Amplification vs. Sound Reinforcement

Great Tone At Any Volume

by Blaise Kielar

OK, I must confess I've got a license plate that reads PLAY LOUD. And, one advantage of loud is that it tends to inspire creative dancing. However, I am not a fan of too-loud concerts. If attending a rock show, I'll wear earplugs that filter anything above a comfortable decibel level. My favorite events are those that approximate unamplified musicians in a place with great acoustics. As more string players go electric, how do we preserve the tone we love?

Amplification vs. Sound Reinforcement At last month's ASTA Conference in Santa Clara, EVS was asked to provide a sound system for several big performances. We partnered with a regional rep from Bose Corporation who graciously donated his time and a couple of the L1 Model II® linear array systems. They were used two ways.

Amplification

It was clear to the audience that The Section Quartet was amplified - using pickups, effects pedals, and enough volume to make a rock impact within the moderate volume of an educational setting. However, in loud performance situations where sound pressure is just as important as (or more important than!) accurate reproduction of your instrument's tone, you may need traditional amplification that moves more air. This can be especially true if you're playing opposite an electric guitarist with a Marshall stack who thinks everything should go to 11!

Sound Reinforcement

If your goal is not to rock the house, but to be heard in balance with other musicians, then consider the idea of sound reinforcement. At the other ASTA events we provided sound for, the main goal was to make sure everyone in the room heard all the nuances of the performers, without calling attention to how it was done. For Quartet San Francisco, we used high fidelity instrument microphones provided by Heil Sound. Using mics on boom stands paired with the Bose L1's, we achieved a transparent tone. You heard what each player's instrument sounded like, projected widely throughout the room.

Just how transparent was the sound reinforcement? At the QSF educational session, a question was asked "Why bother with all the sound equipment?" So the Bose system was turned off, and those in the back were shocked to realize what they would have missed without the sound system! Those in the front row felt almost no difference. The ultimate compliment of providing high quality sound reinforcement is that your audience thinks they are hearing pure acoustic sound.