Acoustic Guitar Sounds OVerly Compressed?

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I'm recording a 6-string Alvarez Yairi (predecessor to the WY-1) and it sounds WAAAAY too compressed.

I think it's got a cedar top, maybe pine though, and HPL back and sides of Rosewood ... although I can't tell if it's HPL. Has a real smooth satin finish.

Anyway ... it has an under saddle FRAP/piezo pick up situation and I'm recording into a Presonus Firestudio Project.

Any idea? Is it the HPL? The pickup? The fact that the guitar needs a neck reset?
 
With a nice guitar like that, I'd do everything I could to mic the guitar up instead of using the on-board pickup. Those Yiari's have a nice tone to them, and it simply doesn't come through on the piezo pickup. The piezo pickups are kind of a necessary evil for stage performance, but for recording, they're practically useless. Although some people like mixing the piezo pickup with the mic'd signal. I stay away from it myself.

Stick a mic in front of the spot where the neck meets the body, adjust the distance to taste, and you'll capture much more of the guitar's actual personality instead of the generic quack of the piezo pickup.
 
I think that the most common choice would be a small diaphragm condensor like your NT5, but I've also had good results from a large diaphragm condensor (well, mid-size diaphragm anyways) and even an SM57 sounds better than the piezo pickup to me.

I use pretty cheap gear, and I still love the way my acoustic guitar records with a mic. Any of your mics are nicer than any that I've used myself, so I have a feeling that no matter which you choose, you can get good results after some experimenting.

Normally I use a MXL 993, which is a pencil-style SDC, similar to your NT5. Like I said, I put it about where the neck meets the body, and distance it anywhere from a foot to 18" away. Sometimes I put a 2nd 993 either behind the bridge to capture the soundboard, or close to where my right ear is to capture how I hear the guitar myself. It's not necessary and just complicates things if you're just starting out, or if the guitar is going to be buried in a mix anyways.

But even with my cheapo MXL 990, I've captured what I consider a great tone. Great for a hobby studio at least. If I want to capture playing and singing at the same time, the 990 is surprisingly good for a $50 condensor. Same placement, only a bit farther back and angled towards my head.

Good luck!
 
Nah the guitar definitely won't be buried in the mix. I have a folk band and it's all stringed instruments that need to sing along with 4-5 voices! :)

Excellent...I'll try the Rode and see what I can get from it.

Thanks and cheers!
 
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