acoustic guitar micing ideas, please.

  • Thread starter Thread starter circusfreak
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circusfreak

circusfreak

New member
Hello all...

First off - this is my first post and I want to say how helpful this board has been to me. It is a great resource and I really appreciate everyone lending their two cents.

I am about to begin recording my second album and was looking for some advice / creative ideas on micing my acoustic guitar. Here's what I'm looking at -

(1) AKG C-1000 condenser mic
(1) Shure SM 58 dynamic mic
(1) Ibanez Performance series acoustic - not great, but set up very nicely
- inside, I gutted it and installed a Fishman Ellipse Blend pickup which can have a blend of bridge pickup or condenser mic inside the body.

I record through a Tascam US-144 interface then work in Cubase LE.

I have various fx plugins and am pretty comfortable with all phases of the operation. I just want to maximize my possibilities. I've read the acoustic guitar sticky many times over, but was wondering if any of you had any suggestions on how to maximize the sound I can get out of my particular gear.

Again - thanks, and I look forward to being a part of this community. Cheers.
 
Check the sticky...top of this page...oops, you read it.

Beyond that...just experiment
 
Yes, just experiment. Make notes of mic placement, distance, etc as you try out each possibility. Turn all the effects and EQ off.
 
mjbphotos said:
Yes, just experiment. Make notes of mic placement, distance, etc as you try out each possibility. Turn all the effects and EQ off.
Click to expand...

so record dry and get it as good as possible there, then start eqing and effecting? thanks, guys and gals. i appreciate your input.
 
Last Months Sound on Sound covered this - what was great to see was the diversity of approaches top produces take.

I remember reading that the acoustic guitar, like voice, is such an organic sound that it is best to aim for the most natural sound with nowt else added. EQ can add emphasis/texture and compression can make the sound present in the mix (if it i competing for space), but there is no point EQ or compressing what isn't a natural sound or it will only make it less organic.

I've been experimenting recently with Naiant Mic and the Fishman emulation pedal - but definitely experimentation os the way to go!

HTH

Burt
 
Run your pick up to a good quality electric guitar amp in another room which is sonically isolated (although it doesn't need to be loud). Cut out the lows and some of the mids on the amp. Mic the amp with a condenser and record to a channel at the same time as you record your acoustic.

At mix time you will have a useful additional track that you can blend in to your miked tracks in need. You may find this track more useful than the straight pickup into the desk method that you will read about as a way of enhancing the sound.

Of course this all depends upon the style of music you're recording....
 
Have you ever tried recording the acoustic in a tiled toilet or bathroom ? It might be worth a try, two condensers, one fairly close and pointing downwards, the other acting as a 'room' mic and 6 feet away (if there's that space) with the preamp as high as it will go without hissing.
Something else I've been trying from time to time is recording a 12 string and then doubling with my son's cheapo acoustic 6 string. I fit a bottletop contact mic and despite it's cheapness, the two panned opposite have, ah, interesting qualities....
 
I too am currently using a condenser/dynamic set-up when recording acoustic guitar. I've had good results with them in the x/y config and variations of it. Consider the properties of your mics, what are their strong points? Would the dynamic be better at the bridge or at the 12th? I have found that my dynamic(which sucks) sounds better at the 12th fret than at the bridge, so I choose to put my condenser at the bridge. I probably wouldn't use the pick-up because I prefer a more natural guitar sound, but it depends what kind of sound you want.
 
thanks for the replies, everyone.

first off, my 58 wasn't seeming to pick up much at all around the 12th fret, or on the body, so i just ditched it from the equation.

what i tried this morning is to track the first take with the c-1000 aimed at the 12th fret to two mono tracks. then i tracked the same part with the c-1000 about 6-8 inches off the bridge to two mono tracks. i did the little panning trick described in the sticky here, and it gave pretty good results.

it still doesn't have all of the presence i would like, as i am a bit of an agressive player (lots of pick slaps and thumping on the bridge to emulate a drum beat on the 2 and 4) but it's a start.

thanks for all of your ideas, and keep the creativity coming in. it is really helping... and my music appreciates it. :cool:
 
Yo Circusfreak! My best advice is to drop the C1000S into a box, and ship it to Michael Joly or Marik, or any other badass mic modder, along with whatever money is necessary. You won't believe the difference when you get it back. IMHO, the weakest part of your signal chain is the mics you are using. I have very little use for the C1000S out of the box, but it's an excellent platform for mic mods.-Richie
 
Richard Monroe said:
Yo Circusfreak! My best advice is to drop the C1000S into a box, and ship it to Michael Joly or Marik, or any other badass mic modder, along with whatever money is necessary. You won't believe the difference when you get it back. IMHO, the weakest part of your signal chain is the mics you are using. I have very little use for the C1000S out of the box, but it's an excellent platform for mic mods.-Richie
Click to expand...

Yeah, I totally agree with you. In a perfect world, we'd all be able to afford what we want. Like I said, I was just really looking for any ideas of how to maximize what gear I do have. Thanks for the advice though, I checked out his site and it looks very impressive.
 
I recorded this in a vestibule pointed into a corner 1' out with an Rode NT5 1/2' out, a little to the left and a Tascam 2488 pre. Excuse the playing but check out the sound, one take, one mono track.
 
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