Recording Acoustic Guitars - mono? Stereo? Where do you stick them?

R

rob aylestone

Moderator
We've chatted a bit about mic placement for acoustic guitars, so I thought I try a couple of videos so instead about talking about soundhole = dark, boomy and fingerboard - bright and noisy, people who have never tried it can hear the differences positions make.

 
I would say little sound comes from the neck, apart from fret noise.
Different frequencies will come from parts of the body, and also get projected from in and around the soundhole.
Pointing a mic at roughly the sundhole area, is probably best, with the mic anywhere from 6 inches to a couple of feet.
 
I used to do stereo from a distance for acoustic guitars that drove the track but have since gone to stereo for solo instruments and mono when the guitar is part of an ensemble.
 
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I record the different mics to their own track - never do a stereo track where I'm stuck with the mix - in terms of sounds - I can basically get anything from anything with EQ.
 
For me it always starts off mono and many times I double it by recording another track with either the same guitar or sometimes a different one, then the tracks are panned right/left. I have recorded with two mic's but i almost always end up recording with either one LDC or one SDC aimed in front of the sound hole and roughly six inches away. Direction, distance and placement are really important and small adjustments make a huge difference. All bets are off with different guitars so YMMV.
 
I think I commented on this - and maybe even posted some pictures? (can't find that now) But earlier this year I found what I think is probably the best go-to mic arrangement for acoustic guitar - with my setup. It's pretty simple - I set two LDC's as close together as I could possibly get the capsules. Pointed those directly at the 12th fret/neck-body-joint area from about 10-12 inches away. Record to separate tracks and pan to taste.

Looks like this:

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Snippet:

 
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PorterhouseMusic said:
I think I commented on this - and maybe even posted some pictures? (can't find that now) But earlier this year I found what I think is probably the best go-to mic arrangement for acoustic guitar - with my setup. It's pretty simple - I set two LDC's as close together as I could possibly get the capsules. Pointed those directly at the 12th fret/neck-body-joint area from about 10-12 inches away. Record to separate tracks and pan to taste.

Looks like this:

View attachment 131409View attachment 131412
Click to expand...
If you spread them a part - or in a X/Y formation - you wouldn't get such a narrow image.
 
PorterhouseMusic said:
I think I commented on this - and maybe even posted some pictures? (can't find that now) But earlier this year I found what I think is probably the best go-to mic arrangement for acoustic guitar - with my setup. It's pretty simple - I set two LDC's as close together as I could possibly get the capsules. Pointed those directly at the 12th fret/neck-body-joint area from about 10-12 inches away. Record to separate tracks and pan to taste.

Looks like this:

View attachment 131409

View attachment 131412

Snippet:

Click to expand...


Are those just regular mic booms under the blankets?
 
Papanate said:
If you spread them a part - or in a X/Y formation - you wouldn't get such a narrow image.
Click to expand...
Thank you. That narrow image is exactly what I was going for. It's a narrow image even with hard panning - but still has some spatial-ness to it. And it was interesting to pan, blend, and EQ the two different signals. Lots to work with, really.

I'm no expert, to say the least. But over the last three years I have tried and tested (strictly for educational and experiential purposes) every configuration for mono and stereo mic'ing the acoustic gtr that I could think of and or find. It's been incredibly enlightening and educational. Really fun, too. For a wider, bigger stereo image - the mid-side reverse phase trick is my go-to.

But I'm still learning. I guess I always will be.
 
spantini said:
Are those just regular mic booms under the blankets?
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Yes sir. I've got a bunch of huge, thick bedspreads, comforters, and quilts around here. I use them for iso-booths (guitar cabs), vocal and acoustic guitar "booths", and just general acoustic deadening. They work great. Easy to bust out and put away - and easy to move around and adjust. At first I thought they'd be a temporary fix until I got something better. Then I realized that I probably can't improve on them.
 
I use reverb IRs in Reaper, and the big question I have lots of times is whether to use the stereo reverb, or the mono reverb on a track. It makes a difference.

This is a dry guitar, then the stereo reverb at -35dB followed by the mono reverb at the same level. The stereo reverb definitely sounds more like a hall or large room to me. You get more sense of space than the mono version but it's not always realistic sounding, especially if you have a small room visual going along with the audio.

View attachment Stereo Reverb vs Mono Reverb.mp3
 
TalismanRich said:
I use reverb IRs in Reaper, and the big question I have lots of times is whether to use the stereo reverb, or the mono reverb on a track. It makes a difference.

This is a dry guitar, then the stereo reverb at -35dB followed by the mono reverb at the same level. The stereo reverb definitely sounds more like a hall or large room to me. You get more sense of space than the mono version but it's not always realistic sounding, especially if you have a small room visual going along with the audio.

View attachment 131415
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Man - that's some nice crisp high end there. What mic/chain there, if you don't mind me asking?
 
It's been quite a while since I did that one, July of 2015, but it was done on my Zoom R24, and I think I used an MXL992, which is relatively bright. I brought the file into Reaper, but that doesn't have any EQ added, just the reverb. Normally I would probably put a hi shelf cut starting at about 5-7K of a couple of dB with that mic.
 
For what it's worth, whenever you are playing an acoustic guitar you hear it with your ears. You're not hearing the acoustic guitar listening directly in front of the sound hole, the neck, or lower bout.

If what you hear sounds good to you.....record what your ears hear with two mics at ear level......along with mics pointed at the sound hole and neck on separate tracks. Mix it up a bit!
 
60's guy said:
For what it's worth, whenever you are playing an acoustic guitar you hear it with your ears. You're not hearing the acoustic guitar listening directly in front of the sound hole, the neck, or lower bout.

If what you hear sounds good to you.....record what your ears hear with two mics at ear level......along with mics pointed at the sound hole and neck on separate tracks. Mix it up a bit!
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Maybe.... I've tried it, but wasn't at all satisfied with the sound. It's a bit the same as that your vocals never sound like what you "hear" when you sing due to the bone conduction and resonances in your head.

I really want to hear what the guitar sounds like when someone else is playing it, more what an "audience" would hear. Ideally, for a single acoustic and a vocal, I would like it to sound like I'm sitting between the speakers of my stereo system. Some time back, I was playing with an M/S setup and thought it sounded pretty natural. Next time have something to record, I might have to go back to it.
 
60's guy said:
For what it's worth, whenever you are playing an acoustic guitar you hear it with your ears. You're not hearing the acoustic guitar listening directly in front of the sound hole, the neck, or lower bout.

If what you hear sounds good to you.....record what your ears hear with two mics at ear level......along with mics pointed at the sound hole and neck on separate tracks. Mix it up a bit!
Click to expand...
I agree with mixing it up a bit. That's part of my MO for recording, actually. But I have to say, the ear-level logic doesn't always "make". People have often suggested that with electric guitar, too, put the mic where your ears are. Logically, I get it and on occasion, I think it's as good a way as any, but however one looks at it, what one hears when one plays {or whoever is playing}, is always going to be different from what it sounds like when it's recorded, regardless of where a mic is placed. That's just science mixed with reality. I often say this, but if I'm recording acoustic guitar, as long as it sounds like an acoustic guitar, then anything else is fluff and bonus. It's all dependent on what role the acoustic is playing.
 
grimtraveller said:
I agree with mixing it up a bit. That's part of my MO for recording, actually. But I have to say, the ear-level logic doesn't always "make". People have often suggested that with electric guitar, too, put the mic where your ears are. Logically, I get it and on occasion, I think it's as good a way as any, but however one looks at it, what one hears when one plays {or whoever is playing}, is always going to be different from what it sounds like when it's recorded, regardless of where a mic is placed.
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I agree.

Tom Dowd. Ever hear of him? Dowd had the incredible ability to listen to what he was hearing. He also had the incredible ability to record what he heard in the studio to tape when recording, ummm, the Allman Brothers playing ensemble in the studio.

The differences between pros and home recordists are obvious.
 
I'm probably an odd duck, in that I still like to "double track" acoustic guitars (just like I do with electric guitars). Which in turn gives it a bit of a "stereo sound".
 
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