Microphones
Best Instrument Microphones for Worship
Quick answer
A typical worship platform needs four instrument microphones: snare, guitar amplifier, and a pair for piano or percussion. The Shure SM57 at $109.00 covers most of them, and acoustic guitar, bass and keyboards should go through direct boxes rather than microphones.
Instrument capture on a worship platform splits into two questions. Does the instrument make sound through the air, in which case it needs a microphone, or does it have an output socket, in which case it needs a direct box? Getting that wrong is the most common cause of a thin acoustic guitar and a muddy keyboard, and it costs nothing to get right.
Plan the input list first with the mixer channel calculator and the input list template, then read how to mic a worship band for the positions. The direct box half of the platform is covered separately in direct boxes for churches.
On this page
Microphone or direct box, instrument by instrument
What each worship platform source actually needs, and the reason. Sources with an output socket almost always belong on a direct box.
Acoustic guitar, bass and keyboards belong on direct boxes rather than microphones, which removes three of the most feedback-prone open channels from a church platform.
| Instrument | Capture method | What to use | Placement or note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snare drum | Microphone | SM57 or i5 | An inch above the rim, angled at the centre of the head |
| Kick drum | Microphone | Beta 52A or Beta 91A | Inside the drum, off the beater centre |
| Toms | Microphone | Beta 56A | Rim mounted, pointing across the head |
| Cajon and percussion | Microphone | PRO 35 | Clipped to the rim, no stand needed |
| Electric guitar amplifier | Microphone | SM57 | On the grille, off centre of the speaker cone |
| Brass and saxophone | Microphone | PRO 35 clip-on | Clipped to the bell, which frees a stand |
| Grand piano | Microphone | Beta 91A on the lid | Boundary capsule inside the lid, no stand on the platform |
| Acoustic guitar with a preamp | Direct box | ProDI | The instrument already buffers the signal |
| Acoustic guitar, piezo only | Direct box | Pro48 | Piezo pickups need a very high input impedance |
| Bass guitar | Direct box | ProDI or Pro48 | Passive pickups want the active box |
| Stereo keyboard | Direct box | ProD2 | Two channels in one box, line level |
| Strings and orchestra | Microphone | U853R hanging | Hung above the section, one per three or four players |
The failure symptom of using a microphone where a direct box belongs is an open channel that feeds back and picks up everything else on the platform. The failure symptom of the wrong type of direct box is a thin acoustic guitar that no equalisation fixes, which is a loading problem rather than a tone problem.
Why fewer open microphones is the real goal
Every open microphone on a platform adds room energy to the system and lowers the level at which feedback begins. The standard figure is that doubling the number of open microphones costs about 3 dB of gain before feedback, and a church platform with fourteen open channels has given away a great deal before the service starts.
That is why the direct box column of the table matters more than the microphone column. Moving the acoustic guitar, the bass and the keyboard onto direct boxes removes three open microphones, tightens the mix, and stops the guitarist hearing the drums through their own channel. It is also why a gate on the drum channels is worth setting up properly, and why the kick and snare capsules are chosen for their rejection as much as their tone.
The same logic argues for clip-on capsules over stands wherever a player will tolerate one. A microphone clipped to a horn bell sits inches from the source, needs far less gain than a capsule three feet away on a stand, and travels with the player instead of being knocked out of position. Fewer stands also means fewer cables across a platform, which is the other weekly source of failure.
Small church: two microphones and some direct boxes
A small worship platform with an acoustic guitar, a keyboard and a cajon needs almost no instrument microphones at all. The guitar and keyboard belong on direct boxes, the cajon gets one capsule, and a spare general purpose dynamic covers whatever turns up on a fifth Sunday. That is a complete instrument rig for a couple of hundred dollars.
Shure SM57 Pro XLR Dynamic Instrument Microphone
$109.00The one instrument microphone to own if you only own one. Snare, guitar cabinet, brass, percussion and an emergency vocal, in a body that survives being dropped by a volunteer packing down in the dark.
Best for: Snare, guitar amplifiers and anything loud that needs close miking
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AUDIX i5 Dynamic Instrument Microphone: Pro Snare Mic/Guitar Amp Microphone
$105.00A flatter response than the standard alternative, which means less equalisation on snare and on a guitar cabinet. For a volunteer mixing without much training, a capsule that sounds right with the channel flat is worth real money.
Best for: Snare and guitar amplifiers where less equalisation is the goal
Check price on AmazonWho should not buy this tier: Platforms with a full drum kit, which needs a packaged kit rather than individual capsules.
Mid-size: clip-on capsules and fewer stands
As the band grows, the constraint stops being money and becomes platform space and setup time. Clip-on instrument capsules solve both: they sit closer to the source so they need less gain, they remove stands from a crowded platform, and they go on the same way every week regardless of who is setting up. This is also where a proper tom capsule starts to matter, because the kit is being mixed rather than just contained.
Audio-Technica PRO 35 Cardioid Condenser Clip-on Instrument Microphone
$159.00A clip-on cardioid condenser that mounts to a drum rim, a horn bell or a music stand, which removes a stand from the platform and puts the capsule inches from the source where it needs far less gain.
Best for: Brass, saxophone, cajon and toms where stands are in the way
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Shure BETA 56A Snare and Tom Microphone - Supercardioid Swivel-Mount Dynamic Drum Mic for Close Miking, Equipped with Shock Mount for Sound Isolation, Dynamic Locking Stand Adapter, Steel Mesh Grille
$189.00A compact swivel-mount supercardioid with a shock mount, small enough to position properly in a crowded kit. The supercardioid pattern keeps more of the cymbals out of the tom channels, which is the usual complaint about tom microphones.
Best for: Toms and snare where a full size microphone will not fit
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Radial ProD2 Passive 2 Channel Direct Box
$209.99Two channels of passive direct box, which is exactly what a stereo keyboard or a playback laptop needs. Getting the keyboard off a microphone and onto a direct box removes an open channel and cleans up the whole platform.
Best for: Stereo keyboards, playback tracks and a laptop feed
Check price on AmazonWho should not buy this tier: Traditional services with an organ and a piano and no band, which need hanging capsules rather than clip-ons.
Large room or broadcast: capture that survives headphones
A streamed service is mixed for headphones, where bleed between channels, stand noise and phase problems are all audible in a way the room hides. That raises the value of boundary and hanging capsules, which sit in fixed positions and pick up a consistent balance week after week. See how to mix for livestream for how the broadcast mix treats these channels.
Shure BETA 91A Half-Cardioid Condenser Kick Drum Microphone
$269.00A boundary condenser that sits on the soundboard under the lid, giving a consistent piano channel with no stand on the platform and nothing for anyone to move. It doubles as an inside-the-kick microphone, so it earns its price twice.
Best for: Grand piano under a raised lid, or kick drum on a tight platform
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Audio-Technica U853R Cardioid Condenser Hanging Microphone 250 Ohms, Low Profile Design
$229.00A low profile hanging cardioid that covers a section of players from above, which is the only practical way to capture a string section or a small orchestra without a forest of stands among the players.
Best for: Strings, orchestra and ensemble sections
Check price on Amazon Shure SM57 Pro XLR Dynamic Instrument Microphone
$109.00Even in a large broadcast-grade system, a guitar cabinet is still captured by a dynamic on the grille off the centre of the cone. Nothing has replaced it, and buying something exotic for this position is money spent on a solved problem.
Best for: Electric guitar amplifiers in any size of room
Check price on AmazonWho should not buy this tier: Do not buy this tier for a platform that is not yet using direct boxes properly. Premium capture on the piano while the acoustic guitar runs through a microphone on a stand is fixing the small problem and leaving the large one, and the guitar channel will keep feeding back regardless of what is on the piano.
The instrument microphones compared
| Model | Price | Microphone type | Polar pattern | Needs phantom power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SM57 Pro XLR Dynamic Instrument Microphone | $109.00 | Dynamic | Cardioid | No |
| AUDIX i5 Dynamic Instrument Microphone: Pro Snare Mic/Guitar Amp Microphone | $105.00 | Dynamic | Cardioid | No |
| Audio-Technica PRO 35 Cardioid Condenser Clip-on Instrument Microphone | $159.00 | Condenser | Cardioid | Yes |
| Shure BETA 91A Half-Cardioid Condenser Kick Drum Microphone | $269.00 | Condenser | Half-cardioid | Yes |
How we chose
We did not test these products in person and we never claim to. Picks are researched from manufacturer specification sheets and operator manuals, FCC rules where spectrum is involved, published standards, warranty terms, and the recurring themes in verified owner reviews. Every pick is matched to a real room size, seat count or input list rather than to a price bracket, and it is placed in the tier where its capability actually belongs. Where a product is wrong for most churches we say so on the page.
Sources
- Manufacturer published specifications for each microphone listed
- Manufacturer published placement guidance for instrument microphones
- Consensus of verified owner reviews across major retailers
Frequently asked questions
What microphone should we use on an acoustic guitar in church?
Usually none. If the guitar has a pickup, it belongs on a direct box, which removes an open microphone from the platform and stops the guitarist picking up the drums. Use a direct box with a high input impedance for a piezo pickup and a passive box for a guitar with onboard preamp electronics. Microphones on acoustic guitars belong in a studio, not on a worship platform.
How many instrument microphones does a worship band need?
Four is typical: snare, guitar amplifier and a pair for piano or percussion, assuming the acoustic guitar, bass and keyboards are on direct boxes. A full drum kit adds three to five more. The number worth targeting is the smallest one that gives control, because every extra open microphone costs gain before feedback and adds a channel to set up each week.
Where do you place a microphone on a guitar amplifier?
On the grille cloth, an inch or two from it, aimed off the centre of the speaker cone rather than straight at it. Dead centre gives the brightest and harshest sound, and moving toward the edge of the cone progressively warms it. Once the position sounds right, mark it with tape on the cabinet so the next volunteer sets it up the same way.
Do instrument microphones need phantom power?
Condensers do, dynamics do not. The clip-on and boundary capsules on this page are condensers and need 48 volt phantom power from the console. The general purpose dynamics used on snare, toms and guitar cabinets need no power at all and are unharmed by phantom power being switched on, so on a digital console it is simplest to leave it on where needed.
Can one microphone cover the whole band?
It can cover them, and it cannot mix them. A single capsule in front of a platform captures the acoustic balance of the room, which means the drums dominate and the vocal disappears, and no fader can separate them afterwards. Individual channels exist so the person mixing can make the vocal the loudest thing in the room, which is what a congregation actually needs.
How do you mic a grand piano in a church?
A boundary condenser on the soundboard under a raised lid is the practical church answer, because it gives a consistent channel with no stand on the platform and nothing to be knocked out of position. A pair of capsules over the strings sounds better in a quiet room and picks up far more of the band on a loud platform, which is usually the deciding factor.
Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published manufacturer specifications, operator manuals, FCC rules, published standards and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Sound system design, rigging loudspeakers overhead, and any electrical work are jobs for a qualified professional: have flown loudspeakers and their attachment points signed off by a structural engineer or a certified rigger, and have all wiring done by a licensed electrician to your local code. Wireless microphone rules change, so confirm the current FCC position before buying. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.