Recording Acoustic Guitar, have some questions

G

GuitarzMyThing

New member
Hey folks!

My buddy and I found out today that a music college near us is hosting this contest. The winner gets the opportunity to record a 3 song EP album in a professional studio, professionally mixed and all but in order to submit an application he needs a few original songs recorded and done (even if they are demos) and since the contest deadline is in just under a week he doesn't have time to go into a real studio and get it recorded, mixed and possibility mastered so he asked me if I could do a few quick recordings of his songs. I said totally!

The thing is; i've recorded a lot of instruments over the years but ironically i've never had the opportunity to record acoustic guitar. His songs usually only consist of him singing with an acoustic.

My questions are what are some good mics to use with acoustic? I know Neumann U87's are always a great choice but you always want an amazing mic pre for it to sound the best. I can always go rent something but I just want to know for future reference. Also what is a good mic pattern for recording acoustic guitar? (explain in detail please)

If you could answer those questions I would be grateful!

Thanks!!
 
According to the statistics at the bottom of the forum main menu there are 151,083 members of HR. This means there will be 151,083 different opinions on how to record acoustic guitar.

My personal preferences are as follows:

I use cardioid small diaphragm condenser mics because I like the crispness and clarity of the sound. My favourites are the old version of the AKG C451EB with the AKG391 a very close second. In the more economy range, sE1A mics are darn good and extremely good value for the money.

I always record in stereo with quite close miking...under a foot from the strings. One mic goes roughly above the 12th fret and the other about halfway between the sound hole and the bridge. Both mics would be slightly above string level and angled slightly down. As much as possible, I spend a lot of time tweaking this position an inch or two at a time because every guitar and player are different.

I do the minimum processing possible in the mix--perhaps compression used sparingly if the dynamic range is wide and EQ if I think it necessary. Guitar usually benefits from a bit of reverb but don't get too heavy. Finally, depending what I'm doing with it, some artificial widening of the stereo spread can work nicely.

OR...

If I have a spot with a great acoustic (and that can be anything from a cathedral to a fire escape stair case that happens to work, I'll back the mics off a bit and use the natural reverb.
 
Thank you very much for your reply! It actually helped a lot!

I did a little bit of research myself, this website might interest you. It simply explains different micing configurations for acoustic guitar and even has samples of what that micing pattern sounds like. Check it out! Cakewalk.com/Support/kb/reader.aspx/2007013311

I will head down to a music store tomorrow, rent a few small diaphragm mics and test them out myself before I record my friend.


Thanks again!

PS. My friend owns a Taylor 414CE (Since you said "If I have a spot with a great acoustic." I just wanted to point out that yeah... he has an amazing sounding acoustic.)
 
GuitarzMyThing said:
PS. My friend owns a Taylor 414CE (Since you said "If I have a spot with a great acoustic." I just wanted to point out that yeah... he has an amazing sounding acoustic.)
Click to expand...

Sorry if I wasn't clear...when I said "a spot with a great acoustic" I meant a room with a really good set of acoustics in terms of natural reverb, lack of standing waves, that kind of thing, not a great acoustic guitar! :)

Anyhow, have fun!
 
Bobbsy said:
Sorry if I wasn't clear...when I said "a spot with a great acoustic" I meant a room with a really good set of acoustics in terms of natural reverb, lack of standing waves, that kind of thing, not a great acoustic guitar !
Click to expand...
Ha ha, I thought you meant a spot mic on a great sounding acoustic guitar !
Now I feel like a Rube zube !!
 
GuitarzMyThing said:
Thank you very much for your reply! It actually helped a lot!

I did a little bit of research myself, this website might interest you. It simply explains different micing configurations for acoustic guitar and even has samples of what that micing pattern sounds like. Check it out! Cakewalk.com/Support/kb/reader.aspx/2007013311

I will head down to a music store tomorrow, rent a few small diaphragm mics and test them out myself before I record my friend.


Thanks again!

PS. My friend owns a Taylor 414CE (Since you said "If I have a spot with a great acoustic." I just wanted to point out that yeah... he has an amazing sounding acoustic.)
Click to expand...


Read this thread here at this forum, too!
 
GuitarzMyThing said:
Hey folks!

My buddy and I found out today that a music college near us is hosting this contest. The winner gets the opportunity to record a 3 song EP album in a professional studio, professionally mixed and all but in order to submit an application he needs a few original songs recorded and done (even if they are demos) and since the contest deadline is in just under a week he doesn't have time to go into a real studio and get it recorded, mixed and possibility mastered so he asked me if I could do a few quick recordings of his songs. I said totally!

The thing is; i've recorded a lot of instruments over the years but ironically i've never had the opportunity to record acoustic guitar. His songs usually only consist of him singing with an acoustic.

My questions are what are some good mics to use with acoustic? I know Neumann U87's are always a great choice but you always want an amazing mic pre for it to sound the best. I can always go rent something but I just want to know for future reference. Also what is a good mic pattern for recording acoustic guitar? (explain in detail please)

If you could answer those questions I would be grateful!

Thanks!!
Click to expand...

If the contest is based on song rather than production why worry about not having time to go to a studio to record something when the prize is getting to go to a studio to record something? If "demo" quality is good enough, stick a mic in front of the guitar and hit "record".
 
uyd_seatbelts said:
Whenever I record acoustic songs, I have to run the final product through a audio cleaning app. It works wonders...definitely recommend that, it's an easy fix without having to spend a ton of money on a new mic (which can be seriously expensive!)

Best of luck with the contest!
Click to expand...

Then you need to look at WHY you have to clean up the audio each time! Get the tracking right to start with means less work during mixdown.
 
+1 for mjbphotos

Cleaning/noise reduction should NEVER be part of the normal work flow. It's a remedial tool for emergencies only and, if you have a problem requiring its use it should become a priority to work out why that's the case and fix the problem at source.
 
Everybody will be different as stated above. I like large Diaphram condensers. Having said that a C451 is great. As well as an AT4041. My favorite though is an AKG 414 in figure 8 in a good room. But the style of music and acoustic guitars role in the mix may change that. I usually pair that with another LDC somewhere around the guitar. It depends.
 
Bobbsy said:
According to the statistics at the bottom of the forum main menu there are 151,083 members of HR. This means there will be 151,083 different opinions on how to record acoustic guitar.
Click to expand...

I agree with this.

Bobbsy said:
I use cardioid small diaphragm condenser mics because I like the crispness and clarity of the sound. My favourites are the old version of the AKG C451EB with the AKG391 a very close second. In the more economy range, sE1A mics are darn good and extremely good value for the money.

I always record in stereo with quite close miking...under a foot from the strings. One mic goes roughly above the 12th fret and the other about halfway between the sound hole and the bridge. Both mics would be slightly above string level and angled slightly down. As much as possible, I spend a lot of time tweaking this position an inch or two at a time because every guitar and player are different.

I do the minimum processing possible in the mix--perhaps compression used sparingly if the dynamic range is wide and EQ if I think it necessary. Guitar usually benefits from a bit of reverb but don't get too heavy. Finally, depending what I'm doing with it, some artificial widening of the stereo spread can work nicely.
Click to expand...

But I also pretty much do this. :facepalm:
Switch Akgs for sm81s cos that's what I happen to have. ;)
 
Once you have a few microphones, you start to get very good at using your ears to give you the clue as to which of your mics will work best! I think I have my own set of 'rules' that work for me. Acoustic guitars all sound so different - and they are played differently too - fingers, picks and even those nasty steel guitar type things - so the guitar can sound mellow right through to horribly bright. Match the wrong mic to the wrong guitar and it will be dreadful! Ears are the critical thing.
 
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