Mike Positioning For Acoustic

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PollyWaffle

New member
Hi,

I am pretty new to trying to make decent recordings. My set up is very rudimentary, & this acoustic was recorded with just an SM57 into a Tascam 122L. I tried 3 positions but, whilst my ears are good enough to hear a difference, they are not good enough to say which one is best (subjective as it is).

If it's not to much bother can i get some feedback on which recording sounds best, in your opinion. They are only 6 second clips.

File 1

File 2

File 3

Cheers, sim
 
personally 1 is the least muffled sounding. However, is this a different chord/pattern etc? sounds completely different than the other two. If it is. It's hard to give you an accurate judgment.
 
For a rhythm gtr part like that there is no best when on its own. Depends what will go over it.

Clip one was the most "natural in the room", clip two had more proximity effect and a nice percussive flatpick sound, clip three was similar to that but with a lot of boom.
 
I personally liked #2 best. I only listened to each one once though.

Although #1 seems to have a better balance with more high end and clarity. So maybe #1 is the best. #1 would probably sound better in a mix too.

What kind of guitar is it?
 
i agree, 1 sounds the most clear to me and would cut through a mix with the least amount of eq.

i usually put the mic in front of the sound hole, but aimed at where the neck meets the body.
 
thanx for the kind replies, i really appreciate it... i don't have pro monitors & was wondering about the boominess in 2 & 3... head phones seem to have *natural* extra bass

1 is from above the neck at 12th fret pointed towards sound hole at 45 degrees

2 & 3 are both over the shoulder, one over 14th fret towards hole, the other one over bridge, respectively...

the gtr is a seagull m6... funny, if i change the chord formations from Em (capo 2) to Dm (capo 4) the same mike positions sound completely different...

thanx again...
 
PollyWaffle said:
thanx for the kind replies, i really appreciate it... i don't have pro monitors & was wondering about the boominess in 2 & 3... head phones seem to have *natural* extra bass

1 is from above the neck at 12th fret pointed towards sound hole at 45 degrees

2 & 3 are both over the shoulder, one over 14th fret towards hole, the other one over bridge, respectively...

the gtr is a seagull m6... funny, if i change the chord formations from Em (capo 2) to Dm (capo 4) the same mike positions sound completely different...

thanx again...
Click to expand...

Yea placing a mic on an acoustic takes patience and a lot of experience. One little movement or anything can drastically effect the sound.

I think your guitar has a good natural bass to it. Seems like the SM57 sounded pretty good on it too.
 
danny.guitar said:
I think your guitar has a good natural bass to it. Seems like the SM57 sounded pretty good on it too.
Click to expand...

mmm, i also have a gibson j45, now that is boomy as hell... impossible for me to find a good mike spot... i like the seagull better, & at a quarter of the price!
 
I liked 2 the best.

1 was a little bright and 3 was a little warmer or darker than 2. It depends on the song I suppose.
 
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