard vocal mic in this situation, and a sound engineer that knows how to properly set the EQ on the mixer is imperative.
In fact, it can make the difference between a miked guitar sounding sweet and full – and a train wreck of feedback, honks and shrills.
Running direct into the PA
Running an acoustic directly into the PA system usually involves plugging a guitar into a DI (direct box), which, in turn, runs to a channel of the mixing board. Having a guitar with a built-in pickup system is necessary for this option.
The D.I., or direct box, is a small device that converts the high impedance signal of the guitar, to a low impedance signal required for input into the mixing board.
This option makes for a good clean signal to the PA system allowing the true tones of the acoustic guitar to be accurately replicated.
The Winner
Obviously there are a number of factors that will determine which route you ultimately take. The first of which is whether or not your guitar has a built-in pickup with on-board electronics. If not, your only choice really is to use a mic on the guitar.
If you do have an on-board pickup system, the choice is between using an acoustic amplifier, or plugging straight into to PA.
With an amp, you do not have to run the guitar’s signal through the monitor system in order to hear it. If you only have one monitor mix, your band mates will probably prefer the amp option, so that your guitar is not clouding up the vocals in the monitors.
But if a separate monitor mix is an option – where the level of your guitar can be adjusted so that you can hear it without competing with the other band member’s vocals – then it’s hard to beat the sound and tone of an acoustic guitar running straight into the PA system.
