Recording Acoustic Guitars

puls · Post by **puls** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 4:38 pm

I've tracked acoustic guitars using a number of guitars & methods, usually involving more then one mic or a combination of mics & pickups. I've never liked close mics on an acoustic, although I've never had a good omni to do it with either. Still, sometimes it works even w/ condensors. Usually I'll use a tube mic 1-2 feet away (my tube mic gets a really hoppin' sound w/ good dynamics), and then mix it w/ a spaced pair of steroe mics (use the 3:1 rule), usually SDC's.
I'll sometimes run a line off of the piezo & mix that as well - I find that sometimes the mics don't capture the attack so well, and a touch of the piezo takes care of that. For all of you folks w/ a valley dynamite compressor, try running your piezo thru the dynamite. I've also recorded electric archtops w/ a mic mixed w/ the pickup for a somewhat unique (but good) sound.
I have an old mahogany guitar from the 30's that I use sometimes, and it is very boomy, so I use the bass role-off feature to avoid the muddy rumbles.
I try to keep eq to a minimum, or not at all. Everything usually has a touch of compression to level it out a bit. I emphasize just a touch.

Basically, just try a bunch of different methods, move the mics around, try several mics mixed/panned, until you can find something you like for that song(s)

I've also heard (not tried yet) that if your tracking room has a carpeted floor, try putting down something like a piece of plywood that will bounce the sound back up. This is supposed to make the acoustic intruments sound more like acoustic instruments, espesially if your not close micing. Again, I've not had a chance to try this personnally yet.

If I wait 10 minutes or so I'll probably come up w/ something else, but that's all I've got for now. Hope it helps.

JWP[/i]

sparky · Post by **sparky** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 4:57 pm

re: "there's no substitute for skill", I'll prolly get flamed for saying this, but one substitute for skill is judicious compression, especially since you are complaining about uneveness. Careful compression can make you sound like you are better at playing the guitar, especially if there are finger picked parts or other arpeggio-like things where the individual attacks and loudness of notes get all jaggy cause you are not a guitar master (maybe you are, I'm just sayin is all...). Also, compression can help make the guitar sound like a better guitar, by changing its perceived balance (can sound less thin if you set the compressor so that it brings up the note decays, especially useful for plywood guitars, martin DXMwhatevers, etc.)

You should be able to figure out a way if your rig is reasonably clean to make a crappy guitar crappily played sound ok. Not great but ok. Try to record in a cool sounding room and put the mic far away as hell and compress it. Try 2 feet, 10 feet, 20 feet. It's not that you'll necessarily want to use that sound, but it will make the interaction between the room, guitar, mic, and comp way more obvious, like when you get a new pedal and you try the knobs at all their most extreme settings to figure out exactly what e.g. "creaminess" means.

this is probably pointless since if you had a LA-2A you'd have awesomer guitars first I bet, but man, a LA-2A is radical on arpeggio-type acoustic parts. Even with like a 57.

snuffinthepunk · Post by **snuffinthepunk** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 5:56 pm

hope I'm not hijacking this thread, it fits in with what's bein talked about. How do acoustics with big asses typically sound because of their body shape? I've only owned 2 acoustic guitars, the first was a dreadnought and I forget how it sounded years ago cuz it's a piece of shit now. My new one is pretty with a phat ass (should I be careful? I don't want to get hurt again....).

great thread by the way, I'm readin a lot of useful stuff in here!

Nano_606 · Post by **Nano_606** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 10:59 pm

wow so many awesome replies I can't even begin to respond..

Thanks for all the great idea's.. I just tried moving the mics up the fretboard more and that has definatly helped. The compression helped to, but only when I lightly used it... Also, when I moved into the kitchen and out of my boxy room the higher ceilings (im guessing) has really helped it sound less congested. Unfortunatly now that some of the bad recording sound is going away, I can'hear were its "me" thats fucking things up:)

I should have come to this forum a long time ago. Thanks, and I will post some "before" and "after" recordings, and explain what was done differantly. That should be fun.

Recycled_Brains · Post by **Recycled_Brains** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 6:41 am

i recently tracked an entire acoustic album (mostly only accompanied by vocals and some bass).

i tried a few different techniques depending on what sound she wanted. i had great luck with an LDC about 2-2 1/2 feet off of the sound hole, but angled at around a 30 to 45 degrees on either the horizontal or vertical axis. this often got tedious as i found myself moving the mic in very small increments to avoid too much proximity effect, but the end result was worth it, and i really found out how much a little time spent with placement can make a huge difference. for the mics i either used a Neumann U89, or an AT4040 (which i thought was much better sounding).

i also used my Shinybox 46c aimed at the 12th fret, as well as a Studio Projects B3 in omni about 5 feet back. it was in a nice big room with high ceilings, so the omni mic added a lot of depth to the sound.

was really happy with the results for the most part. there were a couple of songs that required a touch of eq-ing to tame the lows a bit, but nothing crazy.

lee · Post by **lee** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 8:28 am

you take a set of 12-string strings and only use the unwound ones. You tune the guitar to the same pitches, but there's not low strings anymore. , You just get the high pitches that float over the mix

...i can WAIT to give that a try!
...even though its going to give me intonation from hell...

if the ac guitar part isnt the "center piece" of the ensmable, you might want to move the mic back. an extra foot of distance between the instrument and the mic will give the recording more depth. it will also eliminate the "boom". personally, i cant stand recordings where everything seems an inch away from your ear (in you face). (but thats me).

also, the guitar, mic, room, and mic-placment might not be the problem. the illuding monitor system could be the culprit. a collection of lowend room-frequencies will turn a guitar into mush.

@?,*???&? · Post by **@?,*???&?** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 9:32 am

mjau wrote:
Jeff Robinson wrote:Mic'ing an acoustic in mono is absolutely BORING.
No offense, Jeff, but this generalization is horseshit. A single, well-placed mic on an acoustic guitar can be perfect in the right situation.

No offense whoever you are, but this generalization is horseshit. Use your name or you are absolutely anonymous...in other words, who cares what you think? I'll make a statement and put my name to it. I can't stand mono acoustic guitars.

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 9:39 am

Jeff Robinson wrote:
mjau wrote:
Jeff Robinson wrote:Mic'ing an acoustic in mono is absolutely BORING.
No offense, Jeff, but this generalization is horseshit. A single, well-placed mic on an acoustic guitar can be perfect in the right situation.
No offense whoever you are, but this generalization is horseshit. Use your name or you are absolutely anonymous and unimportant...

Pedro Martinez

Stephen B. · Post by **Stephen B.** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:34 pm

Here's a crazy technique I used recently and it sounds pretty good:

I miced the acoustic in ORTF stereo, but with the left mic pointing basically where you would point a mono mic (roughly at the 12th fret) and the right mic pointing at an upright piano. I had something weighing down the sustain pedal, and the headstock of the guitar touching the piano. Maybe I'm nuts but the tiny bit of transfer the guitar makes to the piano makes a difference--a three dimensional quality?--and I believe the mic actually picked it up. Obviously this only works when you want the acoustic part hard-panned (and you could reverse it if you wanted it on the right). Here's a clip. (You can, and should, ignore the scratch vocal)

Wonderful acoustic

FYI, it doesn't come in until the loud part. It's a Taylor 614ce guitar with Earthworks SR77 SDCs. The preamp is a DAV BG1 in to a Mini-Me.

JASIII · Post by **JASIII** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:54 pm

Jeff Robinson wrote:
mjau wrote:
Jeff Robinson wrote:Mic'ing an acoustic in mono is absolutely BORING.
No offense, Jeff, but this generalization is horseshit. A single, well-placed mic on an acoustic guitar can be perfect in the right situation.
No offense whoever you are, but this generalization is horseshit. Use your name or you are absolutely anonymous...in other words, who cares what you think? I'll make a statement and put my name to it. I can't stand mono acoustic guitars.

fuck off dickhead. we've heard it all ad nauseum.

Ethan Holdtrue · Post by **Ethan Holdtrue** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 6:43 pm

good guitar for recording = Dean.

Good mics for recording the good guitar = sm-57 w/ an sm-81.

Mess around with which mic you point at the neck and the body, both will yeild good results.

PeterSawatzky · Post by **PeterSawatzky** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 7:53 pm

Another great, and inexpensive, acoustic brand is Seagull from Canada. They're one of those lesser-known makes that will knock your socks off. Really pro-quality made in (North) America instruments for import money. They age well too. One weird thing about them, though, is that they have very wide necks (1.8") which take some getting used to, but also make it easier to cleanly play open chords.

So, long story short, before you buy an Asian import, check out a Seagull!

alissa · Post by **alissa** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 10:52 pm

JASIII wrote:
Jeff Robinson wrote:
mjau wrote:
Jeff Robinson wrote:Mic'ing an acoustic in mono is absolutely BORING.
No offense, Jeff, but this generalization is horseshit. A single, well-placed mic on an acoustic guitar can be perfect in the right situation.
No offense whoever you are, but this generalization is horseshit. Use your name or you are absolutely anonymous...in other words, who cares what you think? I'll make a statement and put my name to it. I can't stand mono acoustic guitars.
fuck off dickhead. we've heard it all ad nauseum.

i'm scared.

snuffinthepunk · Post by **snuffinthepunk** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 11:46 pm

alissa wrote:
JASIII wrote:
Jeff Robinson wrote:
mjau wrote:
Jeff Robinson wrote:Mic'ing an acoustic in mono is absolutely BORING.
No offense, Jeff, but this generalization is horseshit. A single, well-placed mic on an acoustic guitar can be perfect in the right situation.
No offense whoever you are, but this generalization is horseshit. Use your name or you are absolutely anonymous...in other words, who cares what you think? I'll make a statement and put my name to it. I can't stand mono acoustic guitars.
fuck off dickhead. we've heard it all ad nauseum.
i'm scared.

don't be scared, it's all bark no bite. besides, we all know that opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and they all stink. =) mono acoustic guitar probably wouldn't sound good if the track was just a guitar and a voice, unless the style/vibe called for it! but, that's just my opinion.

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Sat Jun 24, 2006 8:33 am

who cares what jeff robinson thinks? show of hands please.

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Recording Acoustic Guitars

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