A good mic for acoustic guitar?

JerryHandbag

Hi all, just wondering if u guys know of a good mic for recording acoustic guitar onto computer....i have a SHURE SM58 but from what im told thats more of a mic for vocals, is there a specific type for acoustic guitar....basically i wanna be able to record my acoustic without havin to strum it too hard, or having to turn up the mixing track after its recorded to hear it properly......also im pointing the mic at the hollow in the guitar, i take it thats wrong too? cos im not happy with the sound im gettin

dav nagle

JerryHandbag wrote: »

Hi all, just wondering if u guys know of a good mic for recording acoustic guitar onto computer....i have a SHURE SM58 but from what im told thats more of a mic for vocals, is there a specific type for acoustic guitar....basically i wanna be able to record my acoustic without havin to strum it too hard, or having to turn up the mixing track after its recorded to hear it properly......also im pointing the mic at the hollow in the guitar, i take it thats wrong too? cos im not happy with the sound im gettin

Try moving the microphone position to the 12th fret or possibly just in front of the bridge on your guitar. It is important to play the guitar and listen to the how the microphone is catching each individual position change, this is called finding the sweet spot. All guitars sound different so often you might just place the microphone in a position one day and realize that it has never sounded as nice before, so keep adjusting the position of the mic. Using a compressor with a small ratio 2:1 or 3:1 might also give you more volume level. In relation to microphones a condenser microphone can suit 'Johnny cash' style guitar picking where a SM58 is better for recording a wide strum. The other option you have is to record your guitar part and then re record the same guitar part on another track and pan each recording left and right. This scenario can give the overall sound a much wider effect and can sound awesome. I use condenser for picking and SE Gemeni 2 for strumming.

danjokill

JerryHandbag wrote: »

Hi all, just wondering if u guys know of a good mic for recording acoustic guitar onto computer....i have a SHURE SM58 but from what im told thats more of a mic for vocals, is there a specific type for acoustic guitar....basically i wanna be able to record my acoustic without havin to strum it too hard, or having to turn up the mixing track after its recorded to hear it properly......also im pointing the mic at the hollow in the guitar, i take it thats wrong too? cos im not happy with the sound im gettin

http://www.akg.com/site/products/powerslave,id,221,pid,221,nodeid,2,_language,EN.html

I use 2 No. AKG2000B's to mic acoustic guitars they aren't that pricey but sound good and have a handy low end roll-off switch. They are condensers and need a phantom supply. One I place at the about the 12 fret 3 to 5 inch's away from the guitar the other behind the bridge again about 3 to 5 inch's away.
the 12 fret one pick's up the top end were as the the bridge one gets the low end.
Then i simply bend the 2 mic to taste ...... if the guitar has a pick-up i'll use that too and blend that in. Modern acoustic guitars have pretty good preamps.

danjokill

dav nagle wrote: »

Try moving the microphone position to the 12th fret or possibly just in front of the bridge on your guitar. It is important to play the guitar and listen to the how the microphone is catching each individual position change, this is called finding the sweet spot. All guitars sound different so often you might just place the microphone in a position one day and realize that it has never sounded as nice before, so keep adjusting the position of the mic. Using a compressor with a small ratio 2:1 or 3:1 might also give you more volume level. In relation to microphones a condenser microphone can suit 'Johnny cash' style guitar picking where a SM58 is better for recording a wide strum. The other option you have is to record your guitar part and then re record the same guitar part on another track and pan each recording left and right. This scenario can give the overall sound a much wider effect and can sound awesome. I use condenser for picking and SE Gemeni 2 for strumming.

I agree with mr nangles compressor setting too

dav nagle

danjokill wrote: »

I agree with mr nangles compressor setting too

Nangles! lol!!!!!

PaulBrewer

dav nagle wrote: »

Nangles! lol!!!!!

Mr.BoNangles

dav nagle

PaulBrewer wrote: »

Mr.BoNangles

It just keeps getting better!