Recording acoustic guitar ( new mic)

Test message. The reply with quote text doesn't actually appear on my phone ..Maybe this has worked

yup that worked. I can never surf the web with my phone. I don't know how people can do that. Goes to show how old I am. "Surf the web", sheesh, who says that anymore??? :laughings:
 
Side Note: Lower right corner... Click on Reply with Quote. (Do not delete any brackets in the reply, common mistake..... Ah-hem, Dave ecc83 :D)

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Yes.......certainly when recording an acoustic guitar or other string instrument.......mic placement is critical and in my experience.....can be unique to each instrument's character. No two guitars seem to have the exact same sort of mic placement mapping. Using your Lewitt alone or using your Lewitt with one of the Tascam built-ins......at some point you'll likely get closer to the results you want. Keep trying. You don't mention (or I missed it somewhere) what guitar model you're using. What's the sonic character of that guitar? If you've ever gone into any GC "acoustic" room and played around with several brands and models......the differences between all of them are astonishingly clear. I own the "cheap" Martin. When I played it at home it sounded great compared to my Fender and my Ovation. But.....when I played that same model in the GC "acoustic" room.....it was....to say the least.....less than sparkling and tonally so so. My point is......some guitars will never achieve what we hear on great tracks of others. Effects and other efforts can help......but it is what it is.

It's a larrivee om-03r. got it in the states about 15 years ago . Clean detailed moderate projection not super bold. Not all that warm honestly but fairly balanced sounding . I'm thinking what is the difference between closer to mic and less gain versus further from mic and more gain assuming It generated the same signal level . My first instinct is noise . But then I guess it's going to capture in a different way too. Too much physics for my head . Try it and see i think is what I'll do
 
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... I'm thinking what is the difference between closer to mic and less gain versus further from mic and more gain assuming It generated the same signal level . My first instinct is noise . But then I guess it's going to capture in a different way too. Too much physics for my head . Try it and see i think is what I'll do
Well, there are a couple of significant differences.

The first is that when you move away from the guitar, you pick up more of the entire instrument. If you are 10" off the neck joint, even with a fairly loose pattern cardioid, you're just going to get more of the top part of the guitar and [probably some] string noise, and a bit less of the lower bout than if you are even 18" away.

With the larger distance, though, you now are capturing more of the room because its "input" is then simply louder in relation to the amount of energy from the guitar that reaches the mic. If your room is very dead, it might not matter for some things, but it's likely going to be there, as well as some other sounds like your chair or foot shuffling, that you might have been able to ignore when close micing.

I don't mean to imply that the farther distance is worse, because if the room sounds good, it's probably going to be a better, perhaps even more authentic capture, but you'll have to be more aware and really listen to what's happening, and you'll need to learn to be an even more careful player than when close mic'd, at least IME.
 
Keith . Great answer . Basically pull back a bit more to capture more tonal aspects of guitar get the gain right. all subject to stable non reflective environment and other minimised inherent noises . Like maybe around 18 inches ?..actually ill try both . I get the plot
 
Yup.....Keith put it in proper perspective. As well......it's not only a matter of moving the mic......but the spot in the room you're using. A pulled back mic might pick up too much room in one spot but not in another spot. Reflections of all types are coming at the mic at all times pretty much. Moving around the room / area....changing where you face as you play..........will also affect your result.....along with mic placement. Many times even a "poor" room has a sweet spot that your guitar shines in.
 
yup that worked. I can never surf the web with my phone. I don't know how people can do that. Goes to show how old I am. "Surf the web", sheesh, who says that anymore??? :laughings:

my wife at age 76 hardly ever used her laptop but after i got her a smart phone she went crazy surfing the web with her phone
i have trouble making my phone work right when i try to surf
the laptop is so much easier to use for me
 
Dwillis 45 (still don't know how to do a yellow box reply ) . Thought occurred to me . Martin 00018 from memory is an om type . Probably a Lot of detail but less projection . That brings me back to mic proximity comment someone made ?

It is smaller and thinner than the D series guitars. These body types have the reputation of being easier to record but less capable of competing with a pack of instruments. A bluegrass band, for example. They also tend to be favored for fingerpicking and light strumming versus more aggressive styles.

That's the reputation. It's not clear to me that model type (dreadnaught versus other) should be a major variable if you are trying to control everything that impacts the recording process. First of all, that's a lot to spend just for a marginal sound change. I remind myself of this every time I think I want a D28 or a Gibson J45. :D So I would not go searching small bodied guitars thinking that was the answer to my acoustic guitar recording issues. Second, though they are less boomy than a dreadnaught, it's really nothing that couldn't be handled with a change in mic placement.
 
Similar situation . Less robust playing style on a om type guitar which inherently have less projection. I'm trying close miking the instrument now . I think that may be the answer. Closer to fretboard and the body of guitar angled away picking up less directly so it's not too bassy . But how close Is too close I wonder? I experimented last night with the large diaphragm mic maybe 6 inches off the fretboard . I played it back at full volume and it didn't seem to distort . Can't say i really noticed any clipping either while doing the test ....Experts ?
 
Similar situation . Less robust playing style on a om type guitar which inherently have less projection. I'm trying close miking the instrument now . I think that may be the answer. Closer to fretboard and the body of guitar angled away picking up less directly so it's not too bassy . But how close Is too close I wonder? I experimented last night with the large diaphragm mic maybe 6 inches off the fretboard . I played it back at full volume and it didn't seem to distort . Can't say i really noticed any clipping either while doing the test ....Experts ?

Post a sample. All we can do is guess if you don’t.
 
If you keep it away from the soundhole blasts I wouldn't worry about it. I have had LDC's as close as about 4-5 inches from the neck and maybe 6 from the body. I use a pop filter if I have the mic at the level of the sound hole if I am unsure. I doubt the db is going to be ever loud enough to cause issues.
 
All good . Think I've got a fair grasp of the basic concepts . If I can figure out getting a sample into the phone I will . My challenge Is to get a single guitar track the best i can from that mic . Learnt a lot here about mic proximity in particular . Pop filter near sound hole was a new one to me also, though I'll likely be away from it's direct impact . Many thanks
 
". If I can figure out getting a sample into the phone I will" Er..How is this a problem? I have a "dumb" ***** 201 and if I want music on it I just connect a USB cable from my lappy and dump into the on board micro SD card.

I guess I could also take out the card and copy to that from the laptop.

Dave.
 
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