acoustic guitar advice
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Posted on Feb 15, 2008 01:44 pm
steve08
Member Since: Feb 15, 2008
whats the best way to record an acoustic guitar?
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pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Feb 15, 2008 02:04 pm Pay James Taylor to do it
HA! man, I kill me.
but seriously, it will depend on your room, the quality of guitar, the quality and condition of strings, the quality of the player, the quality of mics, the number of mics, the quality of preamps, converters, PC, etc.
I have deadening in my live room, so the room is pretty dead.
I then try to get best guitar I can get my hands on, which often doesn't work with the musician, so that may vary. Strings are a variable too. I try to use new, but don't always.
I have a pair of Rode NT5 for acoustic recording, which has worked well, but I've not done too many other expirements. I shoot for one pointing at strings around 12 fret, and one from behind strum hand, pointing kinda towards soundhole. This placement is VERY subjective, and will alter the whole sound a lot, so experimentation will be paramount.
Many will also use a LDC either close, or near. Expirement with that too.
After tracking a great sound, hopefully not much will have to be done to it, maybe some reverb, some delay, or not, and/or some chorus maybe (maybe not). I may EQ two tracks different, and pan them away from center some, depending on the vibe of the song.
It's also gotta mix with other sounds / vox too, so there's that.
hth
JDODBrother Number OneMember
Since: Jan 22, 2008
Feb 15, 2008 02:05 pm I like to just mic up the sound hole but then I am quite primative.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Feb 15, 2008 02:44 pm Wow has this been covered to death around here :-D
My input, the abridged version:
Small-diaphragm condensor mic pointed at the neck joint. Towards the headstock = less bass, towards the body = more bass. Farther away from the fretboard = more room ambience, closer to the fretboard = less room ambience. Optional 2nd SDC mic behind the bridge, pointed at the soundboard, equidistant from the instrument as the neck mic.
Hmmm...I may have to bust out the dictionary to see if I can compact that even more :D
BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
Feb 15, 2008 03:31 pm Very subjective question.
Best way to record an acoustic is with a microphone. Although some electro acoustics record quite well DI.
More specifics you say? OK, how about this?
AKG 414 (circle pattern) about 18" directly in front, and run that into a Avalon AD2022.
Feb 15, 2008 04:43 pm I like the X-Y method...I put two SM 57s perpendicular to each other right above the 12th fret. I don't usually use a condenser mic because they pick up more of the room ambience, and my room ambience sucks. Lately I've been using a similar setup, except that I use two of those little Karma condenser mics instead of the SM 57s.
Kind of like this picture, but with different mics:
Try some different stuff and see what you like!
EDIT: A Google search turned tup a bunch of stuff, like this:
www.humbuckermusic.com/acguitrectec.html
