Best Audio technica AT 831 position?

ya-honza

Hey, recently got an Audio Technica AT 831 mic which I've attached inside the soundhole using the included clip but am still experimenting with how/where best to situate the mic. I've seen a bunch of differing ways including putting it in a foam block adjacent to the bridge. Anyway, at a jam last week I had some trouble getting a decent sound in a short time (boomy/feedback), but that could have been the sound guy.

The guitar is a Collins Petite Bouche and the amp is a AER Compat 60. I also have a Schatten pickup fitted under the bridge which gives a more 'direct' sound so want to give it a bit more 'air' if that makes sense. I've seen Gonzalo Bergara etc using the AT 831 which sounds great but would like to know how others have set theirs up.

Craig Bumgarner

It takes time to get the right location and set up for any mic and the solution seems to vary a lot for different players. Not only do you need to experiment with location and mounting hardware but you need to consider setup of your amp, EQ, notch filters, etc. No one solution seems to work for everyone.

In most situations, for a guitar at least, a mic seems to be always right on the edge of feedback. The best situation is use a mic with a PA system, but that is not always available. So, you need to work with what you have to coax as much volume out of the mic as you can. Learn the dos and don'ts of feedback control. If boomy, relocate mic, EQ, notch filter the low frequencies. The amp is usually best in front of you facing out. Lots of other subtle things you gain only with experience.

After trying many different mounts and locations inside and outside the box, here is what works for me. An AT 831 mounted so it points directly at the top about 1" below and 1" behind the bridge on the outside. I use an AT Unimount to achieve this. The mic face is about 1/2" off the top. I set the amp (AI Clarus) EQ flat without filters. Filters can help with feedback, but generally are not so good for tone. Usually a very small amount of adjustment in the bass, mid and treble controls is all that is needed. I do not use the low freq cut on the mic power box though it will help with booming and/or low frequency feedback.

Oh, and keep a piezo or mag pickup in your bag just in case.

CB

ya-honza

Awesome, thanks CB, will have a look at mounting the mic externally as this seems to be the way forward.

klaatu

I've found that Gonzalo's method of mounting the mike inside the sound hole works well for me on my D hole. It seems to work equally well soundwise on the oval, but it is awkward trying to get the mike into position on the clip, unless you loosen the treble strings (not a problem with the D hole).

Someone asked Gonzalo about feedback at DiJ this year. His reply was that if you're getting feedback you're not picking hard enough - pick harder and cut the gain!

Jazzaferri

+1 on Gonzalo's comment on picking hard

pinkgary

I use one of these:

http://www.hobgoblin.com/local/GR5730-p ... x-page.htm

to blend my mic (AT350,) using the velcro mount behind the bridge (my favourite position, much better sound {no proximity effect} but more crowd noise) & my schatten pickup to get a very usable result. The pickup gives you good defined low end, the mic adds clarity & realism to the top.

If it's loud, blend in more pickup, if people are actually listening, treat them by blending in more mic. I do have a magnetic as well, in reserve for those really loud gigs, when i might as well be playing a Les Paul.


Oh, and pick hard

ThoMas/Gypsy Roots

I also second Gonzalo's comment. Too few players use their pick hand to maximum effect. The pick hand is both tone control and volume; its position horizontally affecting the tone, and obviously strength of attack determining volume. I recommend to students and colleagues incorporating varied tone and volume into their practice so it becomes a natural reaction to the performance environment.

For my sound reinforcement I'm a firm believer in the lavalier (AT831) and have used it in a variety of locations, my favorite of which is on a violin mount behind the bridge. If I can get away with it, it is all I use, but in most instances I blend with two sources. I have a Peche a la Mouche, a Shertler Dyn-G, Heil PR31, and a goose-necked DPA 4099G that I carry in a gig bag. I consider the capture of sound to be much a like a photographer capturing an image, so I'm a firm believer that just as no lens does it all, no mic does either. Blending is the key to an accurate capture and presenting the depth of tone and technique in a more multi-dimensional way. That's the philosophy any way...putting it to practice is VERY subjective.

Thomas Wakefield - Gypsy Roots/Ashland Music Academy

pinkgary

You have a DPA 4099G and you use a AT831???? :shock:

ya-honza

I did an experiment and held the mic over the top of the guitar and moved it around while strumming the open strings and definitely sounded very bassy/feedbacky around the soundhole but ok elsewhere so have ordered the Unimount for the AT831 and will try out the behind the bridge placement which seems to work for most folks.

ThoMas/Gypsy Roots

Hey Gary...yes to both, but usually not in tandem. Each captures sound a little differently and work better in different environments and positions on the instrument. Again, I think of my mics like a collection of lens for a camera.