something from nothing

amonte

amonte

New member
I'm trying to get a "decent" acoustic guitar sound from a very limited amount of equipment. Here's what I've got:

1 ART Tube MP Preamp
2 SM 58's
1 Senheiser E335S
1 AKG D3400
1 Lavaleir Microphone (clip on)
1 cheap piezo acoustic guitar pickup

Out of what's here, what's the best way to get a decent tone? And where should the mic be placed - at the brige, at the neck, at the soundhole, etc. Thanks for the help...
 
Let your ears be the judge. Try several combinations... Example. SM58 close to strings at 12th fret, and the AKG about 10 feet away. Mix both signals until you like the balance. Just experiment.

Have fun;

Dom Franco
 
Thanks Don, I'll give it a shot, but I can't use both together because I don't have a mixer (yet) and I've only got the one preamp. I do have an old Teac 4-Track that I might be able to use - I can mix the to signals together, pan them hard to each channel, send the signal through the preamp from the line out on the 4-Track and then into a stereo split on the PC, recording one to the left side and one to the right. I don't know if this is really possible, but I guess it's worth a shot. Maybe I can post some samples up here and get some comments.

Any ideas on good rule of thumb eq-ing tips for Acoustic Guitar? Basically, I am looking for a way to get that crisp "sparkle" that you hear on so many recordings without losing the nice full tones of the acoustic - of course this might not be possible without a good condenser.
 
The guitar itself is an important factor.
Use new strings! and use the best guitar you can beg, borrow or buy.

I also love the sound of a close miked and slightly "compressed" accoustic guitar.

(Sometimes that sparkle that you hear is really a doubled guitar, and sometimes it's a "High String Guitar" )

-A high string guitar has the normal 4th 5th and 6th strings replaced with lighter gauge strings tuned an octave above the original pitch...like a 12 string!-

Lastly;
You are really going to need a mixer sooner or later, to be able to record anything other than "plain vanilla" mono tracks.

Sincerely;

Dom Franco
 
If there are to many low freq, try moving the mic up the neck away from the sound hole, or moving mic 1 foot back or roll off some low freq, Like below 150 Hz.

Also try to boost ar 10-12kHz.

Try to also use ( if you are ) a thin pick. it will help make it clearer.
 
I don't know too much about mic placement, but one thing to make sure off: don't point the mike directly at the sound hole. The distinct sound of the guitar comes from the sound resonating in the hole of course, but also directly from the strings, and especially from the sound board into the surrounding area. The sound hole, recorded alone, likely overload the sound with low end, boomy sound.

On a hunch, I'd recommend pointing a mic at a point between the sound hole and the 12th fret or so, but I"m not too experienced here! :)

William Underwood
 
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