Stereo Mic-ing: MXL v67 & SM57!

[mbouteneff]

I only own two mics, an MXL v67 and an sm57, and I'm going to be recording acoustic guitar in my home studio. I thought I'd try the "poor man's" stereo mic-ing technique with the pair. First question: Stupid idea? Second: What can I do to optimize the recording (how far from guitar, which mic pointing at guitar neck, and where in relation to sound hole; anything else?).

Thanks for your help!!

 

[Middleman]

Given those two mics I would find a really nice sounding room, probably not your bedroom, and put the 57 on the twelfth fret about 4 inches out and the 67 about 3-4 feet away about ear height.

You might even try the over the shoulder technique at ear level with the 67.

Close micing would produce too much mid range I would think. Depends on the guitar sound and the vocal YMMV.


Good luck.

 

[mbouteneff]

Thanks - another question: using a pick-up

Thanks, Middleman. I've since been fooling around with different combinations, one interesting one being placing the v67 at the 12th fret as you said, and placing the sm57 behind the guitar..! By itself it's (the sm57) an awful sound, but in tandem it's kind of interesting. I still need to try out the over-the-shoulder technique you mentioned. (oh, and regarding the room, I'm afraid I _am_ limited to my bedroom When recording over the shoulder, you're pointing the mic down at the guitar, correct?

I also should have mentioned, I have a seymour duncan single-coil pick up -- just curious if you've combined mics with pick-up before and what you found?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Middleman]

Yeah the 57 would not be my choice on acoustic. Actually neither of those mics would be. The 57 is good for volume sources like a snare or screaming vocal, not exactly detailed however and a bit compressed sounding. The 67 is a dark mic, good for male vocals but once again, the highs are not detailed enough for the range of an acoustic guitar.

You should pick up a pair of MXL 603s or Oktava MC-012s. Depending on the guitar an AT4033 or AT4040 might also work; they have a very focused mid-range. If you want bright airy clarity the 603s or 012s fit the bill.

Yes, I have combined pickups with mics and the best success I have had is with the internal bridge mounted pickups to get the resonance and an external mic to pick up the room sound. You need the right room however to get proper results.

A very nice sound is a pair of the 603s or 012s in and X-Y pattern i.e. 45 angle recorded to stereo or double mono tracks.

 

[artCROSS]

Go with the 603s. I just got them and love them for guitar...may be a little too bright if your guitar is not dark enough, but haven't had this problem yet. I got them for 175 off 8thstreet. Just email them saying you talked down a salesperson at your local music store to that price and they'll match it.

 

[artCROSS]

btw, that's for the stereo pair with the shockmounts and carrying case