RNC settings for an acoustic.

S

Smokepole

New member
Does anyone have some favorite settings they would like to share?

I tried micing around the 12th-14th fret, but actually like the tone better with the mic a few feet away.

I'm not sure how to set the compressor. I've tried experimenting a little but am not thrilled with my results. I'm sure it's not totally because of the compressor so I wanted some advice.

Thanks
Joe
 
Hi Tex,

This song is a country or even pop style slow tearjerker ballad. Almost like "The Little Girl” if you're familiar with it. The intro is only the acoustic and a voice so I really want some quality to the tone seeing as it'll be half of what you're listening to at that point.

I posted over in the rack also and got a response mentioning supernice mode. I have only used it for final mix down to 2 tracks. Do you also recommend it?

Marshall MXL V77>Dmp3>RNC>Roland digital deck

Thanks for the reply.
Joe
 
I haven't used an RNC all that much so I can't really recomend a setting. I just ordered a few and they should be in today. Compressing acoustic guitar is tricky because it's easy to kill all of your high end and make it too boxy sounding. Usually a slow attack and release will help preserve the high end a bit.

If the guitar is very prominent then you might want to double mic it or at least double track it. I've had good luck with one mic above the bridge and another at the 12th fret. Then double track it and reverse the stereo image of one of the pairs. I recorded some semi-country stuff of a friend here http://www.nowhereradio.com/texroadkill/singles I liked the way "When I'm Home" came out but I'm not too thrilled with the other tune.

For a strummed guitar I usually play around with the mic at the 12th fret and move it back to capture more room sound if it seems to help. Don't be afraid to roll off the lows pretty aggressively if you need to. It may help with the compression also.
 
Thanks a lot. All good info. I'm listening now to "When I'm Home". This has a pretty rich sound to the acoustic. When you say double track do you mean record with one mic on 2 tracks just to have more sound? Or do you mean record the guitar 2 different times?

That's a good recording. Very real. It sounds like he's sitting next to me in the room.

Joe
 
On that one I used two mics, one at the bridge and one at 12th fret recorded as a stereo pair and then we recorded the entire song twice. In the end there were 4 tracks total with the bridge mics panned pretty close to center and the neck mics panned wide L/R.

My RNC's came in and I'm heading home to try them out on some new stuff. Should be fun.
 
I'm not to up on the Roland unit but if it has "Plug Ins" you might also try a Multiband Compressor (Waves C4) after you've laid the track. It's almost like using a EQ but seems to be smoother and richer sounding.

TexRK... "reverse the stereo image of one of the pairs."
Not sure if it's the same thing but w/ Electric guitars I use the Waves S1 (stereo imager). On 2 guitars panned L/R I put the stereo imager on one of em (maybe both can't remember at the moment) and click on the (-) sign. It reverses the signal. I've never tried it w/ accoustics, but I will tomorrow. Your also talking about 4 guitars.

Someone showed me that about a year ago... Do you know what is actually happening, and why it sounds so cool? It sounds almost like reverb or something, but does richen it up. If you don't that's cool... I don't either :) I just know I like it.

B.
 
TexRK... Nice Songs!! soulfull.
If your familiar with Taylor Guitars at all... how would you say they sound compared to the Larivee your friend has. I've been looking at the Taylor 310 & 410 & just recently a Martin D16rgte. Martins always seemed to have just a little to much low end going on but this D16 is a little mellower. I'd like to find something right in about the Middle of Taylor & Martin. Larivee is on my list to check out as well as Guild.
Also, does your friend have any albums or are these songs the start of his recording? I really do like the songs (& voice).

Thanks,
B.
 
Larrivee guitars

Booda said:
TexRK... Nice Songs!! soulfull.
If your familiar with Taylor Guitars at all... how would you say they sound compared to the Larivee your friend has. I've been looking at the Taylor 310 & 410 & just recently a Martin D16rgte. Martins always seemed to have just a little to much low end going on but this D16 is a little mellower. I'd like to find something right in about the Middle of Taylor & Martin. Larivee is on my list to check out as well as Guild.
Also, does your friend have any albums or are these songs the start of his recording? I really do like the songs (& voice).

Thanks,
B.
Click to expand...

Larrivee guitars are wonderful, particularly for the price range. They are great for recording too. Strongly consider the OM-05 or L-05 (mahogohy/sitka) or the rosewood/sitka equivalents, the OM-09 and L-09.
 
Smokepole said:
I'm sure it's not totally because of the compressor so I wanted some advice.

Thanks
Joe
Click to expand...

It`s not the compressor, the RNC is a GREAT comp. for acoustic guitar. I use it in Supernice mode, slow attack, release depending on music style.
Remember, compressing the acoustic guitar will bring out the room you are recording in, so be careful.......

Amund
 
Booba-
Thanks! The Larivee (it's mine actually) sounds pretty similar to the Taylors. It's a little brighter and more defined than most of the Martins I've heard.

The S1 is probably using some phase tricks to widen the stereo image. All I did was use two pairs of stereo recordings and panned one of the pairs opposite of the other so that there was a neck mic from each take panned L and R with the bridge mics in the middle. That seems to help balance out the sound a bit.

Earle Douglass is the artist and he used to have a page up at MP3.com but I couldn't seem to find it. He's an Australian blues player and plays a mean slide guitar. He's got one album out and we're going to be working on the next one pretty soon. Those tracks were just some fast demos because he wanted to record a few new songs and I wanted to screw around with some new gear. I've got a signifantly upgraded studio now so it should be fun.
 
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