Micing Acoustic Guitars

[BluesMojo]

Hi everybody, I'm pretty new around here. I was wondering if you guys could give me any advice (or just point me to relevant threads/webpages, etc) about micing acoustic guitars.

I have a Galveston metal-bodied dobro guitar, which I usually play slide and leads on, and an Epiphone 12-string that sounds pretty good. My general recording procedure involves sitting down with the mic about a foot from the 12-string (I use a little Wal-Mart $15 computer mic) and just playing, which doesn't produce beautiful results. I'd love to be able to get different kinds of sounds (Most of my stuff is folk, country, or blues), but I don't know anything about this sort of thing.

Any advice?

-Kyle

[tdukex]

If you use the "search" function you'll find a lot of info about this. There are many methods, depending on the mics, guitar, room, style of music, and the sound you want.

One of the best methods is to just get a decent condenser mic, stick it in front of the guitar, put the headphones on, and just move the mic around until you get the sound you want. This method also builds your experience with mic placement and a particular mic's interaction with the instrument's dynamics.

After all the articles and threads I've read, I still almost always rely on just experimenting until I get it right.

[Evildick]

For starters, you'll most likely never achieve a good sound with a $15 dollar Wal-Mart mic. That's why it only costs $15 dollars. For instant results, you could get an M-Audio buddy and a Shure SM-57. This is relatively cheap, and will get you a better sound. Most of all, if you decide to upgrade later, both will be able to live up to the task of decent homereccing. The SM-57 is a diaphragm mic that doesn't require phantom power (something you will learn more about as you read the board), and it's durable.

Welcome to the board.

Dick

[Gidge]

http://www.humbuckermusic.com/acguitrectec.html