Acoustic recording

Having a lot of trouble getting the right sound from my miking my acoustic. It's a very old Yamaha FG-340T. I've restrung it with .012" strings (I used to use lighter) for a brighter sound but nothing seems to work.

I'm trying lots of different mic placements - at the 12th fret, at the soundhole, everywhere really, but getting a hell of a lot of lows/muddy sound.

Is it better to used a soundhole pick-up and run it through an amp? Any pros/cons? My other thought is to borrow a 12 string if I have to.

I'm resorting to using my Les Paul for the acoustic parts instead now, sounds OK but obviously having much lighter and slacker strings, lower action etc, there's quite a lot of 'twangs' with misfretting, and open strings just don't give the same bright acoustic sound.

Are some acoustics just not meant for being miked, or are some a lot better than others?

rob - look at bob's picture here:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.asp?m=1519865&mpage=1&key=rusty�

if you don't have 2 mics and you're wanting less of a boomy sound, then DON'T mic near the soundhole. a small diameter condensor near the 12th fret will give a much brighter sound. I know you said you tried that, but look also at the angle he's pointing and also what kind of mic did you use? a small diameter diaphram condensor mic will work best. If that still doesn't work, try moving the mic so that it's pointing UP the fretboard from just above the soundhole.

experiment!

Rob,
The position of the mic(s) is critical, and small variations can make a big difference. In the picture below, the sweet spot should be somewhere in the large yellow blob. An indirect angle below the soundhole is a second choice. The over-the-shoulder mic position Albert mentioned is also popular. This puts the mic where you hear the guitar as you play it. If you position the mic at the 12th fret, the idea of angling it toward the guitar body is to minimize fret noise. If you angle it up the neck, you tend to hear a lot of finger/fret noise, which can overrun the basic tone of the guitar. Avoid the sound hole itself. This can introduce extreme bass rumbling, especially if the mic is close (proximity effect). As Beagle said, experiment, as the perfect spot will vary from one guitar to another.

Great info thanks, not got a condenser mic tho - hopefully that will be in my Christmas box lol.

I'll try the yellow areas (cheers RobertB), with another mic over my shoulder as Albert says.

You know, that is a good point, no how. Sometimes just backing away from the mic is the answer to a lot of problems. For some reason we just don't automatically go that direction, though.
Later
Albert