Recording Acoustic Guitars

[yfoiler]

A nice way to get rid of the "proximity effect" that a large diaphragm condenser mic produces, and also get rid of the boomy acoustic guitar sound is to record the guitar with an omni capsule. I like to use a very inexpensive Oktava MC or MK-12 with the omnidirectional capsule on it. It's awesome, sounding more like what our human ears here. You do need to do it in a booth, or very quiet room, as the omni picks up everything. Try an omni, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Good luck,

Marty

[blueflamerick]

I've gotten good results with a Shure SM-57 pointed at the soundhole from a few feet away combined with a TLM U-87 above the player.

[tony_carey]

A good call on the omni Martin. That polar pattern is supposed to sound great, a very 'open' sound, but it has never worked for me for some reason, especially if it is part of a multi tracked performance, as there is too much 'space' to the sound that competes with other instruments frequencies. Even in a booth, it will pick up every breath & movement of the performer.

The mic technique is really whatever works for you & there is more than one way to achieve a great result. The over riding objective must be to render a natural, believable sound though, no matter how it's recorded. It is also quite easy to create a 'big' sound that you then have to 'thin' to fit in the mix, so an eye to where you want it to sit in the mix should also be taken in to account when choosing your micing method.

[shinynewtoy]

Tony...
Just to delve a little deeper into the subject, my wife plays alot of fingerpicked lines and I was wondering if you had anything different that you would use for this type of recording.

And while I'm at it... what are some of your favorite mics for acoustics?

[tony_carey]

I would use exactly the same technique as described earlier, regardless of the style of play Bob. The only concession I would make would be to re-position the Mic according to the player (a weak picker might need a closer mic) or the type of gtr (a Dreadnaught could be a little boomy in the bass dept, so position the mic to suit). If you consider that you are after a natural tone, then there is no need to drasticaly change your system if you achieve this normaly.

Using my method of micing, nearly any large diaphragm mic suitable for good quality vocals, will do equally for acoustic gtrs. Some of the 'softer' sounding mics (4033 etc) can need a little help on the EQ front, especially lo end roll off & a little mid boost, but a firmer sounding mic, particularly a good valve mic, will do the business very nicely indeed. You nearly always need to switch the hi pass filter in though

[shinynewtoy]

Thanks Tony! It's great having someone of your experience to learn from.

I need to get a good valve mic!