Jul 16, 2006 04:49 pm A nice mic at the sound hole and another mic back a few feet for room ambience is cool...
Recording acoustic guitars
Posted on Jul 16, 2006 04:40 pm
digmudvayne4life
Member Since: Jul 12, 2006
What's the best way to record an acoustic guitar? Is it just a mic next to the guitar? Thanks
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Jul 16, 2006 04:49 pm A nice mic at the sound hole and another mic back a few feet for room ambience is cool...
Jul 16, 2006 07:12 pm One recomended technique is to use and LDC pointed at the sound hole, and an SDC or LDC at the 12th fret pionted toward the sound hole.
You can use other mics as well. 57's work well as do some others.
Jul 16, 2006 07:52 pm I like to use a condenser right up at the hole (sounds dirty) and then something like an sm57 near the fretting hand, to catch those slides against the string. And i like to record in a room with a nice natural reverb.
Jul 17, 2006 08:09 am Micing the soundhole is probably going to yield a boomy recording with attenuated highs. It'd take a pretty thin sounding guitar to not be boomy with a mic on its soundhole.
Try a SDC at around the 12th or 14th fret (just past where the neck meets the body on most acoustics) about 8"-12" away. Angle the mic towards the neck for less lows, or towards the soundhole for more lows. This is a good starting point, and moving the mic closer, farther away, closer to the neck or soundhole will let you hone in on what's best for your guitar.
If you want to use a 2nd mic, try another SDC at the bridge, the same distance away as the other mic. This picks up some of the sound projected by the soundboard and catches some lows that the other mic may not.
A LDC room mic is a good idea as long as your room had decent acoustics.
Jul 17, 2006 10:42 am I like to mic the box under where the neck meets the body and the corner under the elbow... basically the bottom 2 corners of the box. I view the sound hole as being similar to a drum sound hole... it's just there to keep the instrument from exploding... :)
Jul 17, 2006 09:36 pm I like to use two small condensers (MXL 603s)- one at the 12th fret, turned slightly away from the sound hole and the other on a boom, over my right shoulder aimed at the bridge. The distance from the guitar should be approximately the same as the distance between the two mics, but every room offers it's own "sweet spot" so experiment. Good luck with it!
Jul 18, 2006 12:10 am I've used both an LDC (MXL990 or 992) and an SM57 both yeilded excellent results. I place the mic near the top of the body near the neck where it joins the body, angled toward the sound hole and adjust either my position or the mic's postition till I have the sound I want. Since I have an E Acoustic I also usually plug that into the mixer and record that as well. So far I haven't tried using 2 mic's, haven't really seen the need too.
Dan
Jul 21, 2006 10:42 pm I like a condensor for an acoustic. I put it right around where the neck meets the body. It's just too full for my taste pointed at the hole. But, I've never tried it with two mics, so that may sound great I really couldn't say. I have a U-87 so it's a no brainer what mic I use for it. I just got done mixing one of our songs. It has an acoustic in it and it turned out really nice. If your new to it what I did at first was moved my ear around while the guitarist played to find the sweet spot. If you have someone help you then you can just have them move the mic around until you find it. It's subjective to a degree as with anything. Some people mix them fuller, some thinner. If it's over an electric I'll mix it pretty thin. If not you can fill it in a little bit more.
Jul 22, 2006 01:53 am Man, it's easy to overthink these things.
Put your guitarist in the middle of a good sounding room, if you have one. Put a nice omni or not-too-tight cardioid on a stand about 18 to 24 inches from the guitar, on the fret side, and point it in the direction of the hole. If you have a less than great sounding room, use a tighter pattern cardioid, or move the mic a little closer. The box will sound fine.
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