Guide to getting and playing better gigs
Microphones
The best way to figure out where to place a mic is to listen to the source - in this case, the instrument or amplifier. Try using only one ear to simulate the mono pickup of a mic, and listen up close and also from a few feet away. How does the instrument radiate sound? Put the mic where the instrument sounds best to your ear. Sometimes two mics are necessary to capture the full range of a particular instrument.
Mics have different frequency response characteristics that make them more or less appropriate for specific applications. Analyze the quality of an instrument's sound to decide which mic best suits the job. If the instrument is soft, a tight-pattern condenser might be just the thing for getting a hotter output. If the instrument's loud, choose a mic that can handle high SPLs. Is it bright? Try a mic that will impart a little warmth. Does it have lots of midrange? Perhaps a Shure SM57 would be a good match. Does it sound bassy? Try a large-diaphragm dynamic to capture the lows fully.
You'll always need to use unidirectional microphones in live situations, for isolation of sound sources and to avoid feedback problems with the monitors. If you have problems with the monitors, mics with a tighter pickup pattern (hypercardioid or supercardioid) are best. For area miking (that is, drum overheads), you can use a transducer with a wider pickup pattern. In most circumstances, you'll want to put the mic as close to the instrument as possible without interfering with the player's range of movement. This will ensure a more focused sound with less ambient reverberation and bleed from the other instruments onstage.
Just keep in mind that the more open microphones you have onstage, the livelier the stage sound will be, the more spillover you'll get from the PA, and the more problems you're likely to have with feedback. So try to keep your setup simple and use pickups and directs whenever possible.
GUITARS:
The electric guitar is perhaps the simplest instrument to mic, given that a Shure SM57 aimed at the amp's speaker always does the job well. Sennheiser's MD 421, MD 409, and E 609 are also good choices. There are two primary schools of thought for miking a guitar cabinet. Either point the microphone straight into the cabinet and directly at the speaker's voice coil (the advantage being consistency of sound), or put the mic on the edge of the speaker and angle it into the voice coil (for less spiky mids). In both cases, you should place the mic right up against the grille.With acoustic guitars, any condenser microphone (such as a Neumann KM 184, a Shure SM81, an Oktava MK012, or an Audio-Technica Pro37) works well, as long as the stage sound isn't too cluttered or loud. If the volume is cranked up and the guitar needs to go through the monitors, you may prefer a dynamic mic with good high-end response (two examples would be a Shure Beta 58 and a Sennheiser MD 441) to get sufficient gain before feedback. At a pinch, you could rely on a Shure SM57 or a Beta 57.
If the guitar has a pickup, try taking it direct. If the sound's too dry and the guitarist's using a lot of effects or EQ at the amp, you may need to mic the amp, using the same approach as for miking an electric guitar amp, and combine that sound with the direct signal. You could also mic the guitar itself and blend that with the direct signal for a fuller sound.
Thoughts on microphone placement for acoustic guitar are varied. Some people want to stick a mic right in front of the sound hole, but this approach is not recommended. Low end builds up at the sound hole, and with the mic at this position, you'll get a lot of boom and not enough sparkle. Instead, you should put the mic up close and in front of the spot where the neck joins the body (around the 14th fret), and angle it toward, but off-axis from, the sound hole. This placement should give you a nice blend of string harmonics, resonance, and pick sound.
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