Acoustic guitar recording mics

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Furch

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Wich technique is the best one for recording acoustic guitars.
1. Use a normal condenser studio microphone for recording
2. Use instrument microfone specially for acoustic instruments

I just wanna know if any one of you have experience with recording acoustic instruments.
 
All mikes differ and will give different results. Try out the mikes you've got and see which sounds the best to you. This is what Boulder Sound Guy said.

When I'm recording acoustic guitar, I rarely make a conscious decision about which mike to use. I usually just grab the one that happens to be mounted on a stand at the time.
 
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I know that i should take the one that has the best sound. But when i use my Blue Bluebird condenser i only get a flat guitar recording. Even when i record 2 mono tracks and use them as stereo it still gets flat. There's no fill in my recordings, it dosn't feel alive. Any ideas what i could do to make my acoustic guitar more alive and warm? :)
 
Do you have other mics? Have you tried them? Have you tried two mics together?
 
By the way im using Pro Tools 8, Mbox 2 mini, Blue Bluebird Microphone and so on. :D
 
I often use a stereo pair of Shure Ksm 137 pencil condensors in an x-y configuration off of the 12th fret. It is obviously a brighter tone due to the mics being pencil condensors, but try any config. or mic in different area's. Off the 12th fret (6 inches) off the sound hole, behind the sound hole, over the shoulder etc.
 
Can you describe what you mean by getting a "flat recording?"

As someone stated - try using other mics if possible.

Also try setting up your Bluebird in a different spot. Where did you position it when you got the flat recording?

There are no rules, but people often use a small diaphragm condenser on an acoustic guitar. I think that Bluebird is a large diaphragm.

I'd like to hear what you mean by "flat recording." Whatever the problem is, it might not be the mic that's causing it.
 
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There are so many things that will effect acoustic recording

Where do you have the mic? Neck, sound hole, bridge etc. each will effect how much boominess, how much pick attack and how much of the jangle from the strings you get.

Then there's how you want to have the guitar sit in the mix. Is the guitar a key piece carrying the melody or just something strumming in the background. do you need a percussive sound from the strum of the strings or a broader sound in a sparse mix and so on

I usually start with a small diaphragm condenser around the 12th-14th fret pointed very slightly toward the sound hole and tweak from there. Sometimes I pair that with a large diaphragm condenser out in the room to catch some ambient sound

the other day that didn't work for me so I did this at around the 10th fret and it gave me what I needed for the song with each mic going to a separate mono track I could balance the sound of the two differently as needed throughout the mix to bring out different aspects of the guitar sound

Every song is different and you have to know what you want to achieve at the start and work toward it to get the sound you want

YMMV
 

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I am very interested in recording stereo by two microphones but i can't. I have an Mbox 2 mini, and i can only record one thing at a time.
By flat recording i mean that the sound i have recorded has no depth and warm. It dosn't feel alive. I mean that you can't feel the acoustic guitar in your heart, compared to almost anything else i have heard. I hope that was an answer you could use. By the way i am placing my Bluebird in front of the soundhole or by the 6-7 fret. Even i tried placing it to reach down to 6-7th fret and soundhole at same time. But nothing worked well.
 
If you are not getting the sound you want with the guitar mic'd from in front you could try a mic over your shoulder close where your ear is and pointing downward toward the guitar. That way the mic is "hearing" the guitar from the same place that you do which could sound quite different from being a few inches in front of the sound hole or finger board.
You'll have to be careful with headphone bleed if you try this with a condenser. In the past when I tried this I set up the mic over my right shoulder and panned the click/drum track in my headphones hard left so that I didn't get the sound of the drums from the headphone bleeding into the guitar mic
 
Oh thanks (: I will try next time to set it above my right shoulder. You have to be right, because the mic record exactly what i am hearing from the guitar, if i use this method. Thanks (:
 
You don't say how far away from the guitar you are placing it. If you are up close, trying miking from a distance of about 2' (60cm). Don't aim for the sound hole, but more towards where thenbeck joins the guitar.
 
Yeah I would try changes in mic positioning. Bristol gave a couple of good tips. Try the 12th fret, maybe 12 inches away from the guitar, and pointed slightly towards the sound hole.

Another thing to think about is playing style. Listen critically to how you play compared to how the guitar is played on the tracks you're trying to emulate. Are you playing in that same style? Or are you so focused on getting the performance right, that you're not paying attention to the more artistic side of the performance? Listen critically to that.
 
I have had good luck with my CAD CM217's recording acoustic. they are inexspensive fact is I think they are BOGO for 59.00
 
Shure KSM44a

wonderful mic, for vox, and acoustic, drums, guitar cabs, bass, room mics, you name it.

multipattern
 
Im gonna go with the 12th fret idea. You can record the same track twice and pan each track left and right to get a wide stereo sound...blablabla And I think any small omni paired with a large diaphragm spaced in the 3:1 config, will never let anyone down. place the omni about a foot from the 10th fret and the ldc about a foot and a half from the bridge...
 
Sometimes it is an issue of the player's technique. I have heard exceptional tracks created with modest gear used well and featuring players who understood how to get the most out of their ax. Experimenting with mic position is key as well.
 
12th fret angled 45 degrees toward the soundhole seems to be a good place to start for most people. If you wanna do stereo, or two tracks panned, you can put one at the 12th, and the other one around the bridge to get a fuller sound.

As far as distance from the guitar, I like 12-24" for most guitars and most rooms. 18+" is best for me.

Play with mic placement, and I'll bet you can get something you really like. Check out SDCs like Oktava MK012, MXL603, Rode NT5, a bunch of others that others will chime in one. Most people really like SDCs for Acoustics.
 
You said you were putting the mic right in front of the soundhole and 6th and 7th fret. Both are bad choices with 1 mic. If you mic too close to the soundhole you will get excess bass, especially with the proximity effect of cardioid mics. At the 6th and 7th fret you're getting extreme high end and barely any bass. You're looking for a full sound but you're picking extreme areas of the guitar. You want something in the middle so try the 12th to 14th fret slightly angled in towards the sound hole.

Why the 12th fret? Why the angle? Well think of the 12th fret like a region rich in resources. It's got the clear and present highs and mids and its close enough to the sound hole without being on top of it to get the mids and lows from there as well. Your guitar top also resonates and produces sound so you'll pick up some of that too. When you angle the mic to the sound hole you're increasing the mids and bass. Think of it like equalization done by simply placing the mic. Experiment with height, angle, and distance until you find something you like.

When you get the money you will want to start recording the guitar with at least 2 mics to get a full and realistic sound. Some of my favorite techniques are a spaced pair, blumlein, ort-f. My favorite patterns are omni, cardioid, and supercardioid on the vocal if you're a singer-songwriter. When you start to master 2 mics you can move up to 3. Don't try to do 3 until you get an understanding of 2 mics. Trust me, 3 mics is more of a hindrance with phase issues until you get some experience.

Have fun.
 
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