Checklist for Recording Acoustic Guitar

[udit99]

Okay.. I need to record acoustic guitar for my own music-making pleasure on my computer using Cubase. I have:

1.An acoustic guitar
2. Cubase
3. M-audio Delta 44

I need (... Or i think i need )

1. A Condensor mic ( Because every1 on the net says condensors are best for Acoutic guitars)

2. A mic preamp ???....coz condensor mics need phantom power and M-audio Delta 44 takes Line level input ( whatever that means )

3. a hardware thingy for doing compression and EQ ?... or will the Compression and EQ in Cubase be fine for my purposes ?

4. The mic connects to the mic preamp with some cable that I can buy everywhere (XLR ?) and then there's a 1/4" cable that comes out of the preamp and goes into my Maudio Delta 44. Right ?

.. So do i have it right ?... or am i wrong somewhere ?

Doubts :
1. I dunno if I need a mic preamp
2. I dunno if i need an external hardware EQCompression thingy
3. I dunno if I need 2 mics or one...to record stereo or mono?.. i mean is mono really bad that noone does mono.. or is it ok to get by with mono unless im doing high-end pro stuff...how do the guys here do it ?
4. Since Ill be recording Steel String and Nylon both...is there a mic (<300$)that can giv me a decent performance for both ?
Im thinking of getting this :
C-4
Is this good enough or not or can i get better value for money from some other mics

5. I have no clue what kindof preamp ill need with this... or are preamp choices also guided by what kindof instrumentmics you're planning to record ? I have no clue what to search for. Can someone forward me a threadgive me some advice on choosing Value-for-Money Preamps for Acoustic guitar recording ?

 

[Monkey Allen]

Doubts

1. I think you do
2. Cubase can do it. But some people like the external stuff.
3. Two mics, like a matched stereo pair would be good. A single nice condenser can also be good.
4. The C4 would be a good basic unit. I have the Behringer C2's...even cheaper, but ok results. I use a CADm177 condenser. Btw, none of my songs are recorded with any of this stuff yet.
5. Preamps...from personal experience, look into a soundcard that has preamps in it. For example the Presonus Firebox

 

[RAK]

Okay.. I need to record acoustic guitar for my own music-making pleasure on my computer using Cubase. I have:

1.An acoustic guitar
2. Cubase
3. M-audio Delta 44

I need (... Or i think i need )

1. A Condensor mic ( Because every1 on the net says condensors are best for Acoutic guitars)

Condenser mics are probably the most popular for acoustic guitar, but it's not necessary. I'm sure you'll find plenty of people on here that have made great recordings with dynamic mics. With condensers, there's also a difference between Large Diaphragm Condensers and Small Diaphgragm Condensers. But the mic choice is a more subjective issue and could have it's own thread (in fact there are many on here)

2. A mic preamp ???....coz condensor mics need phantom power and M-audio Delta 44 takes Line level input ( whatever that means )

You're correct that you need a mic preamp as the Delta 44 only has Line Level Inputs. However you would need a preamp no matter what type of microphone you used (dynamic or condenser). It's true Condensers need phantom power, which most pre-amps supply, but they are actually two different things. You can probably find a nice fairly inexpensive 1 or 2 channel pre-amp. Think about expandabillity and what you might want to do for the future. Since the Delta has 4 Line Inputs, maybe you want a 4 Channel mic pre to be able to get 4 microphones in. Or maybe you know you'll only ever want to use 1 microphone at a time.

3. a hardware thingy for doing compression and EQ ?... or will the Compression and EQ in Cubase be fine for my purposes ?

This would only be necessary if you really want to do compression "to tape" meaning, during the record process. (Or if you really want hardware processing during mixing). For your puproses, I would not recommend getting this, and say that the compression/eq with Cubase will be fine to use during the mix stage.
Editorial note - get the best sound with mic choice/placement and you won't have to worry as much about processing during the mix stage

4. The mic connects to the mic preamp with some cable that I can buy everywhere (XLR ?) and then there's a 1/4" cable that comes out of the preamp and goes into my Maudio Delta 44. Right ?

The mic will connect to the pre-amp via an XLR cable. That's correct.
Depending on what type of Pre-Amp you get, it will have Line Level Outputs via XLR or 1/4". Now this might get a little confusing, but there are two types of 1/4" cables TS (Tip-Sleeve) with 1 ring (like a guitar cable) and TRS (Tip-Ring-Sleeve) with 2 rings (like the stereo cable on the end of your headphones). It looks like the Delta accepts both, so just make sure if your pre-amp has 1/4" outputs that you know which kind it accepts (probably at least TRS, which is what I would suggest to use). If you get a pre-amp with XLR Outputs, you can always use an XLR -> 1/4" cable or adapter.

.. So do i have it right ?... or am i wrong somewhere ?

You're definetly on the right track

3. I dunno if I need 2 mics or one...to record stereo or mono?.. i mean is mono really bad that noone does mono.. or is it ok to get by with mono unless im doing high-end pro stuff...how do the guys here do it ?

I think the most common practice for acoustic guitar would be 1 condenser microphone (probably large diaghragm) in a close-mic situation pointed where the neck meets the body.

4. Since Ill be recording Steel String and Nylon both...is there a mic (<300$)that can giv me a decent performance for both ?
Im thinking of getting this :
C-4
Is this good enough or not or can i get better value for money from some other mics

For $300 you could get the Shure KSM27. An excellent mic for many different situations, but there are certainly a lot of options out there
(also, please note that I do work for Shure, but am giving you my opinion as an engineer who has used the mic)

5. I have no clue what kindof preamp ill need with this... or are preamp choices also guided by what kindof instrument\mics you're planning to record ? I have no clue what to search for. Can someone forward me a thread\give me some advice on choosing Value-for-Money Preamps for Acoustic guitar recording ?

I would recommend the M-Audio Audio Buddy for $119.95 listed on their site. A co-worker of mine (Jimmy2sticks on this board) said they have a lot of gain, and they're fairly quiet. It's a 2 channel pre, so you can do 2 mics at the same time. It has phantom power and balanced (TRS) 1/4" inputs, so you could just need 2 TRS 1/4" cables to connect between it and the Delta 44.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/AudioBuddy-main.html

I hope any of this was actually helpful

 

[Kevin Deschwazi]

I agree with the other guys, you're thinking is pretty much right but don't bother with an external comp/eq for now.

The C4's are nice for the money as are the MXL 603s. A pair is a good idea because acoustic guitar sounds great recorded in stereo (particularly in a sparse mix).

For a clean, cheap preamp the M Audio DMP-3 is a good choice and it's 2 channels so would be suitable for stereo micing.

Info on stereo micing here (more than one way to skin that cat):

http://www.dpamicrophones.com/page.php?PID=131&PHPSESSID=ac708942b2f9f4f16e4a71c021f52d46

A-B ('spaced pair') is a good starting point.