Micing an acoustic guitar?

[Lane]

I have several acoustics and need help learning to mic them properly for recording. I've never had much luck, despite sevreral different mics and set up attempts.

I mainly use my Taylor with a Fishman pickup, which doesn't record all that well direct. I've read that you can use the pickup in conjunction with a mic(s) but I dont get satisfactory results, with or without the pickup. I also get a lot of background noise, especially from my computer fan...

I have a LD condenser - MXL V67 and a small, MXl 600 along with a SM58...

Need some advice here.

 

[EleKtriKaz]

As far as fan noise goes, I have this problem as well. I built my own computer and didn't buy a quiet enough fan. I get a bunch of blankets and pile them on top of the computer...yes this is bad for the computer, which is why I let it breathe during breaks.

I don't know what kind of music you're recording, but I would first try the v67 at the 12th fret 4-8" out, move it around and see what you get. Or the v67 backed off a few feet and the sdc in close at the 12th, blend the two. Maybe experiment with the 58 pointing at the body of the guitar in conjunction with the v67 around the 12th.

 

[Lane]

Thx... I"ll experiment with this some more. The V67 is so sensitive that it picks up everything, which is good in the right environ, I guess. I also get too much boominess, but I know thats a matter of placement.

Oh, what I play is mostly fingerstyle and low volume sort of stuff, so I need to pick up the fine details, without the excess noise...

 

[EleKtriKaz]

The boominess probably means you have the mics too close to the body or the soundhole. For fingerstyle you may want to consider upgrading to a matched pair of SDCs.

Ask in the studio building forum about isolation...they might be able to offer you a low cost solution, like building baffles out of wood and treating them or something.

 

[Sonixx]

here's a snippet of an Ovation nylon guitar using two SDCs... if you're interested, I'll discuss the mic positions...

Click here...

 

[aaroncomp]

You could use a noisegate to lessen some of the noise between notes. It might affect the sound you're going for, though.

 

[Rokket]

You could use a noisegate to lessen some of the noise between notes. It might affect the sound you're going for, though.

Compression in the mix will help too, along with the noisegate....

 

[hasbeen]

Try this...
Use a boom and come over the right shoulder of the player with the LDC. Aim it slightly towards the soundhole and position it around ear level.

I think the MXL600 is a cardoid mic, but you can try it in front aimed at the 12th fret as well as the LDC described above.

 

[Sonixx]

Compression in the mix will help too, along with the noisegate....

compression will raise the noise floor... not lower it...

 

[Lane]

This is great - I'll try the over shoulder set up.

Now, as to adding gate, comp, etc -I'm new to this - I have a 4 channel mixer with on board fx, but can only use one at a time, I think - but I'm guessing that you're referring to putting these fx in the line before the mixer, with a di box or ?

Sonixx - I cant get your clip to open up and I"d like to hear it - try again?

 

[Sonixx]

... Sonixx - I cant get your clip to open up and I"d like to hear it - try again?

Click here and then select Summer Time... this recording is with one SDC out front pointed at the neck/body and the other SDC is over the right shoulder... each mic's distance is about 15 inches

 

[asulger]

I think you should concentrate on reducing the noise level first. There are large cpu fans that rotate slower so the noise level is both softer and lower pitched.
You can replace the power supplies with a higher grade Antec (sp?). You can find db comparisons on the web. Some power supplies have on-demand fans. Fans are the big computer noise problem (if they aren't you've got real problems).
Once your background sound level is down you have 1,000's more mic positions to choose from. You have a Taylor - mighty nice guitar - you might want to mic it from a distance and get the total sound, rather than in the near-field and only get part of it.

 

[reshp1]

This is great - I'll try the over shoulder set up.

Now, as to adding gate, comp, etc -I'm new to this - I have a 4 channel mixer with on board fx, but can only use one at a time, I think - but I'm guessing that you're referring to putting these fx in the line before the mixer, with a di box or ?

Sonixx - I cant get your clip to open up and I"d like to hear it - try again?

Don't know what kind of mixer you have, but the onboard effects are usually not the best, better to fix the problem at the source as much as possible, record through minimal equipment (i.e. Mic to preamp to tape/disc) and if need be add the effects later.

The over shoulder works great. I never heard my guitar through the speakers the way it sounded when I played it until I tried that.
I usually have another SDC off the neck 10" around the 9th fret, pointed at the 12th fret (slighty tilted off perpendicular with the neck).
I pan the overshoulder hard right, neck mic hard left.

 

[Neeps]

If at all possible I'd go for a wireless keyboard andmouse and a monitor extension cable then put the pc in the next room... works a treat for me... now I'm worrying about the noise that my monitor screen is making... lol

 

[Lane]

Don't know what kind of mixer you have, but the onboard effects are usually not the best, better to fix the problem at the source as much as possible, record through minimal equipment (i.e. Mic to preamp to tape/disc) and if need be add the effects later..

I'm using a little 4 channel Behringer with fx built in. I see your point though about adding compression, etc. later, which is what I usually do, but I thought I had read that you should compress/gate on the way into the mixer...