Tips for Stereo Micing?

I expect delivery of my second AKG C1000S any day now, and I will finally be able to stereo mic my acoustic guitars!

I've done a bit of research on the subject, have a working knowledge of commonly used micing techniques, mic placement, etc. But there are a few things I'm curious about.

Is there one mic placement method that is prefered for nylon-string classical guitar -- spaced pair vs. x-y, for example. What about steel string?

I've been recording a lot of solo classical guitar pieces lately. In this circumstance, with no other instruments in the mix, do you want to leave the tracks panned hard left and right? Or is it better to pan the tracks somewhat toward the center? 25%? 50%?

I also record multi-track stuff with bass, percussion, electric guitars, MIDI instruments, etc. In this instance, what's the best way to pan a stereo-recorded guitar left or right in a mix? Should I use panning, or adjust the levels of each track? Or some combination of both?

Any recommendations regarding the application of reverb and other effects? Is it best to send both channels to the same effect with the same settings? For solo mono-recorded guitars I tend to use a pretty wide stereo reverb. Should I narrow the stereo effect on the reverb when the guitar is recorded in stereo? Or not use stereo reverb at all?

I know there is no one correct answer to these questions, it depends on what works and sounds best under different circumstances. But any tips or recommendations would be appreciated.

when i still took classical guitar my teacher told me how he was recorded once:

one mic, close to the guitar.

one mic, three feet away.

one mic, nine or ten feet away.

of course you need a good room for this. since you have two mics (although they are not a matched pair from what i can read of your post) i would consider not only stereo but depth-of-field placement as well. you could pan them a bit to get a better feeling of space.

Also I find two microphones sounds much better then one on the acoustic guitar.

Generally I will place a microphone directly behind the sound hole and one where the neck meets the body.

I keep them back about 6-12 inches depending on different variables such as acoustics and the player.

Also panning them left and right gives the mix some nice depth.

In this circumstance, with no other instruments in the mix, do you want to leave the tracks panned hard left and right? Or is it better to pan the tracks somewhat toward the center? 25%? 50%?

While there are no rules, you'll generally find that there is almost always something in the center on almost all mixes. Hard panning the only instrument would leave the center empty.

You could put one center, and put the other toward one side, then maybe put a very subtle room reverb of one of the tracks on the other side. experiment and see what works for you; listen to similar recording to hear what they do.

I have had some good success with putting 1 mic off to the right about 8 to 10 inches, below and at 45 degrees from the side of the body (playing right handed) and the other near the 5th or 7th fret about 5 inches away (just enough room for hand). Surprisingly, doing very little mixing and processing other than sove verb gives a great sound. Leave the right mic about 80% right and the left about 80% left. View your signals close up to see that there is no phase cancellation - if they are cancelling, try shifting slightly on one until they nearly lineup.

An x- y will more closely emmulate a pair of ears than a spaced pair....so might try placing a set of ears in front of the guitar..... for starters. All kidding aside. ORTF or XY usually works great with clasical guitar especially if it's a solo or featured instr. with very dense ensemble work I'd rather mic it mono.

To avoid a phase problem when stereo micing, the formula is to make sure the two microphones are twice the distance from each other as they are from the instrument you are recording.

actually, it's three times the distance, commonly referred to as the 3:1 rule.

FWIW

editied for this: BTW, my prefernce is for X/Y or a spaced pair on an acoustic.

I generally place the X/Y array about 4-6" off the guitar, placed around the 12th fret.

With a spaced pair, I get in tight on the bridge with a C1000 or a 414 and then place another at or around the 12th fret.