Recording Acoustic guitar...

Flynn

just want to get some opinions/ideas on how you guys record acoustics..

First off - strings? i usually got Elexirs (used to splash out the extra tener for recording sessions) - is it worth it? Doesn't effect the sound too much, more playability i suppose...

Mics - I've tried the X&Y method, a large capsule condenser and DI straight in.. I've used these in conjunction with each other and mixed and matched etc. and always found a large capsule condenser to give the warmer/richer sound. (maybe mixed with a stereo X&Y panned - though not necessary)

I'm recording next week in a studio ( a friend doing a sound course needs a guinea pig - i get a demo) so i'll only have maybe 8 hours for 3 or 4 songs so wanna be as prepared as i can be..

So how do you eat yours?

eoin5

For my LDC I position it a few inches in front of the bridge and point it towards the 12th fret. Its the quickest way I know of to get some decent results. I get loads of reflections and room noise where I am but in a studio it should be nice and clear.

studiorat

What polar pattern have you got the mic set to? I know a man who hired a U-87 and preamp to do vocals and spent the weekend singing into the back of it.

I find elixir strings a little duller than others when new. They last longer but for that few hours they are duller than regular strings. A couple of different pick thicknesses is a good idea too, and check tuning after every take. I try and stay away from stereo acoustics, never seems to sound natural to me. I would try maybe an sm-57 and a condensor and blend the two.

Start by setting up the mic and headphones, then loosen the stand and move the mic around while listening to the player playing the guitar on cans, when you find a sweet spot then lock down the mic stand and that's usually a good place to start. Try not to use EQ at first and get the sound by moving the microphone. I like to use the tiniest amount of Bomb Factory LA-2 compression, it seems to make it a little brighter. Any harmonic exciters can be nice too, like an Aural Exciter or something like that.

Flynn

cheers for that - good tips.. I set mic to omni. will experiment when i get in the studio tho... think it will be a U87

studiorat

Flynn wrote: »

cheers for that - good tips.. I set mic to omni. will experiment when i get in the studio tho... think it will be a U87

87's a good call, never fails. I've had great results with an SE-2200 on acoustic which was nice.
Cardiod or Hyper is probably better.

teamdresch

studiorat wrote: »

87's a good call, never fails. I've had great results with an SE-2200 on acoustic which was nice.
Cardiod or Hyper is probably better.

Ribbon on acoustic all the way.

slavedave

I use an SE2200 on guitar. Whichever cardiod mic that you use, try and orientate the guitarists/mic position so that the Null of the mic is pointing at any noise sources (eg PC, Window, Aircon, Etc) to reduce picking these extraneous noises up.
Soundonsound did a recording with Gordon Giltrap in his home and ended up putting a piece of plywood on the floor in front of him to get some nice early reflections from the guitar (that would otherwise have been absorbed from the carpet). Like the above poster says, put on good earphones and experiment until you get the sound that you want - boomier (& nastier in my opinion) nr the soundhole or zingier towards the headstock. 12th to 14th fret is a good starting point. Omni mic is most natural in a good recording environment but will pick up the weaknesses in an untreated room too.
If you want the final result to be very exposed in the final mix, you will need to pay more attention to a good source recording but if you are going to mix it with a full band then you could be going to a lot of effort when in the end you may be eq-ing and treating the acoustic to sit it in the mix anyway (which will negate much of the care in the initial recording. Caveat: always get the best recording of the intsrument with no eq etc first where possible but the 80:20 rule probably applies more in the second scenario esp. if it is for demos or rough tracks).
I am no expert but I am one of those nerds that reads a bit about these things. There are lots of articles on the web and if you search for Soundon sound there are articles on their web site that will give you even more pointers. All the best.