Recording Difficulty

[packratlouie]

This is my setup

Condenser (or sm57) > Tube Pre > Compressor > Computer (cool edit)

First off, I am quite new to any home recording, but I still understand the basic uses for each of the knobs on compressor. Their application in conjunction with mic'ing distances and such REALLY confuse me still. I am having a hard time getting a NATURAL sounding acoustic guitar recorded on my computer. I am getting a very boomy sound no matter where I place either of my micrphones. It seems the only alternative is to place them over a foot away from the guitar, which leaves the whole "spacial effect" which I am not looking for.

There is no specific question as to how to solve my problem, but I am looking for any mic'ing suggestions or any tricks that will help me discover what this equipment can do. I do not know what to begin to change to start solving problems. I have the initiative to learn more but the complexity grows at an enormous rate when i begin to add more things to the line such as a compressor. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks

[grinder]

Micing near the bridge can help reduce low end. Roll off the low end with eq, if that doesn't fix it.

[Wireneck]

Try your condenser mic at the 12th fret of your acoustic about 6 inches away. I almost never compress going in unless I have to or it is to limit something. I would take the compressor out of the chain and get the sound how you want it before you start fooling with the comp. Compressors can do alot of weird things if you aren't sure what you are doing. Also try the low cut that grinder suggested maybe below 75hz? This should get you at least a listenable non boomy sound.

[jono10]

we were getting a boomy sound and fiddled with the mic psitions for ages, then we moved the guitarist from a carpeted area of the live room, to bare wooden floored area and the difference was unbelievable, the hard floor surface really made a difference. it sort of opened the sound up. hard to describe. it could have been that the original spot was just a wierd spot anyway, being in the middle of a rectangular live room, but it worked for us. we mic'ed at the centre of the sound hole on the guitar BTW, and though we got some hand noises, we left them, and gated them out after, as it was a quite heavy strummed part.

i also took quite a bit of bottom eq off in the mix but that was more for the effect we wanted rather than there being too much in the first place. hope this helps.

[Peter Lancaster]

Remove the compressor from the recording chain and compress when you mix.

I record acoustic guitar often using an AKG C4000B positioned roughly about 30-40cm from where the neck joins the body. Be aware that the further away the mic is from the sound source the more of the room you hear. You may need to alter the acoustics of the room you are recording in to get a good sound. I use duvets to do this. With acoustic instruments you can't get a very natural sound by close mic'ing.

Read this Sound On Sound article about recording acoustic guitars. You may find it very useful.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Aug0...a458bfa3bed60f

I am not aware of any particular relationship between mic placement and compression settings.

These Sound On Sound articles may help in your use of compression.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1996...a458bfa3bed60f

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec0...a458bfa3bed60f

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan0...a458bfa3bed60f

Pete.

[NYMorningstar]

A nice little trick is to place your condenser mic at the 12th fret of your acoustic about 6 inches away pointing at the hole and place the other mic from behind you over your shoulder pointing down towards the bridge. This gives you more of a representation of the sound the guitarists hear while playing. I would not use compression and eq while recording and you definitely need to look at the room acoustics.

[Massive Master]

This is always worth a shot depending on the room...

Put the (condenser) mic at the player's head level and in front of the guitar only about 6" or so and in line with the 5th or 7th fret. You want to point the mic down at a steep angle (think the bottom half of a "7") and tilt toward the 12th fret.

Sound should mimic what the player is hearing with a little more "air" and most room noise will be off-axis enough to minimize it (although carpet is very important on this one).

John Scrip - www.massivemastering.com

[dirtythermos]

Make the mic as hot as possible.. really crank the gain. Not to overdrive it, but to really use the headroom in your preamp. I had a similar problem, where my guitar was sounding weak and boomy. The level was fine, plenty hot going into the recorder, but the sound wasn't there. Turns out it just needed more gain.

New strings help too.