Mic positioning for small body acoustic guitar

calimoose

calimoose

New member
Taking off the admin hat for a sec to get some uncensored advice.

I'd like to record my Taylor GS Mini - mahogany, I have one condenser (CAD M179) at my disposal. So far, I've tried different mic positioning, starting at aiming towards the 12th fret, and noticed the sound is much thinner, with more emphasis on highs and almost nonexistent lows, compared to another full bodied acoustic that I've recorded. Lows, from what I've read, are typically less prominent in a small body acoustic (in this case, 7/8) than your typical acoustic, so some of these results are to be expected.

But just to experiment, I was able to get more pronounced lows without being too boomy by positioning closer and closer to the soundhole. But given my lack of acoustic guitar recording experience, I don't really trust my ears. It made me wonder if mic pos best practices are different according to the scale of the acoustic, and if there's a whole different set of guidelines to follow...

I'm gonna do more experimenting later today, but I'm wondering if anyone here has had experience/success recording a smaller body i.e. 7/8 acoustic. Again, I plan on doing more experimenting, but if those of you with similar experience can help me zero in on an optimal solution more quickly, then I'm all ears!

P.S. I have a small body guitar for various reasons, so please don't waste your time telling me to get a REAL acoustic :)
 
Trust your ears. In some respects, smaller bodied acoustics can be easier to record because of the lack of boominess. My main recording guitar is a fantastic dreadnought Maton that sounds awesome in a room on its own but when recording it I twin mic it with one about the neck body join pointing slightly up the neck and another up about the 6th fret and I'm STILL HPFing the low end out.

My starting point for for parlour size guitar or something like yours with only one mic would be about 12th fret but pointed towards the sound hole a bit. Seems to me you're on the right track. Post a clip, one of our team of experts will reply to your query shortly.;)

Oh, and we know you have a small bodied guitar because you're actually only 3 feet tall, but it doesn't matter to us, we like you anyway. :laughings:
 
Armistice said:
Oh, and we know you have a small bodied guitar because you're actually only 3 feet tall, but it doesn't matter to us, we like you anyway. :laughings:
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Haha close! ....it's my lady that's small, 5 ft tall with small fingers, the gs mini was the best blend of 'small enough to teach her' with as little tonal sacrifice as possible for my taste :)
 
Your ears and Armistice are correct. With a single mic on a guitar, the closer you go to the sound hole, the more bass you'll get. The trick is to find the spot that gives you the balance you like between detail in the highs and the bass you need. One potential fault to listen for though is that, if you get TOO close to the sound hole, your bass will go "boomy" rather than distinct. The other caveat, as always, is that you have to be able to trust your monitoring.

Personally, next payday I'd go out and buy a second mic and place one at the fret end (exact position to be determined by your ears) and the other halfway between the bridge and the sound hole. This configuration gives the best of both worlds.
 
I have a small body Gibson B25 and I think they record much better that the large body because of controlling the bass. To me they have a more balanced sound. As you've stated, the 12th fret does have a thinner sound, that is why most do the 12th and a second around the bridge.

For single mic, you could try 12th and point it towards the sound hole, then move towards the bridge until you get the sound you are looking for. Most of my acoustic recording is not having the guitar front and center, but to fill out the mid and high areas. I think it is a matter of what role the instrument is going to play in the mix as well. If you add bass to the mix, you might be better off with the thin sound and give the bass the bottom area.
 
Bobbsy said:
One potential fault to listen for though is that, if you get TOO close to the sound hole, your bass will go "boomy" rather than distinct. The other caveat, as always, is that you have to be able to trust your monitoring.

Personally, next payday I'd go out and buy a second mic and place one at the fret end (exact position to be determined by your ears) and the other halfway between the bridge and the sound hole. This configuration gives the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...

I know that naturally there will be more bass as you approach the sound hole. The place where I think my experience is lacking is being able to decide what's too boomy vs nice and distinct.

Regarding getting a second mic for acoustic work, it's definitely something to consider but honestly I rarely record acoustic guitar parts, so for now I may just have to borrow one from a friend. For vocals, I'm in love with my sm7b :)

In any case, thanks for the advice. I'll do some more tinkering and, if I get around to it, post some clips of a few different configurations

DM60 said:
I have a small body Gibson B25 and I think they record much better that the large body because of controlling the bass. To me they have a more balanced sound. As you've stated, the 12th fret does have a thinner sound, that is why most do the 12th and a second around the bridge.

For single mic, you could try 12th and point it towards the sound hole, then move towards the bridge until you get the sound you are looking for. Most of my acoustic recording is not having the guitar front and center, but to fill out the mid and high areas. I think it is a matter of what role the instrument is going to play in the mix as well. If you add bass to the mix, you might be better off with the thin sound and give the bass the bottom area.
Click to expand...

Great advice, glad to see a small body is working out for you!

Currently, I want to record a specific song where the acoustic riff is the backbone of the song and might be highlighted front n center, but I'm not opposed to adding bass, drums etc. In my head, I already have some little melodic riffs to add with an electric (tremolo, spring...maybe some other stuff with phaser on it). But with my ideas, I rarely know how I want the whole thing will sound when I start. I usually start with a main idea then let kinda develop by adding and removing things as I go :)

In any case, I'll definitely try a few different things: off axis towards the sound hole from different distances, 12th fret aimed towards the sound hole, and maybe a few different configurations between the 12th and sound hole to see if my ears pick up on a sweet spot

Thanks again guys
 
Taylors tend to be 'chimey' anyway, so moving the mic a little towards the soundhole makes sense for a small-bodied Taylor. With my dreadnaught Taylor, I find the recorded sound fairly balanced using the 12th-fret method.

Calli - get a 2nd mic (any mic!) and try it on the lower bout, or aimed towards the bridge.
 
My starting point is 1 foot (300mm) away around the 12th fret and pointing towards the sound hole.

Alan.
 
As to what's right for the song - if you're not sure, err on the side of having too much bass, is my advice. It's relatively easy to EQ it out, but putting it back in won't be so simple.
 
I'd be tempted to try the CAD in your usual position about where the neck meets the body, and put the SM7b behind the bridge, picking up the soundboard resonance. Use the CAD track for detail/clarity, and blend in the SM7b track to add body/bass. It'll take some work to get the phase sounding right, but could end up giving you a nice full-bodied sound with a little experimentation.
 
Ya I think that's a good method, but I have no shame in admitting that

1) I don't know enough about how to successfully tackle the likely phase issues that'll come with using 2 mics
and 2) (and perhaps most importantly), it's come to my attention that in the interior of the guitar theres a long crack....I have no idea how, I've taken care of it, use a humidifier and everything, but I wonder if this affects the sound, as the tone of the guitar is not as good IMO as it was the first month I got it....

I'm gonna be out of town this weekend but at some point hopefully I can get to the bottom of these issues.

The advice is much appreciated from everyone
 
The tone will change depending on much moisture is in the wood. Possibly you like the sound when its drier. When was the last time you changed strings?
 
I have a small humidifier that I use, which is supposed to regulate humidity in both dry and excessively humid places (point being, in theory it shouldn't cause any issues related to dry or wet places)

The strings are relatively new. I bought the guitar new when Guitar Center had a 20% sale back in December and I was in the states for xmas. They're solid strings, so I don't think that should be the issue. I want to call Taylor but they're lines aren't open until about 7pm my time, at which point it usually slips my mind :/
 
Are your strings the same brand/type as when new (I think it comes with Elixer phosphor bronze lights - or maybe custom lights)?
 
My starting point is to put my head in front of the guitar and move around until I hear something I think will work, then select an appropriate mic, then put headphones on and place the mic where my ears suggested and fine tune the position until I'm happy. If you're the one playing and you only have one mic at your disposal you can go straight to the last step.
 
My concern is you say the sound is not the same as it was. I hated the Elixers that came on my Taylor and switched to Martin Lifespan 80/20, which I had been using on my other acoustics. I tried the Elixer 80/20, and some D'Addario coated strings, but have gone back to the Martins.
 
Ya I'm worried something might have happened while traveling back to Paris, even though the guitar was in it's soft case and with me at all times and never dropped. Who knows, with cabin pressure and changes in humidity.

It still sounds great, but sometimes there's just this metallic chimey ring when strumming the higher notes. More so than is the norm with Taylors...

I already got a backup set of phosphor bronzes beforehand, but maybe I'll give the Martin Lifespans a try if I think the issue is string-related, thanks
 
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