This is a topic of discussion among guitarists.  Should we amplify our classical guitars?

Lets face facts, the classical guitar is a very intimate instrument.  However, the demands on the performer can be great, especially to fill, volume wise, a large hall.  At times, performers often rely on using amplification to aid them in these circumstances.  While this has been going on for some time, it is still a very controversial issue among classical guitar enthusiasts, concert goers and even performers alike.

It has been common practice to amplify the guitar during concerto performances.  Why?  So the audience can hear the guitar over the orchestra.  Also, in large ensembles it becomes necessary to amplify to give the guitar an equal voice in the ensemble.  In these instances we accept the amplification as a necessity, because if it weren’t there, you’d see the players fingers move and barely be able to make out what they are playing.

Over at the Classical Guitar Review, there was a discussion on this matter.  To further view points that people have on this subject check out the post “To Amplify or not to Amplify?”

Options to Amplification

To me, the best kind of amplification is the kind that you can’t tell.  On numerous occasions when I’ve had to use an amp, ultimately a few people from the audience will come up to me and say, “You were amplified?  It sounded so natural.”  Or something to that effect.  This is exactly what I’m after.  I don’t want my amplified sound to be intrusive, and I want it to keep the same characteristics that my natural un-amplified playing has.  I have encountered several situations where I needed amplification.  The first was when I performed Ponce’s Concierto del Sur for my senior recital.  Even though I was playing this piece with piano accompaniment,  I amplified my instrument to allow myself to be on at least equal footing as the piano, dynamically.  Other performance include; the Tedesco Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet, the Tedesco Fantasia for Guitar and Piano (Part 1 and Part 2 can be viewed on my YouTube channel), the premier of a Guitar Concerto written by Dan Lis for me (videos of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Mvnts can be viewed on YouTube), and even recently when I premiered a piece for Violin, Saxophone, and 2 Guitars.  Currently I’m working on a piece for Saxophone and Guitar and the need for amplification is apparent, so I’ll be using it there to.  However, in all these instances the concept isn’t to color the sound of the instrument, but to give the instrument a greater presence and allow the sound to carry to the back of the room.

There are several options to using amplification.

  1. Using an Electric/Acoustic Classical Guitar plugged into an amp
  2. Micing your instrument
  3. Buying a pickup for your classical guitar.  (There are many different options, including a pickup that attaches by adhesive to the bottom of your bridge or having a pickup installed into your instrument).

Out of these options, the cheapest would be either the adhesive pickup or buying a mic.  Obviously, getting an Electric/Acoustic guitar is an investment in another instrument.  What I have found on instruments like these, is that a pure acoustic version of the instrument you are buying about $200-$300 cheaper because there are no electronics in it.  So for a high quality instrument, to have to spend much more on the hybrid counterpart.  It would definitely be cheaper to have a luthier install a pickup into your current instrument.

An Example of an Amplification Set Up

My set up is relatively simple.  I prefer the sound of a miced guitar.  I find that it still retains the sounds of my instrument, where as a pickup I find drastically changes my sound.  Here’s what I use.

  • Either an Shure SM57 or an Audix i5 (I’m currently favoring the Audix right now)
  • Crate Taxi Amp TX15 (for small ensembles or for just a touch of amplification) or a Yamaha MSR-100 (for large ensembles)
  • Volume Pedal (for when I need to be able to control how much volume I’m giving to the instrument.  Mainly when I’m in larger ensembles of an ensemble where the dynamics of the group change drastically.)  It just so happens that I use the Steve Vai Signature Morely “Little Alligator” volume pedal.  This is an optical pedal so there is no scratchy sounds that occur with most older analogue pedals due to dust building up in the controls.

The Crate amp is great because it is battery powered.  So I don’t need to worry about outlets for the amp to be powered.  More importantly I has a great sound to it.  The Yamaha amp is really a powered monitor which is great because it doesn’t color the sound of the instrument.  More importantly the EQ on it is simple, yet effective (3 knobs: Bass, Mid, Treble).

This set up is simple, yet very effective.  I set the mic pointing towards the lower bout of my instrument for 2 reasons.  First, the mic is then out of the way to allow my right hand to move freely.  Second, on my instrument (an from what I’ve seen, others as well) this is where you can pick up the best sound.  If I’m using my Volume Pedal I have cables that go from XLR inputs to 1/4″ inputs so that it can plug directly into the pedal rather then going through a converter.  From there I plug directy into my amp.

This is just one of several possibilities of how to set up amplification.  Some people get great results from using Electric/Acoustic instruments.