Recording an acoustic....Help!

jsm610 · Post by **jsm610** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:15 pm

"you wont get a great recording sound from an acoustic pickup, no matter how great it is. "

I was saying this too a few month ago. Have an open mind:
http://www.lrbaggs.com/news/events_200207_ibeam-nashville/index.shtml

Is the iMix better than then Neumann KM 84 microphones with API Mic Preamps? I don't know. Is the sound good enough that its not worth pulling out all sorts of mics? Yes.

The ambient room 'sound' you get from a mic might be preferred if its a solo acoustic track, but if the acoustic is a supporting instrument in a multitrack recording I doubt it'd be noticed.

I'd be curious as to what you all think.

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:30 pm

Heheh.... My acoustic is definitely not a solo track-- I play just well enough to accompany my vocals. As much as I love to play my guitars, I'm certainly not a guitar soloist.... I'm a singer/songwriter and hack rhythm player.

winston · Post by **winston** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:44 pm

"I'm a singer/songwriter and hack rhythm player."

Who was featured on a local radio station and has a loyal legion of fans.

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:08 pm

You flatter me, Brian!

winston · Post by **winston** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:38 pm

I listened in that day on the webcast. I have never been so proud of a fellow Rickenbacker playing artist. I guess that makes me just one of the loyal legion.

teb · Post by **teb** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:45 pm

I get pretty decent acoustic tone with my Takamines and D-1200 but not with the guitar modeling mode which is pretty much all distortion - all the time. Instead, plug into the guitar plug and push the modeling button but then cursor over from the guitar section, past the bass section to the microphone section. Then I usually set the first modeling knob at "Studio B", the second at "Mlt CN" and the third at "soft comp". Then I'll play a bit with the menu under each knob (cursor to the one you want and push the "enter" button) mostly turning levels down to reduce the effects. There are a lot of other options available in the microphone section, so it may take some time to find something you like but I think you'll have better luck there than in the guitar and amp modeling section.

You can also plug into one of the jacks up top, bypassing the modeling section completely then use the input/output/solo button to assign your input to a track (or two) and adjust tone with the EQ section, add effects etc. Good clean instrument tone seems to have been pretty much overlooked in the manual, but the machine will do it if you play with the settings long enough. It's hard to believe I'm handing out advice on the D1200 because I'm still about 95% clueless with it, but I'm starting to get better at generating the tones that I want. Learning to fly a balloon or eskimo-roll a kayak was a lot easier...

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 4:48 pm

"It's hard to believe I'm handing out advice on the D1200 because I'm still about 95% clueless with it..."

Well, I'm surely at least 99% clueless, then!

And that's just with the recording unit, never mind the rest!

Thanks, Todd.... Your advice will help immensely, I'm sure!

Unfortunately I may not get to attempt more recording tonight, because today was the last day of school, and to celebrate my two boys have three friends staying overnight who are just as rowdy as they are! I have a feeling they will be staying up late, and not very quietly!

tony_carey · Post by **tony_carey** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:40 pm

John is absolutely right...it's amazing what you can get away with 'in the mix'! I've heard the DI'd sound even on released albums, but it's not very nice & sticks out like a sore thumb to my ears. Still better to mic IMO.

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:56 pm

Couldn't sleep, eh Tony?

No wonder..... if you sleep with a sore thumb in your ear!!

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 5:07 am

I'm not a fan of recording an acoustic using it's pup.

Recently myself and my bassist have each recorded demos using cheap acoustics, and the guitars sounded great. Of course these were done in a pro studio with expensive mics.

So IMHO, a cheap acoustic guitar with a good mic beats an expensive one DI'd any day.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 9:30 am

Even an inexpensive ($200.00) condenser mic will give amazing results in miking acoustics...

tony_carey · Post by **tony_carey** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 9:42 am

Howard....no!, Jerry & Paul, good advice.....

captsandwich · Post by **captsandwich** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 9:43 am

I used a cheap AKG condenser mic (about $140, IIRC). Sounds pretty good to me.

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 6:09 pm

I picked up my NTK on eBay for $300, and the seller was local, so I didn't have to pay for shipping. List on one is $999, Sweetwater's selling price is $530.

teb · Post by **teb** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 7:48 pm

Seeing as there is nobody available here who can sing worth a hoot, I went relatively cheap and bought a CAD GLX2400 condenser and it's surprisingly good at generating nice acoustic tone. The only hassle is that I have to close up the house, turn off the furnace, unplug the refrigerator, put the dog out and hope that no trucks go by while recording because it hears everything. Before I bought it, I'd just plug them into the D1200 direct and for rhythm guitar work it was pretty decent. This track has two rhythm guitars run that way - the Takamine twelve on the left side and my Yamaha silent guitar on the right (actually kind of a fake acoustic with just a neck and an open frame). 2030 bass and Tele also both run direct.

http://webpages.charter.net/tbradshaw/Music%20stuff/Queen%20Jane.mp3