Acoustic guitar recording at home - MXL R144 mic

Z

zjuveli

New member
Hi all -

I'm trying to get started recording my acoustic at home on Abelton Live and would like some feedback. Please point me in to another area if this isn't the proper place.

I'm using an MXL R144 Ribbon mic that plugs into an M-Audio Fast Track USB interface that goes into my Mac's Abelton Live application.

12 - 3.jpg12 - 2.jpg12 - 1.jpg

The main issue I'm seeing is that the output in Abelton is VERY low and I have to throw the Mic gain on the M-Audio up to full. And anywhere else besides right near the hole on my acoustic gives an output that is extremely low.. so i can't even really try to apply the "placing the mic near the 12th fret" theory or other placements to experiment with different sounds.

Any inputs or ideas of what I may be doing wrong/missing would be appreciated!

- Zach
 
I'm pretty sure you've pointed the mic at the floor and ceiling.

Ribbon mics are figure 8, so they pick up from front and rear.
You've aimed your mic as if it's end address, like an re20 or md421.
 
Steenamaroo said:
I'm pretty sure you've pointed the mic at the floor and ceiling.

Ribbon mics are figure 8, so they pick up from front and rear.
You've aimed your mic as if it's end address, like an re20 or md421.
Click to expand...

Sooo you're basically saying just point it upwards/downwards instead of orthogonal to the soundhole?

Thanks!
 
Yehp. Simple as that.

Here's a pic of a diy ribbon mic in bits.
That'll give you an idea of what way the ribbon is usually positioned.

See why you should never blow into one???? lol.
 
That and coupled with the fact most ribbons require a good amount of clean gain to really make them sing.
Read up on ribbon microphone care too. Google is your friend.
Welcome to the forum mate
 
Welcome...

And congratulations on asking a concise detailed question with illustrative pictures that allowed a simple diagnosis... you'll go far.

Wish all noobs were so smart! :D
 
Additionally, does anyone have a good idea of how to get the best sound for a general acoustic guitar recording of the above setup from Abelton to get started (i only have one ribbon mic)? ie EQs, compressions to use, record in stereo then pan one left and right with a delay, etc ??
 
Depends upon what it is you're recording in terms of how it fits in with the overall song/piece...

If it's primarily an acoustic piece, then recording it twice and panning L and R is popular.

General advice is not to bother with the Copy Track / Pan / Delay stuff, it will generally not sound particularly good and you can do it from one track via an echo or delay effect anyway...

EQ will depend upon your guitar, room, mic, mic position, song etc. Best to get something recorded and then work with it. I'm usually removing bass frequencies, but that's just my guitar. Compression... I rarely compress acoustics, but others will depending upon what they're doing etc. etc. etc.

Record something, post a clip in the MP3 forum and ask advice if you don't like how it sounds..
 
It's just not that simple........

Recording is quite a complicated little burgh isn't it ? Logic would indicate 'just point the mic at/in direction of sound source and press record'.
There again, there have been friends of mine that just like having babies. Simple. Bringing them up to balanced adulthood is another chapter altogether. :D
 
Btw, I forgot to mention, your levels look healthy enough.

I mean, sure, definitely point the mic the right way but bring the gain down to compensate. ;)
You shouldn't be aiming for the signal to go near the top of the meter.

Bouncing about in the middle (like your pic) is about ideal.
 
What's the general approach to recording two tracks separate and panning them left and right? Do you plop on headphones on and just play against the original recording or both? With my single mic.. I'm just recording my first go through on stereo and then panning that full left and then recording my second part with the original part audible as a reference and panning that right... any other tips/pointers on that process?
 
That's the general approach for double tracking.
Record it once, put the phones on, record it again. Now you have two. :)

Some people like to make subtle variations. Maybe alter the mic position, or strum in a different pattern, or whatever.

There are no rules, but yeah, you have the basic idea.

If you have trouble with timing or matching things up, you can record to a click or simple beat, then mute it later.
 
Steen's on the money again.
Double tracking can be tricky though - try and be objective when you hear the combined tracks. It may well sound ok-ish but might actually sound better with just one centrally panned take.
Something else you might try is to not pan them out hard left and right, but half way. This does depend on how closely the two guitar parts are played - it might work it might not.

Re: above M/S post - sorry hadn't spotted you only had one mic input!

Do definitely experiment with moving your mic around a lot.
The bottom of this article on recording acoustic guitar under 'mic placement' might give you a few ideas to try out.
Not everything will work with your mic + guitar + song choice etc. but you might find something that's perfect just by messing around with positioning the mic differently
 
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