anyone record acoustic guitar with more than 2 mics?

R

royharper3220

New member
I recently got a ADK Hamburg and have a mxl 603 on order(so I will have a pair of 603s,not matched but I like to keep things ghetto). I've been entertaining the idea of using the 603s in a x-y config with the Hamburg either in between them or over the shoulder. The reason I posted this is I cant try the 3 mics at the same time, I only have 2 pre-amp channels with phantom power. So are there any common techniques involving 2 SDC's and a LDC(fixed cardiod)?
btw, if I decide to get another pre what would you guys suggest? I have a DMP3 already and only need one channel with 48v. I thought about the Rane MS1b but my delta 44 only has 1/4 ins.
 
You could do a modified version of Mid-Side miking (M-S) with that setup. You would have the two 603s each pointed in opposite directions parallel to the fretboard and the adk in the middle pointed at the guitar. Read more here: http://www.dpamicrophones.com/

you could also do a 3-mic spaced pair, with one 603 at the neck, the adk in the middle, and the other 603 at the bridge.

Here's a picture of mid-side. Note that the phase is reversed between the two side mics.
 

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I use three mics, sometimes 4. Obviously, there are many possible configurations. Using an XY pair (SDs) and a single LD (to slightly fill in the center of the stereo image) can be difficult, as there are phase issues that can crop up. One favorite setup I use is an xy pair about 18 inches to 2 feet out with one mic pointing at the 1st fret or so and the other mic pointing across (and parallel to) the face of the guitar. The LD mic can be placed immediately above the XY pair (as close as possible) poiting at the 14th fret, or over the shoulder, or close in by the bridge (in omni). Pan the XY pair 75% to 100% and fill in the center just a bit with the LD mic.

You can put a bit a reverb on the pair, or the LD mic, etc. to get some interesting mixes.
 
I've used three and four mic's frequently for guitar.

4 mic's:
With two stereo pairs, if I place them at different distances from the guitar but in line with one another they can usually be time aligned (sliding the waveform) afterwords without phase problems. Sometimes it ends up sounding better just using one pair though. Good to have options.

3 mic's:
I also like a stereo pair in XY or ORTF with a third mic at the same spot but on axis with the guitar, and when mixing I blend in the third mic a bit if it helps the sound. I usually use a ribbon for that because of its different color.

Tim
 
I also sometimes use the xy or ORTF technique but usually have the third mic (an omni) several feet back to pick up the large room.
 
I am waiting for the adk hamburg I ordered from ebay. What about a mixer? You can use a mixer to power one of the mics.

As per preamps, I love my safesound p1.
I haven't used 3 mics for mic'ng an acoustic, I've just used two in the past, but now that I have more mic's and preamps, i will try. With two, I would put one at the middle of the neck (fretboard), and another one by the soundhole. I have read about many different mic placements, and would like to try different placements to learn how they sound and then be able to use the specific placements when I'm going for the particular sound I get from the placement.


I would like to try the setup that scrubs described "you could also do a 3-mic spaced pair, with one 603 at the neck, the adk in the middle, and the other 603 at the bridge."

evt
 
scrubs said:
you could also do a 3-mic spaced pair, with one 603 at the neck, the adk in the middle, and the other 603 at the bridge.
Click to expand...

What's that .. the poor cousin of a Decca tree? :D

I haven't tried it, but I'd be interested to hear how that sounds on a single instrument. I kind of suspect the time and trouble getting everything to work with that setup might be better spent getting a better performance in ORTF ..

I like the idea of using two cards instead of an 8 in MS. Keep in mind the 8 will be more 'curvacious' that way. Might even work better ..
 
lately i've been recording acoustics (for those places where it's the predominant instrument) with 4 mics.

please understand that the placement described is a general starting point and always varies from there. i'll put one 603 about 6in out from the 12/14th fret. i'll hang the other over my shoulder pointing down towards the floor and usually angled a little back towards the lower bout/bridge of the guitar.

then i'll put my dragonfly and a v67 about 4-6ft out. i'll keep them both as close together as possible in order to minimize phase issues. they each capture something different (and both something good) about the guitar in the room. usually the dragonfly better captures the high end sparkle/sheen and the v67 better captures the lows. while i wouldn't ever dream of using a v67 as a standalone acoustic guitar mic, the midrange hashiness i don't like about it sometimes comes in handy in the context of a mix. YMMV

in mixing, it depends on the rest of the tracks, but i tend to start with the two 603's panned hard R and L, and the other two mics somewhere L and R of center (not hard panned--maybe 10 and 2 or so)...but rarely are they panned to the center. sometimes i'll mute the dfly or v67, depending on what i need in the song. sometimes i'll pan em and send them to a bus and then pan the bus where i need it to go.

anyway, yeah, i dig it and when i need a huge acoustic sound, that's the ticket.


cheers,
wade
 
When doing my own stuff (acoustic) I'll set up several mics...saves a little time if I want to change the approach. Not that I would intend to mix all the mics in the final but I would have some options to work with.

Set up an x/y, ORTF and a couple room mics...one forward and one behind even more for the experimentation aspect. Later, after I get a series of good takes, I can go back and see what I've got to work with. Play by day, mix by night!

Realize...probobly this may not be an ideal situation but when you're working by yourself, it makes quick work of the tracking...limits the number of "get-ups-n-move the mics". Lets me just push record and play putting me into the performance frame of mind.
 
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