Would you use two mics?

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ClapHands

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Suppose you're recording a small band, just bass, acoustic guitar and drums, two vocalists. If you're trying to make the sound a bit fuller but are constrained in some ways (by minimal drum miking for instance) would you use two mics on the guitar, since after all the songs are based around it? Would that help?
 
It depends. What kind of guitar are you micing?

I'm wrestling with this same thing myself currently. I traditionally like to use 2 SDC mics on an acoustic guitar: one at around the 12th or 14th fret, and another pointed behind the bridge. Between the two, I get a nice bassy sound out of the bridge mic and nice clear sound out of the 12th fret mic. Mixed together at the right ratio, and I get a nice full-range guitar tone to work with.

The problem is that this doesn't always fit into a mix since it has a pretty wide spectrum of frequencies represented. But in a mix where the acoustic guitar is a featured instrument and not just one of many rhythm instruments, 2 mics might be just the remedy to fill out the sound a bit.

I just got a new drednaught acoustic not too long ago and it's got a huge sound, lots of bass, lots of mids, lots of highs. It's just a huge, bombastic sound when strummed. I'm finding that the bridge mic is a little too much. But I"m not finished experimentng yet.

If you're using an orchestra model or similar guitar, then 2 mics might be a good thing. But with a big, bassy drednaught, it might be too much. Especially if you already have a bass guitar in you ensemble. You might end up competing too much for those low-mid frequencies and creating some sonic mush.
 
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