Need help with my live acoustic tone

[jtw]

Hey everyone. The band I'm in does a fair amount of acoustic shows as well which consisists of me on acoustic and three female vocals. I've struggled with these gigs since joining the band, but have explained most of it away as "this is just part of this gig."

One of the main issues is that I can rarely hear myself since the vocalists (who also run the band and pay me) tend to monopolize whatever monitors are availalbe. Another issue is that as a result of this, I tend to be so low in the monitors most of the time that you can just barely hear me enough when I strum decently hard. This is how THEY want to hear me, and most of the time they have say on what's in the monitors, so that's how that works out.

The big one that I'm dealing with right now is when I go to do a lead break (one of the vocalists also plays fiddle and relies on me to solo from time to time to give her a break), i disappear COMPLETELY. The bottom falls out of the tune because typically i'm the one driving it, or if one of the vocalists happens to be playing acoustic, you just can't hear me. It seems like the high strings on my guitar just aren't putting out as much volume.

Right now I'm using a Turner Renaissance. Admittedly, I've been using pretty light strings as of late, but even what i wasn't i still had this problem. I also do not use any outboard preamp or direct box usually. Could this also be part of the problem?

Frustrated, and could use any suggestions you may have. Thanks so much everyone!

jtw

[guitarman_nebr]

why not use an acoustic amp then to the board? it would be your personal monitor.

also, i have found that using Acoustic guitar> Presonus BlueMax Compressor> ART Tube Pre> Mixer has all the fullness needed to not get lost in a mix.

the issue is not just the signal you send to the board, but you need a good monitor for Acoustic or it gets buried on lead work. an amp behind me solved that problem.

[royd]

the real problem is that the monitor mix may have nothing to do with the house mix... hopefully it has nothing to do with the house mix if your guitar is almost non-existent in the monitors.

guitarman nebr's suggestion of an acoustic amp for a personal monitor is a really good one. It would give you a better sense of what you're actually sending to the board although it still doesn't tell you what the audience is hearing. It sounds as if you are essentially a "hired gun" so that is their resonsibility, not yours. Get a reasonable acoustic amp so you can hear yourself and give them your best, letting them do what they will from there.

[texasdave]

+1 on the acoustic amp... I often use a Roland AC-60 as a personal monitor/preamp/DI ...amp ships in a nice Cordura case with a shoulder strap... I prefer to use it on one of these stands:

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/OnStage-Stands-RS7000-Tiltback-AMP-STAND-?sku=450416

That gets the amp closer to me so it takes less volume from the amp for me to hear it well... normally use it off to one side for acoustic (use the same setup for an electric live rig, with a GNX4 feeding the ac-60 and direct to the house...)

Anyway, this setup gives you a lot of control over how much guitar I hear, and does it in a way that it's not flooding the stage with sound in the process...

[jtw]

Thanks everyone, really. This has been a major frustration for me, and I really do want to give this group the best I can.

jtw

[walterw]

just don't point it at any of them!

[JSeth]

Lots of good ideas for your sound already posted - what I want to address is the "whole bottom falls out when I solo" part of your post...

It's a big deal, to be playing and driving a tune, then just STOP and play a few lines with single notes... ain't no way to keep the sound from dropping to nil at that point; you have to find ways to "cover" yourself - either hit a low bass note on an open string or stand on a chord, stacatto, then play the line rhythmically... good luck with this, it's a tricky one. A compressor/ limiter can help for the tone parts; I have a handmade acoustic (both a 6 and 12 string). They have Fishman uts p'ups and I stuff an SM-57 in the soundhole for some breath and string noise - works fabulously and I have gotten a tone of compliments and "How are you amp'ing those guitars" comments... lots of ways to solve the one problem, tough to solve the playing part...

[paddywhack]

....i don't know if you have done this or not but discussing the issues you are having with the other band members and trying to work them out constructively is an important part of ensemble playing...too often these issues go unresolved for fear of offending someone....clear communication is essential....for example...when you are called on to play a solo to give the fiddle player a rest but the bottom falls out and the tune suffers...thats a problem that needs resolved....there are options....add another player in the band to beef up the sound....change the arrangement so that everything drops down for your solo...just go with a rhythmic interlude rather than a solo...stuff like that...work the number until it feels good to everyone.....and get yourself a personal monitor of some sort....

[jtw]

Excellent point paddywhack. And believe me when I tell you, I've brought up the original issues i mentioned before. While I'm certainly listened to, nothing really seems to change.

jtw

[guitarman_nebr]

yea, the "hired guitar" role is a challenging one. many times i have thought the sound was a struggle, but the boss was happy.

if they are happy, just set yourself up the best you can with a monitor or amp, send them a signal, and let the sound out front be what it is.

i learned from the union gigs i played back in the early 80's, it is not about me or my sound, but what the people in charge want and how they present it.

they usually don't like too much communication. especially if it suggests change in the way they present their show.

[uberschall]

Have you thought of adding a looper to loop your rhythm guitar to keep the song going while you solo? I do this when playing solo-duo gigs and it's fantastic. I use a couple pedals to boost my solo level over the loop.

As far as adding richness to your basic tone, how about checking out the Fishman Aura pedals? That's on my list of things to do...