Acoustic Guitar Recording 101

Supper tutorial. My main instrument is acoustic guitar and I have been trying out different configurations for recording...from the pic, that looks a lot like my Alvarez....similar inlay on the board, etc... Very nice. I am going to work on duplicating that process. What interface and DAW are you using ???

Good luck with your efforts. Would love to hear some results.

It's been a while, but I think I was using a TASCAM 1804 (with the built in preamps) as an interface at the time. My DAW has always been Cubase. But just to be clear--the DAW doesn't matter at all (as far as sound goes), and for something like this, the interface barely matters.

I could have (and did!) get indistinguishable results from a cheap Behringer mixer and Reaper. In other words, it's way more about technique than technology.
 
This is the drum folks, excellent article and exactly the same approach i use to make em sound sweet.
Newbies, don't be put off by the expensive mics and preamps mentioned, just start using these techs with whatever you got and upgrade when you can, any result will be worthwhile and better than on result!
Cheers Rob
 
I've been recording an old friend's acoustic efforts with (what I beleive to be) very good results using the following approach:

Room: My living room. Couches, coffee table, full carpet, textured 8 ft. ceiling, drywall and paint.
Instrument: Takamine Jasmine with whatever strings he can find to replace whichever one breaks.
Gear: Sterling Audio S50 condenser in shock mount with pop filter on boom stand. I tried without the filter and the pick snaps were maddening. The house is typical 1955 platform ranch over crawlspace so I had to put the mic stand on pillows to keep his rhythmic left foot out of it. I position the mic about 10-12" away from the sound hole and angle it down a bit. I tried straight on and got a ton of string noise. The mic signal runs through an ART pre-amp (which is noisy but does effectively boost the mic signal to a usable level) then into a Boss BR-1180CD digital workstation on input 2. He also uses a Martin snap-in pickup which goes into the Boss input 1.
Method: I capture both the mic and pickup on tracks 1 and 2 simultaneously panning 1 hard left and 2 hard right. I then work the signal from each track independently, using shelf EQ as high and low-pass filters to cut the hiss out. I then bounce them over to tracks 3 and 4 panning each the opposite way. Now I have four tracks. I like the natural sound of the mic tracks but can't beat the clean punchiness of the pickup so I blend their levels until I get a good, natural clean open sound them bounce all four to the mastering tracks (9/10). A little soft compression and limiter, maybe boost up the bottom end and we're set!

I don't know how to post up audio files for your ear's consideration but the artist and I both agree we've got great recordings that translate very well from headphones to home stereo system.
 
One more thanks for the tutorial.

I was umming and arring over whether to get a better mic than the one I have - but after going over this realise there's so much to learn I'll stick with my cheap mic until I know better. With just the one mic I'll have to use double taking to try out your ideas - but the stunning differences from the single mono take makes me think I can improve more by expirementing with these ideas than buying a more expensive mic and single take mono recording!
 
One more thanks for the tutorial.

I was umming and arring over whether to get a better mic than the one I have - but after going over this realise there's so much to learn I'll stick with my cheap mic until I know better. With just the one mic I'll have to use double taking to try out your ideas - but the stunning differences from the single mono take makes me think I can improve more by expirementing with these ideas than buying a more expensive mic and single take mono recording!

You're welcome!

And I love your response to my rather long-winded tutorial! That was exactly my point: technique over gear. I spent years and untold dollars chasing mics and pres when what I really needed was some knowledge. That recording was made with a relatively cheap mic through a relatively cheap preamp, and even though it's a couple years old, I'm still happy with it--it's still my go to method.

Best of luck on your own tone quest! Post up some samples when you're ready!
 
...That was exactly my point: technique over gear...

Minor confession - I've offered to buy moresound's pair of SM81's. It seems too good an opportunity to get a *pair* of really good mics that will hopefully last me a lifetime :-)

However, point absolutely absorbed. I must admit that like many of us I sometimes lose focus on the whole reason I'm doing this - i.e. not to accumulate "stuff" and empty the coffers, but to do something creative and fulfilling.

I hearby promise that once I have the SM81s I'll focus all my effort on the doing. It will be a good few weeks (or months) I suspect before I've progressed well enough to be happy to share my output, but that in iteslf gives me a useful goal (I kinda work that way!).

Thanks again.
 
Fishman Aura 16 --- nice

I just opened and set up a Fishman Aura 16 acoustic imaging stomp box for acoustic electric guitar...wow nice !!! For those who wish to record a mix of mics and direct line in, check this out and other models they have. Cool usb loadable guitar / mic images (16 separate setting on this model - more on others), and the ability to go online to their site and download more images.... very sweet. There is a blend and phase control, to adjust the amount of your own guitar pick-up with the image you chose...
 
Very good. You said you used black cables; I would use yellow or orange cables to put a little more color into the final sound. :guitar:
 
Hi guys~! This is my first post ever here...

Got to go to bed so I have not read the entire original post and all the comments but will read those tonight, awesome forum...

Simply wanted to share my experience with recording the first layer of acoustics on the single I'm working on... it sounds great!

I put an AKG Perception 220 in the closet which is as wide as the door, a standard width door, maybe 4 ft wide? The closet is 3,4 ft deep. Back wall is covered by thick blanket and sides have Aurelex pyramid shaped absorption panels. I left the door open and sat with my back to the one wall in a chair. I placed the mic against the opposing wall in front of me and then moved it all the way to the back, so it was perhaps 1.5 ft from the guitar, behind the bridge, but aimed slightly AWAY from the guitar and toward the wall. I used an Eleca ($99 amazing guitar!) which I setup and tweaked to get a kind of cheap, campfire type sound for this drving eigth note single note rhythm.

Anyway, so basically I picked up the midrange but a very mellow tonal version since it was pointed away from the guitar and it came out great and super dry, which was what I wanted, yet still intimate. If someone can explain how to put the audio in my post like the OP did, I gladly would share a sample.

There are a lot of tracks of acoustic guitar in this particular song and for the parts which need a fancier sound I will be using a a composite body Ovation.
 
You can't post links here until you've got 10 posts. A very unusual recording style, but if you like the results that's all that matters. From your description, you are not trying to capture the exact sound the guitar makes, which most people are trying to do when they record an acoustic.

I've been listening to a ton of early Beatles this week and its funny to hear how the acoustic guitar(s) sound on them - not at all what we strive for these days!
 
You can't post links here until you've got 10 posts. A very unusual recording style, but if you like the results that's all that matters. From your description, you are not trying to capture the exact sound the guitar makes, which most people are trying to do when they record an acoustic.

I've been listening to a ton of early Beatles this week and its funny to hear how the acoustic guitar(s) sound on them - not at all what we strive for these days!

Thanks for the info!

Actually, I was thinking I was trying to get an acoustic sound but really loved this off kilter sound I ended up with. I will be trying to capture the real acoustic sound as well.

Yea, I just listened to the complete version of the OP's sample and that is not the sound I am going for. That is a very beautiful, lush, professional sound that sounds wonderful solo. I am looking for a sound to sit in a pretty layered mix with some vocals, bass and other stringed instruments, so my frequency range will be much more restricted.

What a beautiful arrangement and recording by the OP!
 
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yeah, 60s and into the 70s guitars had more close micing. Stuff today tends to have more of the room. My ideal is Neil Young like off of Harvest or After the Gold Rush.

That said, I've been getting really nice results lately with a Fat Head...dark mics sound really nice on acoustics. Too bright and it gets harsh fast. I've also really been liking mono.
 
after years of playing and recording acoustic guitar in various ways i finally bought a ribbon mic (apex 205) purely because i was intrigued by the sound of ribbons and was growing tired of conventional condensers.

As always, first thing i did was just to place the mic about 1 foot or so back from the guitar pointed where the neck joins the body; sounded good! way warmer and smoother than anything else i remember trying, and with some EQ it sounded great. however, in the interest of science (?) i rummaged through my mic cupboard and tried some different combinations/positions to see what sounds i could get out of it.

Now, i've tried M/S before on things like choirs, string quartets, as drum room mics, but had always done this with two LDC's so thought "meh, i'll try the ribbon and an LDC to see what sounds i get". Out of nowhere, for the first time in my life, my guitar sounded like my guitar! the mid mic sounded nice (avantone CK7) but with the added side it just opened up the sound.

So, after a lot of trying it in different contexts with different tracks, i found kinda what i expected; in dense mixes the M/S was too much and ended up dropping the side mic, but in sparse mixes the M/S approach gave a beautiful, rich, full sound.

truth be told, this isn't now my "go to" acoustic mic placement but, when i think/feel it's gonna work, the M/S acoustic guitar mic placement has added soooooooo much to those tracks. much more so than other stereo mic placements.

if you've not tried M/S on an acoustic guitar, i encourage you to do so. as i said, it won't work every time, but trust me; when it works, it's beyond perfect!
 
I record using a very similar approach in terms of positioning. I use AKG 535EB's on a spruce top Takamine into an API 3124. A touch of compression and the acoustic stands up nicely in our blend of country/rock music.

Thanks for the detailed post!
 
after years of playing and recording acoustic guitar in various ways i finally bought a ribbon mic (apex 205) purely because i was intrigued by the sound of ribbons and was growing tired of conventional condensers.

As always, first thing i did was just to place the mic about 1 foot or so back from the guitar pointed where the neck joins the body; sounded good! way warmer and smoother than anything else i remember trying, and with some EQ it sounded great. however, in the interest of science (?) i rummaged through my mic cupboard and tried some different combinations/positions to see what sounds i could get out of it.

Now, i've tried M/S before on things like choirs, string quartets, as drum room mics, but had always done this with two LDC's so thought "meh, i'll try the ribbon and an LDC to see what sounds i get". Out of nowhere, for the first time in my life, my guitar sounded like my guitar! the mid mic sounded nice (avantone CK7) but with the added side it just opened up the sound.

So, after a lot of trying it in different contexts with different tracks, i found kinda what i expected; in dense mixes the M/S was too much and ended up dropping the side mic, but in sparse mixes the M/S approach gave a beautiful, rich, full sound.

truth be told, this isn't now my "go to" acoustic mic placement but, when i think/feel it's gonna work, the M/S acoustic guitar mic placement has added soooooooo much to those tracks. much more so than other stereo mic placements.

if you've not tried M/S on an acoustic guitar, i encourage you to do so. as i said, it won't work every time, but trust me; when it works, it's beyond perfect!

Late response on my part, but your post is worth responding to.

You're absolutely right about M/S recording with a ribbon. It's a whole new world. I dabbled with it for a bit, and liked it so much that I went so far as to fasten a pair of ribbon mics to each other at 90 degrees. Depending on how I processed it, it made for a real nice stereo mic on almost any source, or a killer mid/side setup.

I posted a thread about that custom mic setup about a zillion years ago, but if anyone wants to know more, I'll dig it up and post a link.
 
I record using a very similar approach in terms of positioning. I use AKG 535EB's on a spruce top Takamine into an API 3124. A touch of compression and the acoustic stands up nicely in our blend of country/rock music.

Thanks for the detailed post!

You're welcome for the detailed post.
 
Really great post! I love the step by step recordings so we can hear exactly what you are explaining. It gives the whole thing mass. Great littel tune by the way! Sounds really nice! I'm definitely going to try this out myself :)
 
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