how do YOU mic your acoustic guitar?

  • Thread starter Thread starter grn
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grn

grn

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I am going to be recording soon, just like to know what you guys do. I'm thinking I'm going to go with an X-Y pattern with my two Oktava MK012s... about how far should I place them away from the guitar? Should I even do the X-Y pattern? Would one mic suffice? I don't know... there are probably many answers...

Upon looking at this site: http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/pages/Guitars acc.htm

I was thinking do A and B positions on it. I don't know... whatever, what do you guys do? Please be specific.
 
For 90% of the acoustic guitars I mic, I find one mic to be plenty. LDC a foot or two in front of the 12 fret. Move around to taste.
 
That SAE page is worthless to me, like that institute itself , but to answer your question: one mic aimed at the 12th fret can give you a decent sound.

But so can a mic placed 'from over the shoulder'.

I don't care much for XY, which will only work with hyper cardiods, but an ORTF pair of SDC's can give you a very realistic stereo image and when recording a guitar only, iaw not in a dense mix with other instruments, this will sound a whole lot nicer than a single microphone.

For those who don't know ORTF: 17 cm apart and 110 deg.
 
Over the last week I have used a combination of a RODE NT1000, an AT4033, an AT4041 and Shure SM81 depending on which guitar I was recording and on which song. There's no single answer. Use your ears.
 
I do mic at around the 9th fret, pointed at the 12th about a foot away. This cuts down on the nasally mids and boom of the soundhole. Only works if you aren't playing past the 9th fret. I also recently discovered the wonders of the "over the shoulder" mic position, where you put a mic over the strumming shoulder just beyond flush with the soundboard, pointed down at the bridge. Do that and the above, pan hard left/right, and I think you'll like the sound.
 
I like to use condensor mics. It depends on what I want. pic and strum sound, fingerstyle, some boomyness or bass, some light trebbly strumming, or a full bodied solo sound. Or some room ambience. Choices are cardiod or omni, and in about 6 different positions around the instrument. Mono/stereo: if I'll have a rhythm part and some solo part, I'll just do 2 mono tracks and that's enogh separation for me. It won't be perfectly balanced, but I'd rather save a track and have fewer options when mixing and have fewer phase worry.
 
I recently tried a Josephson C42 on the 12th fret with an AT4060 coming over the shoulder. Sounded great. If I just use one mic, it is usually the Josephson from the front and I move it up and down the neck towards the sound hole til I get the sound I want.
 
It really depends on what I intend to do with the track. If it's a rhythm track that will likely recede into the mix, I'll put up just a single mic (usually an MK012 or ribbon mic). If it's to be a featured part, I'll use an X/Y pair. Either way, about 12-18 inches away.
 
Look out for "boom" and (my latest problem) guitarists who unconsciously beat on the top with their fingers or the heel of their hand. This requires pointing the mic up the neck away from the body where the sound isn't as rich.
 
how do you position it over the shoulder? should it be right near the shoulder? how far away from the guitar? where should it be pointed? should it be past the guitar and slightly angled in towards the sound hole?

??? got a picture? other than that I guess, since it's mostly for rhythm I'll just mic it with a sp b1 at the 12th fret and... mess with the position.
 
Sometimes, I really like the sound of my MD441 on my acoustic. It sounds good by itself and really helps fill out the sound used in "stereo" with a SD condenser. I just got an AT4040....loving it right it front of the soundhole about 8" away.
 
I run my electric acoustic direct..because that's the kind of record I wanna make. Nobody can take that away from me!
 
grn said:
how do you position it over the shoulder? should it be right near the shoulder? how far away from the guitar? where should it be pointed? should it be past the guitar and slightly angled in towards the sound hole?

??? got a picture? other than that I guess, since it's mostly for rhythm I'll just mic it with a sp b1 at the 12th fret and... mess with the position.
Click to expand...

A guitarplayer hears the guitar differently than the mic that is pointed at the 12th fret or so.

If you use a single mic on a right handed player, start with the mic near his left ear.

If you use a stereo placement like ORTF, XY, DIN or NOS, start with the mics near his forehead.

Experiment!
 
What mic is that?

It looks like an ECM8000. But it's the wrong colour. It's the wrong shape for an Earthworks. Is it the Beyer MM1?
 
It's an Audix TR-40 measurement mic - looks identical to the ECM8000, except for color. About $250 each.
 
hervey those are the most whack mic jobs I've seen in the pics you posted, unless you are miking the player's breath.
 
Harvey Gerst said:
It's an Audix TR-40 measurement mic - looks identical to the ECM8000, except for color. About $250 each.
Click to expand...

I don't know if your's is a special edition or anything, but you can buy those for well under $200 each. I was thinking about getting one or two a while back. How do they compare to earthworks? Or do they compare more to the ECM8000?
 
Harvey Gerst said:
It's an Audix TR-40 measurement mic - looks identical to the ECM8000, except for color. About $250 each.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah. I forgot about the TR-40 :o

$250m is about the same price as the Beyer one is over here.

I wonder how the MM1 compares to the TR-40 and the ECM8000?
 
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