Setup advice?

[Shaunittner]

I'm looking for some technique/setup advice for recording.

I'll start off with a list of my equipment:
Alesis Multimix 8 USB mixer
Powerspec CPU ( 512 ram, 2.2 ghz, etc. )
2 SHURE SM58's, 1 EV MC300

I'm currently trying to record an acoustic/indie demo which will require me just using my mic's for my guitar and vocals. I've been using fruity loops for quite some time now so I'll be using that program for percussion and Cubase LE for recording the vocals and guitar, seperately ofcourse.

I can't seem to get a good sound out of my Fender Acoustic. It usually produces somewhat of a bass'y tone to where it's overdriving almost. I tried cutting the low completely but it ends up sounding really low quality. I checked all my program specs to make sure that the program isn't degrading the quality and that's not it. I've looked at some positioning theories for mic's for acoustic guitars but I haven't seen anything that is too different than what i've been already doing.

So that leads me to here, any advice, info, etc. to help guide me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Unfortunately the 58 or the MC300, while both nice stage vocal microphones, are far from the ideal mics for acoustic guitar recording. Your just not going to get the bright and crip sound you might be looking for from them, especially through the Alesis preamp.

That said, your best bet with the gear you have is probably to try miking up on the neck, keeping away from the sound hole and the body of the guitar, about 6" off the neck, and then using a parametric EQ in Cubase to try and notch up the upper end of the sound somewhere in the 4k - 6k range.

Or, maybe better, if you have a buddy with a halfway decent condensor or ribbon mic, borrow that and try the same thing.

G.

 

[Shaunittner]

Hmmm. Well, I have a 20 dollar gift card for Guitar Center, so i could fork over some cash to purchase a decent condenser mic. The limit of my funding would be 100 though.. What would you suggest?

EDIT: Just looked up a M Audio Nova Condenser, looks like something I could afford. Would this be a distinguishing improvement in tone or should I hold off for another?

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

There are a few econo-condensors at the $99 level, none of which are really all that great. If you had to go with one I'd recommend the Audio Technica AT2020.

If you can save your pennies for a while, though, you'd probably find that it'd well worth it to step up to the ~$300 level for an AT4040 or MXL V69.

Your call, depending on how much money you want to sink into this junk and how important the sound is to you. I have not even started talking about preamps yet .

G.

 

[CoolCat]

the boomy acoustic guitar

I can't seem to get a good sound out of my Fender Acoustic. It usually produces somewhat of a bass'y tone to where it's overdriving almost. I tried cutting the low completely but it ends up sounding really low quality.

Cheers.

excuse chopping the email...
Boomy acoustic.

I was just now re-reading an article by Ethan Winer that was mentioning placing a piece of plywood under you if your in a full carpeted floor room etc... dead room/ live room kinda talk.

http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html#big waves

Maybe you can try playing the acoustic in a different location, add some plywood under you, etc.....

just a guess, good luck.

 

[ssscientist]

Unfortunately the 58 or the MC300, while both nice stage vocal microphones, are far from the ideal mics for acoustic guitar recording.

I'm going to have to call bullshit on that one.

Just because you see the SM58 on stage as a vocal mic regularly doesn't mean it's not one of the more flexible dynamics in the mic locker.

A carfully positioned SM58, along with the 'sheet of plywood' trick that Coolcat mentioned is how I recorded my acoustic and other acoustics for years to much acclaim and personal satisfaction.

There's nothing wrong with getting as close as you can to a good sound, then rolling off a little bottom end on the Alesis channel that you've got the 58 plugged into.

I too recommend the Audio Technica 2020 as a step up from a 58 for the purpose, but if for some reason you don't want to spend the $ IMHO with a little work you have what you need to get good results now.


.

 

[Shaunittner]

All good info, thanks much .

What are some ideal EQ settings for acoustic guitar recording?

I think I'm going to record some tracks with 3 mic's at the same time. Maybe one by my head, one to the neck and one further down the next and see if I can get a good sound.

 

[ssscientist]

If you're going to be recording just the guitar all you'll get out of 3 mics at once is phase problems.

Use one microphone and put a sheet of plywood at least 4' by 4' on the floor, then sit in your chair in the middle of the plywood and do ye olde 'record/listen', 'record listen/compare', 'record/listen/compare' until you think you've got it. Then track the guitar part, let it sit for a day and come back and see how the recording and the performance sound with some distance.

As far as EQing goes, your mixer has an 18dB High Pass filter at 75Hz. Since there is nothing under 75Hz that is useful in an acoustic guitar recording you should engage this filter. The low band is centered around 80Hz and the bandwidth must be fairly wide so a little bit of rolloff will go a long way. I recommend you adjust it to where your ear tells you to, but if that means going past 10 o'clock you need to try a different microphone placement. That should be all you need - don't adjust the mid or the high because that's where most of the sound is and if you start messing with that you'll mess things up for sure. Don't use the built in effects while you're still trying to get a sound -- they'll only confuse the issue.

The usual mic placement for an acoustic guitar is pointing at either the 12th fret or the point where the neck joins the body --- typically the 14th fret --- and about 6 to 10 inches from the strings. Do not take this as a recipe or perscription --- play around until it sounds good to you by moving the mic up and down the neck, in and out in horizontal distance and toward the treble or the bass strings vertically.