how not to record acoustic guitar picks?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jerberson12
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jerberson12

mucis procedure
i dont like the sound of the pick, theres a lot of acoustic tracks ive heard that i cant hear any pick sound. how do they do that?
 
jerberson12 said:
i dont like the sound of the pick, theres a lot of acoustic tracks ive heard that i cant hear any pick sound. how do they do that?
Aim the mic between the 12th and 10th fret at an angle pointing toward the headstock. Keep the guitar about 6-8 inches from the mic.
This works for me depending on the mic. I can't get away with it with a condensor (the damn thing even picks up my breathing!). But a decent dynamic should work good (the ol' SM 57...).




EDIT: Something I just thought about, is that you can also play with your thumb or fingers instead of using a pick, and I've seen but not used, is a pick (which I believe is for bass players) made from felt material.
Just some recommendations...
 
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use a less flimsy pick. at the risk of breaking strings, this is a thought..the pick sound you hear is the bend of the pick releasing from one string and smacking the next string. the thicker the pick, the less smacking i hear. try the .75 mm and 1 mm picks and see how that works. what you could also be hearing is the pick smacking the edge of the sound hole and the pick guard. god knows i had to work on not doing that
 
Along with everything else said, sometimes it is a function of the guitar you are playing. If you have a quiet guitar, it could be accentuating the pick noise. Most of the time it is because of a thin pick.
 
I've had pretty good success using the Dunlop Big Stubbies. At first when you pick them up it seems like a joke but heck...it works for me.
 
Rokket said:
Aim the mic between the 12th and 10th fret at an angle pointing toward the headstock. Keep the guitar about 6-8 inches from the mic.

I'd think this would give you too much high end.....perhaps double mike it? Would the low end pick up the picking sound?
 
Rokket said:
I can't get away with it with a condensor (the damn thing even picks up my breathing!).


There are different mic pattern condensors.
 
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