Hello,   I just upgraded to Sonar X1 and have paired it with the Octa Capture.  So far when I record vocals and my roland keyboard the sound is coming out great and I'm very pleased with my new set up.  However, I am not able to get a good acoustic guitar sound.  As a keyboardist, I know almost nothing about the best ways to record guitar.  My guitarist has an acoustic guitar with a acoustic pickup (a d'addario that is placed in the opening by the strings).   When playing through an amp live, it sounds great.  However, through the recording set up the input is very low and it requires me to turn up the level on the Octa Capture to the max.  So then I get a lot of white noise.  Even maxed out, the levels in X1 are pretty low.    I am guessing the pickup is either cheap or not an ideal way to record acoustic.  When trying to mic guitars in the past, I haven't had much luck either as the placement seems difficult and the sound is flat.  Any suggestions on how to get a rich acoustic guitar sound without hiss/white noise?  Thanks! 

Recording with a pick up will leave a lot to be desired, It is convenient, but for a good sound, you need a good mic. Probably start with it pointed at the 12th fret. Play around with distance depending on your room.

from: http://www.rolandus.com/p...ils.php?ProductId=1127


"Input Jack 1—6 (XLR type)5 k ohms (balanced)

Input Jack 7—8 (XLR type)10 k ohms (balanced)

Input Jack 1—8 (1/4 inch TRS phone type)17 k ohms (balanced)"



You need something like a 1.5 MEGA ohm input for that pickup to sound good.

I like those pickups... they can sound real nice.

You should use some sort of buffer amp between the guitar pickup and the line input. A "booster" pedal of some sort would be a good start.

That way the pickup will "see" a input impedance that is matched to it's requirements.


Good luck.


best regards,
mike

timidi


Recording with a pick up will leave a lot to be desired, It is convenient, but for a good sound, you need a good mic. Probably start with it pointed at the 12th fret. Play around with distance depending on your room.

+1 and what I do as well. Either the 12th fret or where the neck meets the body is always a good place to start for good, fast results. I've mic'd them 3-way as well. A mic where the neck meets the body, one at the bowl, one near the nut. You can get some pretty cool sounds when you start to eq all three so you have the top end from the nut mic, good balance from the 12th/where the neck meets the body and some body from....the bowl. :) Add two more room mics at a distance to capture the guitar sound going through the room and you can really get some killer sounds.
 
But in my opinion, stay away from using the pup unless you have some sort of killer piezo or something. Most of the pups inside acoustic guitars just sound lame and lifeless compared to when you mic it.
 
-Danny

I think we are talking about one of these:



Which makes a nice acoustic guitar sound like a killer jazz axe from the 1940's... that's a tone which has stood the test of time.


The Octa Capture doesn't have an instrument input... which is why the "instrument" isn't sounding its best yet.



best regards,
mike

A standard DI will also suffice for doing the job of matching the higher impedance output from a piezo type pickup to the balanced lower impedance of the Mic Input. Most DI inputs will be 1 Meg Ohm or more. No gain being applied but that is easy to obtain in the mic pre.

This pickup sounds like it was an after thought. Many acoustic guitars come with pickups but also active and battery powered preamps built in and you do not need any matching devices in this situation. Your only issue there is usually too much signal level to deal with.

Go for a decent condenser mike up near the 12th fret and a foot away or so and you will get a much better sound.
 

I'll agree with the general consensus that the inbuilt pickup sounds are not really very usable for recording (in my experience and for the guitar sound I am going for - your circumstances/tastes may be different!) But in most recording scenarios, I believe this to be the case. I wouldn't even bother trying.

As for microphones, you have two choices - dynamic and condensor. Dynamics are typically not used as a primary acoustic microphone (they can have their uses, but generally not used). So your best bet is a condensor.

Any cheap (but studio type design) one will sound miles better than what you have now. Generally $150 will get you something that is capable (With the right recording techniques) to get you 90% of the way there.

Now unless you have a very nice room to record in, you'll probably want to record it dry (without the sound of the room) and add artificial ambience/reverb later. Chances are, your room is not very nice acoustically speaking. Hence you'll want to get blankets, mattresses etc set up around you to deaden the recording space and allow you to get a clean signal.

Do NOT point the mic at the sound hole. It will sound boomy and no good. A lot of the brightness and crispness can be had from aiming the mic around the 12th fret (assuming you're not using a capo). You're aiming for about the half way position. So if you've got a capo on 4th, then more like 14 or 15th fret might be a little better. Play with it and see.

The fullness and body comes from the body (duh!). If you're just recording acoustic and no other instruments, this is probably highly desirable. This is where a dynamic mic may work well alongside a condensor on the strings. But not always. A condensor might also work too. If you have lots of other instruments going on, micing here may not really get you the sound you need. My guess is this parahgraph is probably not overly relevant for you at the moment - but it's there just in case. You can likely skip this step.

NEW STRINGS ARE A MUST!!! I personally like the 80/20's over the phospher bronze as they are a bit brighter and for the sound I go for, more suitable. Choose as appropriate.


All the above should get you a great sound. It should be very listenable and workable. There are further things you can do to take it to the next level (better mics ect), but master the above and then decide when you're ready to try and take the next step up.

it will take a bit of time experimenting exactly where you get the best sound. 

having to turn up the levels to max is not good. You might need to use a preamp..... but then again, you were speaking about the PU which you really don't want to use.  Get a nice condensor mic and play around. 

The best results I ever obtained recording acoustic guitar was to set up a pair of matched ribbons as a Blumlein Pair.

The stereo imaging is breathtaking but you have to be extremely careful where you point the nulls of the ribbons.

Using a mic will help with the sound. You can get good sound with a low budget condenser mic or a even a decent dynamic mic such as a SM57. The other thing you need to consider is the room where you are recording. If it is untreated, it may be a challenge getting good acoustic sounds with a microphone.