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Definition of Acoustic Music

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PoppaGator	16 Dec 08 - 03:41 PM
Mavis Enderby	17 Dec 08 - 11:33 AM

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Subject: RE: Definition of Acoustic Music
From: PoppaGator
Date: 16 Dec 08 - 03:41 PM

Anyone familiar with the Asylum Street Spankers?

They're a large group from Austin TX who for a long time prided themselves on being strictly acoustic. I've seen them periodically for a number of years, and there seems to be a core membership of 4 or 5 people plus another half-dozen or more players at any given time.

They sing and play acoustic guitars, tenor guitars, resonator guitars, banjos, mandolins, a string bass and even (for a while) a clarinet. At their live appearances, they long made it a point never to use any microphones, speakers, or amplification of any kind. (One of the singers, who has been in and out of the band over the years, made it his trademark to use a megaphone, Rudy Vallee-style!)

They're really good players and showmen/showwomen, and provide a good deal of humor along with their musicianship, in a sort of jug-band style. I would have to observe that in some cases, on some numbers, their anti-electricity stance made it difficult to hear certain critical parts of some numbers; that is, a soloing instrumentalist or a singer could be relatively inaudible over the sound of 8 to 10 accompanying "background" instruments.

When they had their first opportunity to record a CD, they sought out the best possible room (in acoustic terms), and then compromised their acoustic-purist principles only enough to allow ONE recording microphone to be hung from the ceiling at a central location. Needless to say, the results were somewhat disappointing; the problems with sound balance were even worse on the recording than in person.

They continued to record, and eventually allowed more conventional techniques like multiple microphones, etc. (I'm pretty sure they draw the line at overdubbing, and always record "live," everyone in the group at once.)

I think I read somewhere recently that they finally have begun to use mics and speakers for their live gigs. That strictly-acoustic policy was OK for a while, and may have served a purpose in getting the group more widely known, but it never served their presentation very well. I'm sure there're much better to listen to if they have indeed begun using a sound system intelligently.

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Subject: RE: Definition of Acoustic Music
From: Mavis Enderby
Date: 17 Dec 08 - 11:33 AM

Well - my first post as a Mudcat member - so here goes!

I'm thinking specifically of guitars, as this seems to be what much of the above discussion concerns, but I've always been a bit confused over some definitions of "acoustic" music where it's amplified - especially where it's done badly, using crappy piezo pickups and "unsympathetic" PA. A nicely amplified electric guitar could sound so much better in some of these situations - it's what they were invented for after all!

Where I have been impressed with amplified acoustic music is where it's done transparently - i.e. when you don't really notice the PA, just the unadulterated sound of the instruments, just that it's loud enough to hear at distance from the stage or above background noise if this is unavoidable.

And where I've been impressed the most with amplified acoustic music is where the PA is used both transparently and as a means of bringing out an instrument's tone that you wouldn't normally hear unamplified - for example Bob Brozman modulates his guitar tone by moving it relative to the microphone, providing changes in tone or volume. There's a great example here: Death Come Creepin

Pete.

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