Just curious from the pros out there how do you guys record acoustic guitars. You use the built-in electronics of the guitar? Or do you mic them? And if you do mic them what sort of mics do you use and where would you place them?

There are two standard answers to this..
 
1) an LDC just up the fretboard from the sound hole and a distant mic for ambience.
2) Whatever works best for you when you try it...
 
 
 
3) If the player is singing at the same time... use figure 8 pattern LDCs with the null zone towards the 'other' source for separation...
 

I think a lot of us use both the PU and a mike and pan those. 
First it depends on the quality of the PU. A lot of under saddle PU are unbalanced, as in, some strings are louder than others. I toss those guitars or systems out and work towards having good systems on my guitars as I play live and it's important. I just got rid of a Taylor for this reason. It was the worst PU system and I should have paid closer attention when I bought it. 
 
What I have on my A& L Folk is a LR Baggs PU and I bypassed the el cheapo pre amp on that guitar. 
My Garrison has a real nice system and this time I paid attention when trying guitars. 
I run that into a Radial Tone Bone DI and that system sounds excellent. It has 2 inputs and you can set them for passive or active.  I have also ordered a TC Halicon Voice LIve Play Acoustic which is promising a better tone with it's "body Rez" feature. 
 
So To me it's worth it to spend the money on a real good PU sound first. For a lot of songs that's all I end up using and often pull back on the Mike track.
 
For a mike I prefer Small Diaphram condencers, I find my LC mikes are too boomy no matter where I put them. But a SC condenser like my CAD cm217's are perfect for me. You can even use a matched pair and the PU.
I'll record the CAD's to a stereo track and put the PU in the middle. 
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/cad-cm217-condenser-mic--buy-two-and-save  
They go on stupid deal days for 1/2 the price. I paid like $60 CAN I think/ 

I like to use a combination of microphones and internal pickup if available. You get the honest sound of the mic's but can also add processing or amp sims to the direct recording from the pickup. 

Thank you for suggesting a topic that doesn't include the word "DAW" in it. We needed a break.
 
Acoustic guitars have always been a problem for me because they are acoustical instruments, and are therefore subject to the acoustical environment they're recorded in. Rooms optimized for mixing are too dead to be good environments for acoustic instruments. If you don't have a great-sounding room, you're not going to get a great-sounding acoustic guitar recording no matter how much the microphones cost or where you place them. The best you can do is make the best of what you've got.
 
If your room sounds really awful, that means eliminating it from the equation as best you can, using absorptive materials. The guitar won't sound great, but it'll sound less bad. In that situation, you'll want to get the microphone close to the instrument or use an internal pickup or contact mic if it has one. I'm not a fan of microphones inside guitars, as they sound boxy. A better solution is a directional condenser mic placed as close as feasible, pointed down the neck to approximately where the neck and body join. You have experiment to find the best place to aim the mic.
 
If your room sounds big and reverberant and doesn't have strong resonances, then you want to exploit that. That means either an omnidirectional mic positioned  a couple feet away, or a combination of cardiod condenser up close and another microphone 4-6 feet away. Ideally, the player is sitting about 1/3 of the way into the room, not in the exact center and not in a corner. If you have no choice but to be in a corner, face the center of the room and avoid pointing the mic directly at the corner.
 
Most people recommend small-diaphragm condensers, but I don't own one. However, I've gotten decent results even with cheap LDCs by taking the time to try different positions. Where you point the mic is more important than the microphone itself.
 
In a pinch, you can even use a dynamic microphone; just don't get it too close to the instrument. Some dynamics, high-end ribbons specifically, sound gorgeous on acoustic guitar, but expect to spend a grand or more if you go that route. A better approach if you're shopping is one good multi-pattern large diaphragm condenser that you can use for many purposes. 

I ask because I am wondering if I need more gear lol

Seriously, I have a couple of Taylor guitars with the Expression 2 system in them, plus a Rode NT1a LDC and a Shure SM-58 ( I think, not home) I got for live singing.  So far I've used the internal PU only.  I've done some reading and it seems there is more than one "good" way to record acoustics and I'd like to be able to be flexible without spending a small fortune on mics lol

So I am thinking that my Rode NT-1a will work for both not only vocals, but also as a acoustic mic placed say at the 15th fret, or maybe the lower bout along with a separate track for the internal PUs? 

SiberianKhatru59


So I am thinking that my Rode NT-1a will work for both not only vocals, but also as a acoustic mic placed say at the 15th fret, or maybe the lower bout along with a separate track for the internal PUs? 

 
I've had some nice results using a Rode NT-1 on a James King Dreadnought acoustic, blended with a DI from the pickup.

you think correctly. The Rode NT1a LDC is perfect for Acoustic guitars.
I prefer the Rode NT 1000 to be honest. but the NT1a will do the trick.
Close Mic but not up to the hole. Back away enough to catch some of the neck.
If your hearing finger noise on the strings its not Mic position, its finger friction. Though don't point the mic at the neck.
 
Everyone does it differently but for a good acoustic guitar sound a condenser/phantom powered Mic will give it almost a warm pre amp sound.

1st, find the absolute best spot in the room to record in.  If you ain't in Abbey Road, etc. that is the most important thing.  I've got one corner of my main room (mixing) room that is live enough for decent acoustic recording.  I had a singer songwriter in earlier this year and even the demo turned out good to great, even w/ one mic (backed off from the hole for vox and guitar).    A Microtech Geffel M 930 into an RND Portico II channel, which helps.  But the room and the performer are most important, then finding the right spot for the mic. 
 
Hard to do if you are recording yourself.  I've been testing VO on myself and it is a bear, esp. since nobody really likes their own voice most of the time.

Another thing to consider is experimentation. If you do what all the experts say and still aren't getting what you want, throw out the rule book and experiment. I've put microphones inside of guitars, hung them from the ceiling and many strange things you won't find in a book about how to record guitars. Digital is cheap so it costs very little to get creative.