Acoustic Guitar Stand

wes480

New member
I am having a real problem miking my acoustic guitar...

In terms of getting the bass to sound good, and balanced...

I am going for a good crisp neutral sound...like Ani Difranco

What I am looking for is a stand (i've seen them on stage) for the acoustic guitar, so that it can stay in the same position...and i can move all the mics around and stuff. that way I can get the mics/guitar position exactly the same...without any fluctuation...

that's the only way i can think of to do it...then I can work with proximity effect more and stuff....and get the balanced sound I am going for.

Also any other pointers on recording acoustic...my room isn't very great...do you guys prefer an XY stereo combination....like 2 1/2 feet back from the instrument....or, do the old bridge pointing up/neck angeled into sound hole? (anyone have some good pictures of that technique...i think my placement is just bad)

but, mainly info on that stand. thanks!
 
The stand will probably creak, thus, creating even more problems for you!

Maybe it's the guitar itself, not the mic'ing technique.

I have an old Yamaha acoustic that sounds phenomenal when you hear it "live", but sometimes it doesn't record as well as my brand-new Epiphone EJ-200 Jumbo on certain songs.
I own multiple acoustic guitars because I need "choices" when it comes to recording acoustic-based songs.
My Yamaha is deep, rich and smooth.
The Epiphone is crisp and sweet.

What kind of guitar are you trying to record?

Also, you should try Harvey's suggestion of using the "over-the-shoulder" technique for mic'ing your guitar.

I use a small-condenser as my "OTS" mic and point it toward the bottom-half of the guitar. Then, I use a large-diapraghm mic in front of the guitar (half-way between the soundhole and 12th fret) and place it about 12 to 16 inches away.
I use 2 RODE mics... the NT-3 and the NTK, respectively.

These are just some basic ideas that work for me.

Of course, YMMV. ;)
 
yeah I am using Rode NT3s, actually..

and the guitar is a Taylor K14c

what I am getting doesn't sond bad....just...i either have good bass...or...good highs....still working on it..hehe

as far as stand creaking..hrmm...i dunno...

i can visualize it working in my head...i'm gonna look into it tomorrow, post results here :)
 
I am having this same issue...

Here's what I have...

Guitar: Taylor 414CE
Mic: SM58
Mixer: Behringer 602A
Sound Card: Delta 44

What I do is use the 58 to mic the sound hole (pointed directly at it from the top left.) and then run the pezio pick-up from the guitar into the mixer. I then blend the pezio channel and the mic'ed channel till I get a decent sound.

But it still sounds like my guitar is in another room... it's not as "up-front" as I'd like it to be.

Now,.. admittedly,.. my gear sucks.. :p I know the pre's in the Behringer suck beans... and I know I should be using a condensor instead of the 58... but is there anything I can do, other than buy new gear, that would improve the sound...?

WATYF
 
WATYF said:
I am having this same issue...

Here's what I have...

Guitar: Taylor 414CE
Mic: SM58
Mixer: Behringer 602A
Sound Card: Delta 44

What I do is use the 58 to mic the sound hole (pointed directly at it from the top left.) and then run the pezio pick-up from the guitar into the mixer. I then blend the pezio channel and the mic'ed channel till I get a decent sound.

But it still sounds like my guitar is in another room... it's not as "up-front" as I'd like it to be.

Now,.. admittedly,.. my gear sucks.. :p I know the pre's in the Behringer suck beans... and I know I should be using a condensor instead of the 58... but is there anything I can do, other than buy new gear, that would improve the sound...?

WATYF

With a Marshall MXL 603s ($79)--near the 7th or 9th fret--and a Behringer ECM8000 ($39)--near the bout or over the right shoulder--I get excellent stereo results. Good gear doesn't have to be expensive. Oh yeah, I run them through a behringer mixer. The pres may not be great, but I can get a good sound out of them.
 
WATYF -

Record the SM-58 into one channel, and the piezzo pickup to another, then, using your multi-track software, pan one track about 3 o'clock and the other one to about 9. This should give you a nice stereo sounding guitar. I had decent results with a Shure dynamic and a god-awfull pickup that I had for my accoustic. A condenser would make a world-a-difference though.

Oren
 
WATYF said:
I am having this same issue...

Here's what I have...

Guitar: Taylor 414CE
Mic: SM58
Mixer: Behringer 602A
Sound Card: Delta 44

What I do is use the 58 to mic the sound hole (pointed directly at it from the top left.) and then run the pezio pick-up from the guitar into the mixer. I then blend the pezio channel and the mic'ed channel till I get a decent sound.

But it still sounds like my guitar is in another room... it's not as "up-front" as I'd like it to be.

Now,.. admittedly,.. my gear sucks.. :p I know the pre's in the Behringer suck beans... and I know I should be using a condensor instead of the 58... but is there anything I can do, other than buy new gear, that would improve the sound...?

WATYF

Aiming the mic at the sound hole is going to sound boomy. Works for live, but not recording. Aim where the neck and body join from about 1 to 2 ft. away. Use EQ to get the best from either mic and piezo and blend to taste. I prefer the lows from piezo and the mids and highs from my mic.
 
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