Newbie help with recording singer+songwriter

[galas]

Hi all, this is my first post here so bear with my if some of my questions are dumb. I'm going to be recording a female singer+songwriter+acoustic guitarist in a couple of weeks and I need some help deciding which mic to use. My school has an Equipment Room where I can take out a variety of microphones, but I dont have much experience with most of them so I wanted to hear some of your opinions. I was thinking of using two mic's - one for the vocals and one for the guitar, but I have heard some people suggest using one mic. Anyway, here is the list of mic's at my disposal:

AKG C414B/ULS
AKG C 460 B
Audio-Technica AT815B
Audio-Technica AT822
Audio-Technica AT825
Audio-Technica AT3035
Earthworks SR-77
Sennheiser MD-421
Shure SM57
Shure SM58

Which would be good for the female vocals and which would be good for acoustic guitar?

The ER (Equipment Room) doesn't have much of a preamp selection, so I'm going to use the preamps in a Mackie 1202 VLZ (PRO I think) because I've heard those are decent. I have a Powerbook G4 but I don't have a good quality audio interface...so unless I can find one I'll probably recording the mix to a Tascam DA-P1 PortaDAT. and then bring it into software through the school's G4 PowerMac with MBox.

As for the recording space, my school's radio station has a room that is acoustically treated and I think I should be able to get access to it to record in.

Another question I have...if I can find a good quality audio interface with more channels, I'd like to record the direct line out from the acoustic guitar...in which case, would I need to use a D.I.? or are those only for electric guitars?

Thanks to everybody for your input...I really appreciate any advice you can give me
:-)

[galas]

bump...can anyone help me choose?

[GABritton]

You have a good selection of mic's to use...

I'd use a good combination of about 4-5. This will give you the most flexibility when it comes to mixing.

The AT3035 is the mic for vocals. If you have a nice preamp you have access to, by all means snag it!!

Your acoustic should defenitely be miced, and not plugged direct. The AKG414 pointed along the fretboard slighty ahead of the soundhole. Use the AKG460 behind the soundhole a little. Move around to season your own taste. get a good blend of the two. Hell you might even want to use the Sennheiser.

I would also use the AKD825 for a room mic about 4-5 feet high and about 4-5 away from the musicians.

The one thing to caution on is phase problems. You'll notice it if you have a problem.....certain frequencies will almost completely drop out and the sound will be very hollow.

Be thankful you have a good mic selsection. This seems like a lot, but use a good combination of mics and placements, you'll get a great sound.

Hope this helps!!

[galas]

thanks! i appreciate your advice...i'll probably get out as much stuff as i can to try out different combinations and see which sounds best

[Cosmic]

Hi,

If the acoustic has a line out plug, then it is electric (accoustic/electric). Use a direct box if possible to run it into the recorder; it balances the signal from the guitar and helps reduce interference.

Good luck, and watch out for sibilants in her singing; they are difficult to get rid of after the fact.

CC.