Atlanta, GA (September 5, 2014)—While one might picture quiet guitar music being most typical for a church service, the guitars played in Buckhead Church often get turned up—a move that led the church to choose the R-121 Mono Ribbon Microphone from Royer Labs for its audio system.
Luke Roetman is the Audio Director for Buckhead Church. For the past five years, he has been responsible for overseeing all audio production as it relates to church services and any other activities that take place in the auditorium.
“Roughly three years ago we conducted a microphone ‘shootout’ with several other ribbon, dynamic, and condenser microphones to determine which microphone delivered the best performance for use with the guitar amps. The R-121 stood out considerably. Its smooth, warm character captured the natural sound of the guitar cabinets more accurately than any of the other mics we tried,” explained Roetman.
While the band itself is onstage, the guitar amps are positioned offstage to reduce bleeding into the vocal mics and to help keep the stage area uncluttered and less visually distracting. This approach also enables guitarists to crank their amps up; with the amps being driven harder than they may appear in the mix, microphone placement is crucial in order to obtain the best sound quality.
“I love the fact that the R-121 can handle high SPLs,” said Roetman. “We pair the R-121 with a dynamic microphone and sometimes we blend the results, but we always favor the R-121. We typically mic the guitar cabinet close to the center of the speaker cone and pull the mic back approximately 6 to 8 inches, with the ribbon pointing straight at the cabinet. Depending upon the sound of the amp, we will, of course, adjust the placement of the microphone.”
Royer Labs
www.royerlabs.com
