Recording acoustic guitar

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bunter
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2011/10/08 08:37:04 (permalink)

Recording acoustic guitar

I've stuck a little audio technica mic (which has it's own powerpack) inside the guitars front opening using blu tack.  I then plug into the line in on my soundcard ready to record. I open up an audio track in Sonar X1 and use input monitoring to listen. The level is great and sounds really good and I'm ready to record. Now hears the problem. When I listen back to the recorded track it doesn't sound half as good. Am I doing something wrong? I wish I could just have the same quality of sound that I did at the input stage. Any advice would be appreciated.
Billy.
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    Guitarhacker
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    Re:Recording acoustic guitar 2011/10/08 08:58:12 (permalink)
    First, you don't stick a mic inside an acoustic guitar body. All you get there is the resonance of the body and none of the highlights of the strings and the "total sound" of the guitar in the room, where your ears, and the ears of the listener's are.

    With one mic, place it in front of the guitar on a mic stand about 12" or so from the sound hole. You will need to experiment to find the best location and direction for the mic. Back toward the body will get more of the body sound, closer up the neck gets more string noise and less body.... it's a matter of finding what sound and location for the mic works best for you. 

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    pwal
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    Re:Recording acoustic guitar 2011/10/08 09:19:09 (permalink)
    great article here: http://www.soundonsound.c.../articles/acguitar.htm

    list of stuff
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    bunter
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    Re:Recording acoustic guitar 2011/10/08 12:25:12 (permalink)
    Ok, I used an AKG D3800 directional mic just in front of the sound hole and that sounds much better. I have another guitar with a built in pick up but I don't like the recorded sound it gives. 

    Thanks for the article, pwal. That sheds some light on the matter.

    Thanks guys!

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    StarTekh
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    Re:Recording acoustic guitar 2011/10/08 12:37:44 (permalink)
    bunter: the orignal AKG 451 did awsom guitars, and i also used a
    sm 57 and mic'd the body of the guitar just behind the pic guard
    down a little bout 1-2 inches away...
    #5
    CJaysMusic
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    Re:Recording acoustic guitar 2011/10/08 13:07:21 (permalink)
    When i record acoustic guitars, i always place a large diaphragm mic right by my ear, because i hear what sounds good and i want the mic to pic up exactly what i hear.
    So placing it by my ear works well, in conjunction with one placed near the hole (off axis) and around the 12th to 14th fret. Yea 3 Mic's, but this can do away with Eqing it, as each mic pics up different sounds and you can just adjust each fade to get the best sound.

    Always check for phase before recording when using more than 2 mics

    So near the ear is what you hear

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    Compguy
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    Re:Recording acoustic guitar 2011/10/08 15:25:41 (permalink)
    I have a Yamaha Acoustic guitar that simply amazes me. It sounds fairly mediocre when not plugged in, fairly mediocre when played through my Hartke Acoustic Ribbon amp, with certain reonances and dead-sounding note all of which have to be (and can be) adjusted for. The dead sounding notes are extremely subtle, but there. It's almost as if 2 frequencies are cancelling to a degree.

    But then when I plug her in and record her directly, it sounds absolutely stellar. The sound is rich and well-balanced, far superior to anything else I've ever heard plugged in directly or miked. It's just not supposed to sound that good when recorded in this way.

    I'm not looking a gift-horse in the mouth. I accept her shortcomings unplugged and through the amp, and love her for her total submission to my will when plugged in directly.
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    Compguy
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    Re:Recording acoustic guitar 2011/10/08 15:27:58 (permalink)
    Double.
    post edited by Compguy - 2011/10/08 16:55:53
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    timidi
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    Re:Recording acoustic guitar 2011/10/08 17:39:41 (permalink)
    Hey comp guy. That's indeed interesting that you like it plugged in. Have you tried a vocal and acoustic at the same time. I'm wondering how the separation is. And, which exact model Yamaha is it. I would love to be able to isolate acous guit and vocal while recording both simultaneously. 

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