Guitar In The Church, pt. 2: Sojourn’s Mike Cosper On Pursuing Excellence With Acoustic Guitar

In today’s churches, the guitar is coming to dominate the landscape in the same way that the piano and organ once did. It’s important that as church musicians we give great care and thought to our guitar playing - everything from chord voicings to tones - so that the instrument is a servant of the congregation, not the star and not the distraction. Each week on Sojournmusic.com, Pastor Mike Cosper will post a guitarist’s feature, which will range from articles to links, online lessons and interviews:

Part Two: Acoustic Guitars

There’s nothing worse than a bad sounding acoustic guitar. One of my biggest complaints with music in churches, bars and coffee shops is the general inattention to acoustic guitar tone. Often, this is the result of guitarists making poor decisions at the guitar shop - buying an instrument that’s a poor match to their playing style. Guitarists love to complain about Piezos (the dominant pickup used in acoustic guitars). Ultimately, though, acoustic tone starts with the player and instrument, and making a good match there goes a long way to solving problems.

Matching a player with an instrument

Some guitarists hate Taylor. Others hate Martin. That’s all well and good, but the name on the headstock only tells a tiny portion of the story of the tone that will come out of the instrument. The body style you purchase is a commitment to a general family of tone. So chose carefully.

• Pick an instrument designed to do what you do most.
• If you’re a fingerstyle player, you want a smaller, brighter sounding instrument.
• Try one of the Martin 00 or 000 series, or something in the Taylor orchestra or parlor series.
• If you’re a flatpicking, rhythmic strummer, you want an instrument with more punch.
• Try one of the Martin D series, or a Taylor Dreadnaught or Jumbo.
• If you bounce around between fingers and picks, get something that is well balanced and flexible.
• Try the Taylor Grand Symphony or R. Taylor series. Or Try the Gibson Advanced Jumbo series.
• Generally a bigger body is more suited to chords and is boomy and punchy.
• Generally a smaller body is more suited to melodies and fingerpicking.

Practice without your pickup and LISTEN.

A pickup can’t make a bad tone good. So forget the pickup for while - sit 4-5 feet from a wall and practice what you play.

• Don’t sing - just listen.
• Pay attention to the tones - is it balanced? Is it harsh? Is it dull?
• If it’s harsh, where are you strumming? Can you move your pick closer to the neck?
• If it’s dull, can you move closer to the bridge?

Maintain your instrument

• Keep your guitar humidified. IT AFFECTS YOUR TONE AND INTONATION. Here’s a great article on the subject, entitled Caring For Your Guitar/Bass/Mandolin.  Make sure your neck and bridge are properly setup. Have a luthier go over the instrument at least once a year.
• Change your strings at least once a month. Even if they’re coated.

Using your pickup

• For some reason, most guitarists’ instincts are to hype the high EQ on their guitars and at the soundboard. DON’T DO THIS! Unless you’re a fingerstyle player and the guitar is the star of your show, hyping high end will only result in a shrill sounding instrument for our audience.
• Get rid of all those effects - delay, chorus, even reverb. Let the instrument sound like a guitar.
• Use good cables and a good direct box. I like the Radial JDI MK3 Passive Direct Box.  ”But Mike, that’s a $200 DI!” Yes it is. Your tone is only as pure as your signal, and your $40 DI is sucking tone.
• Take time tweaking EQ, and know that you probably only need about half the EQ tweaking you imagine. Especially if you are focused on playing the instrument well.

Some guitars I like in a few price ranges:

First of all, if you live in Louisville, go talk to Mick at Steilberg String Instruments. They know this stuff better than anyone.

For around $500 I like the Breedlove Atlas series. Larivee has been making some inexpensive guitars lately that play very nicely. Walden is another solid brand at his price point.

For around $1000, I really like Eastman guitars. They are handmade solid-wood guitars from China that rival the craftsmanship of guitars twice - and three times - their price.

For around $1500, I still like Eastman, but I also really like the Martin D-16 series for a great dreadnaught. For small-bodied guitars and fingerstyle players, you can’t beat Taylors 514 and 714. Occasionally, you can find a used one at that price point.

For around $2000+ I LOVE the Martin D-18 Golden Era. I’ve seen them used around that price point. The D-18 is a guitar singer-songwriters should look more closely at for its punch and warmth. (It’s a mahogany back, instead of rosewood.) It’s a nice texture to lay under voices, especially with rhythmic players. A versatile middle-road guitar is the R.Taylor Style 1. This guitar seems equally at home in the flat and finger-picked worlds. For fingerstylists, the Taylor stuff is richer than anything. It thrives there.

If money’s no object - check out Goodall guitars, or be so bold as to hunt for an Olson. I played Ric Hordinski’s Olson SJ once a few years ago. I’ll never forget it. A bizarre and unique instrument, absolutely made to be the best sounding finger-picked instrument ever made.

I think for flatpickers, the current reigning king is Bourgeois guitars. If it’s good enough for Bryan Sutton, it’s good enough for me.

For most of us, a $2000 instrument is out of reach by itself, but we can all do ourselves and our congregations a favor by focusing on getting the most out of what we have. Practice, listen, and remember that most often - in the church - the acoustic guitar is a servant, not a star. If the guitar isn’t super bright, but tucks in underneath the voices, it’s doing its job.

Read Part One of this Series, “Jim Campilongo on the Lost Art of Melodic Guitar Playing”

Hear Pastor Mike preach on “Music and Worship” and read the study guide

Photo above, courtesy of Dan Canales: Mike Cosper plays acoustic guitar at The 930, during a recent Sojourn Gathered worship service.