Recording an acoustic album (?)

[Gear_Junky]

I'm recording an acoustic album for a friend. First take was just the rhythm guitar part. He played my Martin D-15 and I used 3 tracks for it - I had a RODE NT1 in front of it (couple feet), AKG c1000s (hypercardioid) above it (~4 feet) and the third track was the condenser mic that's mounted inside the guitar. I figured this way I'll have a nice, rich sound and I'll be able to pan it for spaciousness.

We also layed down the first track of vocals.

Now it's time to do other guitar parts - solos, etc. I wanted different guitar "voices", so I got him a different guitar - a jumbo, which sounds really nice. I'm only gonna use 1 track for each solo guitar part. I figured that if now i use the c1000s in front of the guitar, I'll also add to the different character of the take. Is this a good idea?

I could still use the NT1, but somehow I want to try the AKG, because it's hypercardioid. I want a nice, rich sound that'll cut through the 3 tracks of rhythm. I'd apreciate any practical advice of those who went through similar experiences.

 

[gordone]

What preamp(s) are you using? That can make a big difference in the character of the recorded guitars. I record primarily acoustic guitar, and I've been trying to capture a "transparent" sound of the instrument. I've been getting great results with my Neumann KM184 pointed a bit down towards the 13th fret, about 6 inches away from the neck. I go into my Great River, really picks up the nuances of each of my guitars. I sometimes add a AT4033 pointed towards the bridge for a nice stereo sound.

Good luck!

-Evan

 

[Gear_Junky]

I have 2 Presonus Blue Tube preamps. When tracking the rhythm, I only used tube coloration to the minimum, but I thought I'd use more on the solos. But what about the mics?

 

[37point5]

Are you physically limited to one track on the solos? If not, you might as well record as you did with the rhythm and explore your options during mixdown. If you really only have one track to spare, I'd recommend running the C1000 and the pickup into a mixer and blending until you get the sound you want. I'd place the C1000 higher up the neck to get less of the boom from the soundhole. That way, you can use a lot of the high-frequency response and transients from the C1000, and mix in the pickup for some lower end "chunk". Or try the mixing the C1000 (higher up the neck) and the Rode (down by the soundhole), using the C1000 as your main mic, with the Rode mixed in to increase bassiness and pick attack.

I guess what it boils down to is that you should test out all combinations to see what sounds best. And remember, just because it sounds good by itself doesn't mean it'll sound good in the mix. Something that sounds completely awesome alone can get totally lost in the mix. And there's nothing wrong with using panning, EQ, compression, and reverb to place the instruments in the mix after they've been recorded.

Good luck!

Ryan