Recording a semi-acoustic

[Wilde]

Hahahaha - Hope not Dave

 

[Rod Norman]

I worked with a blind guitarist for about a year. He had a 1941 Gibson acoustic. He wanted to try something, so we dropped the small diaphragm condenser mic into the sound hole. The finger sounds were gone and the guitar sounded amazing. It was full and rich with no feedback at all. Good luck,
Rod Norman
Engineer

Hi Guys - Been a member for a while, receive newsletters but this is only my second post - I would like to get the best possible sound when recording my semi-acoustic. I am thinking of working on an "unplugged project" and I want to get the best out of my Ibanez AEG - As it is I would normally connect my guitar to my A2 Zoom pedal -> to a LAX 6D mixing console -> to my Saffire Pro 14 -> to my main DAW (Adobe Audition) but I am not happy with the results (for my Ibanez or Gibson electric works fine) So my question is: Should I be using 2 preamps? (the mixing console and the Pro14) or should I record the guitar straight into the Pro 14 with the EQ done on the guitar itself? I know that sometimes it is a question of trying things out - but I would like to hear your views on this. Also if it were the case of my using the 2 preamps should I EQ on the guitar and then EQ again on the mixing console or should I have the EQ of the mixing console down to zero so that I would be using it just as one of the preamps but with no added EQ?
Your input is appreciated
Thanks

 

[JimmyS1969]

I worked with a blind guitarist for about a year. He had a 1941 Gibson acoustic. He wanted to try something, so we dropped the small diaphragm condenser mic into the sound hole. The finger sounds were gone and the guitar sounded amazing. It was full and rich with no feedback at all. Good luck,
Rod Norman
Engineer

I am just going to say 'WOW'!

 

[Wilde]

I worked with a blind guitarist for about a year. He had a 1941 Gibson acoustic. He wanted to try something, so we dropped the small diaphragm condenser mic into the sound hole. The finger sounds were gone and the guitar sounded amazing. It was full and rich with no feedback at all. Good luck,
Rod Norman
Engineer

Greetings Rod - Thanks very much for sharing that - it is something I will definitely trry

 

[YanKleber]

I googled the Ibanez guitar - I really wanted to know what a 'semi-acoustic' was!

Ok, so it's an acoustic with a pickup system (of some kind).

I did exactly the same! Here in Brasil, we call 'semi-acoustic' that electric guitars with a resonant body such as the ES-335 and similars. And being a guitar player myself I was puzzled why he didn't just plug the guitar as you do with ANY electric axe! Turns out that the OP is talking about an acoustic guitar with a built in electric pickup.



Anyway, the poor experience I have with acoustic guitars equiped with piezo pickups is that mostly of them will deliver a weak and harsh rusted tin bucket sound when plugged directly to a mixer or similar, unless, of course, you have a super-expensive instrument where only the piezo pickup will cost thousands of dollars. Being the Ibanez AEG a cheap one I suppose that it is not in this ball park and probably this is the root of your problems. If it would me I would forget about to plug it directly and would go for a good microphone.

 

[ashcat_lt]

Compared to a real guitar they sound really quiet- and miking them up is pointless, they make a horrible sound that is useless to capture with a mic.

There is a time and place for just about anything. Consider for a moment that in some denser mixes the acoustic guitar is pushed into a role very similar to a tambourine. All you really want is the strummy string noise that says "there's an acoustic guitar playing too". Many people will mic up a nice full-sounding acoustic and then completely gut it with EQ. Some just take the DI and cut all the bass and most of the mids. A mic in front of an ES 335 or a Rickenbacker will sound about exactly like that without any EQ at all.

 

[Wilde]

I did exactly the same! Here in Brasil, we call 'semi-acoustic' that electric guitars with a resonant body such as the ES-335 and similars. And being a guitar player myself I was puzzled why he didn't just plug the guitar as you do with ANY electric axe! Turns out that the OP is talking about an acoustic guitar with a built in electric pickup.





Anyway, the poor experience I have with acoustic guitars equiped with piezo pickups is that mostly of them will deliver a weak and harsh rusted tin bucket sound when plugged directly to a mixer or similar, unless, of course, you have a super-expensive instrument where only the piezo pickup will cost thousands of dollars. Being the Ibanez AEG a cheap one I suppose that it is not in this ball park and probably this is the root of your problems. If it would me I would forget about to plug it directly and would go for a good microphone.

The Ibanez AEG8 BK Rec. retail price $449.00 - Not state of the art but not exactly cheap - and the point is not always the price. I once recorded an acoustic worth some US $100 with a condenser mic via a Roland amp and it is one of the best sounds I could ever get out of an acoustic

---------- Update ----------

I worked with a blind guitarist for about a year. He had a 1941 Gibson acoustic. He wanted to try something, so we dropped the small diaphragm condenser mic into the sound hole. The finger sounds were gone and the guitar sounded amazing. It was full and rich with no feedback at all. Good luck,
Rod Norman
Engineer

Rod - a question if I may - how did you secure the mic inside the hole?

 

[mjbphotos]

The Ibanez AEG8 BK Rec. retail price $449.00 - Not state of the art but not exactly cheap - and the point is not always the price. I once recorded an acoustic worth some US $100 with a condenser mic via a Roland amp and it is one of the best sounds I could ever get out of an acoustic

---------- Update ----------

Rod - a question if I may - how did you secure the mic inside the hole?

Wilde - recording ANY acoustic with an external mic is going to get a better sound than recording the plugged-in sound, what YanK was saying is that the best-sounding plugged-in sounds come from pickup systems that cost more than your entire guitar, and sorry to say that anything under $500 is a 'low end' acoustic-electric (no problem, I have a few of them, too!)

Please ignore Rod Norman's suggestion. There are specific dual-blend systems for acoustic guitar that use an internal microphone (mounted in the guitar, not just hanging in there!) and a body or piezo pickup.