The Single-Mic Technique For Music Reinforcement by Bruce
Bartlett, Crown International What goes around, comes around. In
the 1920's through the 1940's, PA systems for music used a
single microphone. Band members gathered closely around this
single mic and balanced themselves by moving toward or away from
the microphone. Radio broadcasts and recordings used one mic as
well. This old-fashioned technique is making a comeback. Many
new bluegrass and folk bands are trying the one-mic method with
surprisingly good results. They use a single modern microphone:
typically a large diaphragm cardioid condenser. It picks up the
sound with amazing clarity, and usually with very good gain-
before-feedback. Of course, the technique may not provide enough
volume in some venues. How can a single mic work so well? As
theory says, the fewer the number of open microphone, the better
the gain-before-feedback. Also, a single mic picks up all the
instruments and vocals with a coherent, focused sound. There are
no phase cancellatio