Authentic Accoustic Guitar sound

  • Thread starter Thread starter jacobdetoth
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jacobdetoth

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Can an experienced type person give me some tips on basic accoustic guitar recording? (with a mic) --If there are infact specific tips out there.

I wont go into my setup, it's pretty basic; I just want simple dos and donts as to how to get a faithful recording. (It'll be using both string types, nylon and steel, if it matters)


[Basically, and perhaps obviously :) I want the exact, if possible, sound I hear.]
 
You'll likely find all sorts of opinions on this subject - at the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference - what sounds best to you. However, there are a ton of generally-accepted best practices.

The first and probably the most important thing (being gear-agnostic here for a moment), is to ensure you have proper mic placement. The simplest way to do it is to place the mic on a stand in front of you, then play your guitar, monitoring the mic through a pair of headphones. You can also get a friend to do this too, if you trust their ears! :) Basically, you just find the "sweet spot" by moving around the microphone. Specifically, if you want a 'boomier" sound, move the soundhole closer to the mic. If you want a "tinnier" sound, move your position so that the mic is higher up the fretboard. Condenser mics work the best for acoustic guitars, BTW. If you don't have one, jump on e-bay ...

Now, if you really want to kickin' acoustic sound, get more than 1 mic. 2 is plenty for most folks - 3 can do some interesting things - any more than that is probably overkill IMHO.

Place 1 mic around the soundhole or just off of it (depending upon your desired effect). Place the other at an angle to the fretboard, a bit higher up than the other mic, of course. This will allow you to capture almost every nuance of your performance.

Another factor is the acoustics of the room. Again, personal preference combined with the overall feel of the song. I prefer to record as dry as possible - in an isolation booth, or at least behind some baffling. I then add the desired ambient effects later. By keeping the tracks high and dry on tape (figuratively), you have a lot more possibilities during the mix.

The next step is in cleaning it up during the mix - you can play with reverb, delays, EQ, etc. once you have it all down. With one performace, and some liberal application of effects, you can come up with some really interesting guitar sounds.

Hope this helps!

Cheers.
Scott
 
I would agree with most of the post above, except for the use of headphones.. Use studio monitors as much as possible when getting your mic placement and initial sound just right.. If you are recording yourself and using an isolated room, get a friend to strum the guitar while you check the results on the monitors, and once you think you have it right, record a snippet to tape and check your results again on the monitors. Repeat as necessary.

Save using headphones for actual recording of the guitar track.

For more information, you may want to use the search engine feature for this topic.

Cy
 
Yes, studio monitors are great for this as well.

Another thing to consider, depending on where you are recording, is miking an acoustic amp (if you have one). I am getting some interesting sounds by placing an SM58 2" off the grille of my Crate acoustic amp, and an AT4033 about 1-2 feet in front of the amp, as well as another mic off the soundhole of the guitar.

Cheers.
Scott
 
That could work well for me, maybe, because I havbe an Applause accoustic/electric... Thought those pickups are relentless, they pick up every small brush with my hand. Changing postion events in a big sliding on the strings, which is an interesting touch but gets old fast. Im thinking about experimenting with miking it, and then also putting it through to my small Daneletro miniamp pedal. Maybe turn it down, so it's below the accoutic sound, but present behind. I dunno I think it's a good idea.
 
I think that is worth exploring. It can sometimes add a "live" feel to it. If it is overpowering, just push back into the mix - or only fade it up on certain parts of the tune.

Cheers.
Scott
 
jacobdetoth,
You'll have to experiment but let me comment on a couple things that have been said.
First you said you want the exact sound you hear - what you hear is different from what someone in front of you hears. I know people who swear by placing the mic over their right shoulder to get the sound they hear.
You should have someone play your guitar and listen to get a better perspective.
Also, the high and dry - my personal preference is not to make it too dead in the room, in fact I've had great results placing a board on my carpeted floor to liven it up a tad.

Also, there is no substitute for using a quality condensor mic to get a natural sound.

Strings will make a big difference as well. Good luck.
Dan. www.studiocovers.com
 
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