Recording acoustic guitar sounds thin

KINFOLK

KINFOLK

New member
Hi all - I bought a pair of AT4041 SP studio mic's (pencil mics or very short shot gun style) and I'm not pleased with the sound quality, The playback sound is thin with no life to it. I've tried every mic placement possible, I record straight in with two mics to get an over all natural sound of the guitar, Previously I was using a pair of AT4040 with good results, which I prefer for voice - I went to the 4041 thinking to get a microphone better suited for guitar, I often see this type of microphone used in live performances, could I be missing something here? Is it just me or is the AT4041 microphone better suited for live gigs and not for recording? Is what I'm hearing the differences between a large diaphragm mic and a small one?

Thanks
 
You shouldn't have any issues getting a good acoustic guitar sound with those. I use a pair of akg 451s sdc's are a standard for acoustic.
Try using 1 to start with and move it around until you find the sweet spot (easier if someone else is strumming)
Post up a sample of what your hearing there are loads of people on here to point you in the right direction.
 
I'm with Bruiser1964. I've never tried the AT4041 but SDCs are my "go to" mics for acoustic guitar--either the AKG451 already mentioned or the slightly newer AKG391 "Blueline".

The critical thing is indeed positioning. I'm always recording somebody else so it's a lot easier to move mics around while they're playing. At the risk of giving the same advice: start with one mic pointed at the 12th fret and about a foot away with the second mic aimed between the bridge and sound hole, also about a foot away. After that, small movements until you like the sound. Getting slightly closer to the sound hole tends to "thicken" the sound but to much and it starts to sound boomy.
 
To add to everyone's comments, the body is going to come from the sound hole, getting that right is where you are going to get your bottom. I would even suggest, starting with the sound hole, to focus on the balance of the sound at the bottom, once you have that, then add the 12th fret mic to get the top end.

When working with the bridge area, two things that will assist, area and then distance. The closer you are the more bottom you will get. If it is a big body guitar, you will most likely have to move the mic away further away than the 12th fret area. Once you get the bridge are, you may have to roll of some at the bottom, but if you are careful, you might not have to roll anything off.

One thing I have noticed when I record AG, when I start to add other instruments, the AG creates some mud. So you might have to cut some 300-400 are somewhere.

We all seem to agree, you have the right mics, just need to play with them a bit.
 
Thanks for getting back to me, I think the best thing to do is what bruiser 1964 suggested - post some sounds with mic position description, Hopefully I can get some samples uploaded by the weekend.

Thanks
 
I have read "To record a great acoustic guitar sound, start with a great acoustic guitar" !

Can you get an objective opinion of the ACTUAL guitar sound in the room?

Dave.
 
Try with 1 mic, there could be a phasing issue, when you have a good sound with the one mic, then experiment with 2. I have recorded plenty of great acoustics with 1 mic.

Oh and the room has a lot to do with the sound.

Alan.
 
Yeah, I'd record the guitar mono/just one mic, especially if you will be using it with vocals. You can always double the track in your DAW.
 
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