Recording Acoustic guitar

M

mattfunkel

New member
I've been trying to find the best way to record my band. We use primarily two guitars with drum, bass, and synth. I feel like I've tried every technique but I can't even get a descent sound out of the guitar, let alone mixing it with a kit. I tried just a direct plug in through a di-box, micing the hole, combining mic and direct (left/right or two seperate tracks) and I've tried two mics at a time. They all suck. I have a Taylor Thats sounds great through my P.A., so I know it isn't that. It may be my Di-Box, all I have is a $40 Behringer. I'm not really sure, could some one point in a better direction.

Thanks,
Matt
 
Mic'ing an acoustic can be tricky. A lot of times it depends on not only the mic placement, but which mic you are using. So which mics are you using?


A common mic placement is to have the mic height even with the soundhole, pointed at the 12th fret and about a foot away from the guitar (this distance can be adjusted depending on how much of the room you are recording in you want in the track). Don't get too close because you will get a boomy proximity effect. Too far away will introduce a whole other batch of problems.

Stay away from DI'ing an acoustic. You will most likely only get the sound of the strings, and not the body of the guitar on the track, and you will lose most of the sound that makes acoustic, well, acoustic.

Another technique is the "over the shoulder" technique, described HERE along with a couple other techniques.
 
Thanks for that link. I put a good set of headphones on and really listened to the stereo samples.
I liked the 12th fret and Right Ear followed by the Spaced Pair. I did not care for the last one too much. I am sure it must have it's place for the right guitar and mics.
 
Buy a nice ribbon mic and sit it about 3 feet back in a nice room. You shouldn't need to do too much if you place it right.

Cheers

Peter:)
 
I've gotten consistently good sounds miking the part of the body next to where it connects to the neck. The center of that part of the guitar has the most "tone", IMO. Put the mic a foot or two back and you should be golden. YMMV
 
tunetown said:
Buy a nice ribbon mic and sit it about 3 feet back in a nice room. You shouldn't need to do too much if you place it right.

Cheers

Peter:)
Click to expand...


I'll second that, I play acoustic blues, (a lot of fingerpicking, slide etc) on both acoustic and steel bodied resonators. I never really like my souond until I bought a matched pair of Fathead II ribbon mics...............now, I am a happy camper.
 
Sonixx said:
I wish peeps advising would have samples of their work...
Click to expand...
There may be some in my signature. I can't access the site on a gov't pc for some odd reason (I usually can), so I don't remember what is on there.
 
XLR said:
Search
Type in "acoustic guitar". Without the quotation marks.
Click to expand...

Zzzzzzzzzing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway....to help with your acoustic sound, once tracked try rolling off the lows around 100hz ish...acoustics can be really annoyingly boomy....and also roll off the highs...sometimes my acoustic can sound like an aluminum can with strings.
 
Harveys Microphone Thread. Sticky in the microphone forum.
http://www.itrstudio.com/MIC_CHAT.PDF

Page 17 of the PDF has a well written article on miking acoustic guitar. But if you're willing to learn a lot more, read the whole dang thing and then you'll have a clue of what youre really doing. Harvey's awesome! :)
 
Getting a good acoustic sound is a balancing act, and you are mostly working without a net. Mic choice and placement are the critical parts but there are a few other things which have more effect than many people think. The room you record in, for instance. Carpet or hard floor makes a difference. Thick or thin pick, thin tends to have more string slap. How hard or softly you play. Yep, there is more to it than just sticking a mic in front of the guitar and hitting record.
 
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