Stereo or mono acoustic guitar recording

C

copperandstars

New member
Hello,

This may be a horrible question but...

Often times I record a song that has two acoustic guitars, one panned left and one right. If you are panning a guitar left or right does it make any sense at all to use two mics and do a stereo x/y setup? Or should the guitar just be mono and recorded using a single mic?
 
that depends on what you´re after. which role will the guitar play in the song? how much room is there for the guitar in the mix frequency- and pan-wise?

you can also record a guitar in x/y just to get a more complete sound - mic 1 at neck joint and mic 2 at bridge - and mix it to 1 track, but watch for phase here! if you´re timing´s tight you can redo this to get a second take where the small microtiming shifts make a good effect in a left/right panning.

don´t hesitate to try it all out - and all that comes to your mind later ... and try to see it in context with the song you´re creating!

fretless
 
Ya, I agree. I've done it all of the ways mentioned. Each song has its own need. In my experience, one mic, recorded correctly, is easier to place in a busy mix though--watch out for the low mids; they tend to muddy-up the mix.
 
fretless said:
that depends on what you´re after. which role will the guitar play in the song? how much room is there for the guitar in the mix frequency- and pan-wise?
Click to expand...

The song is instrumental. Just two accoustics, a bass, drums, and on occasion a piano or keyboard. I like the idea of stereo micing, panning on hard left and on at 9 o'clock, then opposite for the other guitar. I'll try that out.

Also, in a situation like that is it best to leave the keyboard in the center of the mix?

Thanks,

Ryan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top