# Best Way to Record Acoustic Guitar?



## immortalgropher

What do YOU think the best way is?


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## bassman17

It helps to be specific:

For a country or a rock record where the acoustic is one element in the mix, I use one mic in front generally looking down at the junction between the neck and body. Usually a large diaphragm condenser like a Lawson 47 or Beez Neez something. KSM's are good too. Really depends on the guitar.

Stereo recording comes more into play if the record is focussed on the guitar, like a solo folk thing or a small bluegrass group.

Classical is a whole nuther story...... gotta have a room.

-ashley


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## mbeckler

If you're recording in stereo, I'd probably it one at the nut pointed slight down the neck, and the other over the 12th fret. Use the 3-to-1 rule though to prevent phasing. You could also do an XY setup.

If you're recording mono, I'd place the mic 6"-1' somewhre in between the 12th fret and the sound hole, and have it pointed downwards. Probably closer to the 12th fret.
I get the most natural sound that way. Just put the mic where you'd put your head.

As for what mic, I'd use some pencil condensers for stereo, and a large condenser for mono.

I literally have the cheapest large condenser mic and my acoustics sound beautiful this way.


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## chonc

It really is all about the sound you want to achieve.

I've recorded with Neumann KM184 in XY around the 12th fret (specially good on big sounding steel strings, think Martin Guitar).
I have added to this configuration a Soundelux U99 with nylon strings BIG sound!

For a background guitar any decent large modern condenser will sound good, but it really helps your mix to have a nice microphone like an U87 or U89. Want the guitar to blend more in your mix? You can't go wrong with a KM184.


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## jonathanm

Same as above, really large diaphragm for mono, small diaphragm x/y for stereo, though i think stereo can sound a bit too big sometimes - unnatural for some music , but it depends on what you're trying to do.

normally position as mentioned, bit more towards the sound hole for strummy stuff, a bit more towards the headstock if its picky stuff, getting a little bit of fret noise can make it sound "closer"


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## jonathanm

oh, and encourage the guitarist to sit down if possible, I had one guy who moved his guitar around all over the place, and swore blind he was holding it perfectly still


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## biigniick

mbeckler said:


> If you're recording in stereo, I'd probably it one at the nut pointed slight down the neck


How strange. . . I've never tried this.



chonc said:


> Neumann KM184


+1 for the KM184! I love these mics on acoustic guitars

- nick


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## BoogieBear

Small diaphragm condenser quite close (2 feet away) looking up at the end of the neck and a large diaphragm condenser further back (4-5 feet) looking down towards midway between the neck end and the sound hole - but you do need to be in a good room (recording environment) as the space will have quite a large bearing on the sound from the larger microphone

Cheers
Anton


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## Darnstrat

Soooooooooo many variables!!! As others have said.. depends upon what you're recording for, the guitar, the player, the style, type of strings, flat pick, fingerpicking, etc.

However, some of my favorite mics for acoustic guitar:
Sterling Audio ST66 tube mic about 12-24 inches from the guitar ( mics generally positioned between 12th fret and sound hole, unless I'm doing classical guitar.)
Neumann TLM 103 - especially for nylon string guitars
Sony ECM-22P (my secret weapon for steel-string guitars. If you can find one, buy it! They are also (in pairs) some of the best drum o/h mics EVER!
Ribbon mics are fantastic for mellowing out an overly bright steel string and giving body to a thin sounding guitar (Royer 121, Cascade Fat Head II, CAD 7000, etc.)
Shure SM57 if you want a real 'in your face' Beatleseque sound mic'd where the neck joins the body, about 8 inches away. 

The key is, of course, good guitar IN TUNE, and a good player.


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## BoogieBear

Yep, as a famous producer once said when asked how to get the best acoustic guitar sound: "first get the best acoustic guitar and then get the best acoustic guitarist":rofl2:

Cheers
Anton


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## immortalgropher

Keep in mind this isn't for me . Users need to see how many answers they're gonna get from various people .

Of course there are variables, I had a feeling you would all see through that lol. I was shooting for simpler answers here, but these are all valid answers.

I haven't had a chance to use 184s although I want to.

I tend to use NT5s myself. Luckily I know very good players so good sounds aren't hard to achieve from them.


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## tonyvdb

So... what all of you are saying is do not use the built in pickup for recording? Im glad you agree as I always thought that as well and have had many a discussion with guitar players as to how to mic properly I dont like the sound of most pickups that most people use in their Acoustic guitars.


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## chonc

tonyvdb said:


> So... what all of you are saying is do not use the built in pickup for recording? Im glad you agree as I always thought that as well and have had many a discussion with guitar players as to how to mic properly I dont like the sound of most pickups that most people use in their Acoustic guitars.


Well I've had the chance of recording guitars with really nice pickup systems. But I don't think I ever have used only the pickup in a recording.

Some Mic/pickup combinations work really well!


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## PepAX7

I agree w/Chonc.. if it's got a pickup, I'll put it in the board for later processing, I don't think I've used just the pickup. Problem is... most acoustic guitar preamps are just not that good for recording! Plug 'em into an amp and then you got two EQ's to mess with and you can get a good amped sound. When recording, even going into a tube preamp, most just sound way too nasaly and that's unnatural to me.

I installed a Duncan Saduccer in my 1980 Alvarez Yairi with no preamp.. just the Sadducer. I think its a 6 element piezo? I preamp that with some EQ and it sounds good! But then again.. it sounds better unplugged.:bigsmile:

Pep


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## immortalgropher

One cool thing I did with a friend was mic his acoustic and he plugged it into his amp and I used an AT4050 i think in omni mode and used that mic for an extra low end boost. Came out quite nice .


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## jonathanm

You can get a half decent sound out of those Fishman transducers - the ones with the pickup and a liitle microphone inside the body. Think they're called Rare Earth Blend pickups...

Still sounds a little boxy compared to just miking it normally. Adequate for a guitar that's just doing rhythm in a larger group though.


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## PepAX7

yes.. i think the new Fishmans are called "Aura" or something. They look like they have some serious PCboards on them ..... even DSP like? Maybe they're getting the phases lined up? 

Your right.. the ones with the piezo AND the internal mic sound the best to me:bigsmile:

pep


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## 0bazooka_joe0

I've gotten some good results with an XY setup of 451s. Also, on a brighter guitar like a Taylor I like to use a 414 to tame it a bit and give it some balls.


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## 0bazooka_joe0

I used one of those fishman transducers on a banjo before. The result.... sounded just like a banjo! :T

crazy expensive for what it is I think.


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## BoogieBear

If you've got the channels available record everything is my rule

Sometimes at mix down it can be very useful to have the clean DI sound from a pickup to feed through FX pedals or to re-amp and use the mic from the cabinet or through plug-ins :T

Cheers
Anton


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## Darnstrat

0bazooka_joe0 said:


> I used one of those fishman transducers on a banjo before. The result.... sounded just like a banjo! :T
> 
> crazy expensive for what it is I think.


Best way to record a banjo: First, place banjo in dumpster... throw accordian on top of banjo.. oh wait, that's how you tune it......


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## AudioWonderland

I use a M/S a lot for stereo solo guitars. I point a cardoid condenser at the 20th fret about 12" away with the fig8 paired with it. If its just a mono supplemental part subtract the Fig8


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## tonyvdb

Darnstrat said:


> Best way to record a banjo: First, place banjo in dumpster... throw accordian on top of banjo.. oh wait, that's how you tune it......


:rofl: LOL


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## cdavis6406

Okay,

How about this, first

What are you using,

Mics, Mic pre
Interface/Converter
Software,
Cables,,,,yes cables.

for starters.

Then maybe...
Type guitar, and genere, so forth

If you take a minute, and answer this I can tell your how to get the best sound with what you have.

THat will put you in the game, unless you want a reason to go buy new gear. I love those myself.


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## PepAX7

Heyyyyy.. I like Accordion..... and Banjo!

Guess you guys never heard of Flatt and Scruggs.

Scruggs could smoke Al DiMeola, Joe Satriani, and Van Halen at the same time... with one hand...on Banjo!:rant:

So there!


PS Anybody want to buy my Italian made accordion?:neener:


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## cdavis6406

Have and agree.'

Never seen em play, to young, but at the yearly blue grass festival here every year, on Chandler Mt. They play it by bucket. And its strange because personally I like fairley heavy rock,(unresolved adolescent issuses i suppose) but In my mind the best muscians in the whole industry are either country session muscians, and some classics, and the bluegrass hillbilly bands here. WOW thats all i can say when i see or hear em.
Understated,and always the right note at the right time. Perfection.

Got one for ya. Im in my 40's so you can apprecitate that I even know who this is, much less, I really truly like it.

Like my bro hes a doc and a drummer. Loves bashing and rocking but his favorite drummer is Buddy Rich, then Max Roach. Makes me scratch my head.






or







And thanks for the memory good sir.
Nice choice


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## Darnstrat

PepAX7 said:


> Heyyyyy.. I like Accordion..... and Banjo!
> 
> Guess you guys never heard of Flatt and Scruggs.
> 
> Scruggs could smoke Al DiMeola, Joe Satriani, and Van Halen at the same time... with one hand...on Banjo!:rant:
> 
> So there!
> 
> 
> PS Anybody want to buy my Italian made accordion?:neener:


Sure, Earl invented modern banjo-picking and he and Lester were tremendous... I have done several bluegrass albums (and play Dobro)... however, in the wrong hands, the banjo ranks with bagpipes as the most annoying instrument on the planet.


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## Darnstrat

cdavis6406 said:


> Mississippi John Hurt
> 
> 
> And thanks for the memory good sir.
> Nice choice


Love this song. Doc Watson has done it too and always makes sure to give John credit for his influence.
Thanks for the link.


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## PepAX7

Darnstrat said:


> Sure, Earl invented modern banjo-picking and he and Lester were tremendous... I have done several bluegrass albums (and play Dobro)... however, in the wrong hands, the banjo ranks with bagpipes as the most annoying instrument on the planet.


Agreed!!:rubeyes:

Just kidding about the accordion.... I'm more of a 60"s child rocker too... altho', I repaired an accordion once.:huh: Here I was repairing Marshall, Soldano, Bogner, Guytron, and Fender amps.. and in walks this lil' ol' Italian guy.... Tommy.. last name sounded like a new pasta creation... says "I herda you cana helpa me!"
Opens up this suitcase with this beautiful Italian accordion.. paint job like a Les Paul custom only better and elaborate inlay and paintings. Couldn't resist the guy, he was so nice. He was a player too!:clap:

Good stuff up above. I used to love Hound Dog Taylor. The tone from his amp was awesome. Course he plugged in the bass. guitar and mic, all into the Silvertone (i think it was).


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## Darnstrat

PepAX7 said:


> Agreed!!:rubeyes:
> 
> Just kidding about the accordion.... I'm more of a 60"s child rocker too... altho', I repaired an accordion once.:huh: Here I was repairing Marshall, Soldano, Bogner, Guytron, and Fender amps.. and in walks this lil' ol' Italian guy.... Tommy.. last name sounded like a new pasta creation... says "I herda you cana helpa me!"
> Opens up this suitcase with this beautiful Italian accordion.. paint job like a Les Paul custom only better and elaborate inlay and paintings. Couldn't resist the guy, he was so nice. He was a player too!:clap:
> 
> Good stuff up above. I used to love Hound Dog Taylor. The tone from his amp was awesome. Course he plugged in the bass. guitar and mic, all into the Silvertone (i think it was).


True Confessions: The last CD I produced (Cuba - "The Contrast") has banjo and a 6' steel prybar on one of the songs... the CD I produced before that (Christina Blust - "Sudden Amaryllis") has accordion....... ** plug** both are available at the usual online outlets.. or google them.

And LOVE Hound Dog Taylor... and it was a Silvertone. +1 on the accordion repair!


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## planetnine

If recording an acoustic guitar in stereo, watch your stereo width on mixdown, or if recording in a good sounding room, pull your mics back. Different parts of the guitar make different sounds, and if you record too close and/or mix too wide, the guitar will sound odd or "too big" -your mics wil be homing-in on specific parts of the instrument.

SDCs will give a more focused sound than LDCs and are often preferred on acoustic guitar, but there are no hard and fast rules in recording, and LDCs may give a smoother result more in keeping with the style of music being recorded.

Another tip that no-one has mentioned so far: if your recording room is quite dead (carpet, soft furnishings, etc), put a sheet of wood or hardboard under the guitarist/guitar. This will provide early reflections to the mic(s) which may give the recorded sound some "reference" or acoustic reality.

>


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## Soundguy1

Here is a twitter post I read never tried it.

http://twitpic.com/1kj7jm


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## Syd26147

Other methods ( besides single mike close in )...
2 mikes close in ( different positions with respect to the instrument )
1 mike close in, one for the room air ( delay adjusted to compensate for spatial offset. )
Active electronics run D/I and mikes ( again delay adjusted " " " )

Syd


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## bantam

The best way to do this is to get familiar with recording techniques. xy, decca tree, spaced pair and on and on. Experiment during each song to find out which technique works for the strum/pick pattern tempo flavor of the song. Because how do you know the best way unless youve tried a few?


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## chonc

bantam said:


> The best way to do this is to get familiar with recording techniques. xy, decca tree, spaced pair and on and on. Experiment during each song to find out which technique works for the strum/pick pattern tempo flavor of the song. Because how do you know the best way unless youve tried a few?


I agree, and the more you get experienced with the techniques the less you have to experiment during a session. It's also good also to know the physics (i.e. acoustics) of the instrument itself. Do experimental recordings with seasoned musicians anytime you can.


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## planetnine

You can't beat recording acoustic instruments with the mics pulled back (and maybe some room mics, compressed and mixed in) in a good-sounding reasonably *live* room.

The way to do this is to treat your room, control that bottom-end, don't overdo the mid and high-end absoption, use diffusers to break up flutter and mid-freq peaks. How do you attain this? -use REW and learn basic room acoustics. With a little knowledge and some DIY, REW is a powerful tool to soak up the gremlins in your recording room.

>


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## Kirill

BoogieBear said:


> Yep, as a famous producer once said when asked how to get the best acoustic guitar sound: "first get the best acoustic guitar and then get the best acoustic guitarist":rofl2:


...and third get a good sounding mic as well...

Kirill :neener:


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## Kirill

0bazooka_joe0 said:


> I've gotten some good results with an XY setup of 451s.


Hey Joe, a little question to you. By saying 451 did you mean AKG C451B or something else? 

Kirill


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## Kirill

Darnstrat said:


> Best way to record a banjo: First, place banjo in dumpster... throw accordian on top of banjo.. oh wait, that's how you tune it...


:rofl: Holyyyyy, that's funny!!!

Kirill


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## Kirill

bantam said:


> get familiar with recording techniques. xy, decca tree, spaced pair and on and on. Experiment during each song to find out which technique works for the strum/pick pattern tempo flavor of the song. Because how do you know the best way unless you've tried a few?


Very much agreed! Experimenting is the key in recording anything really... When we record an instrument we usually analise it with just moving your head around it and finding hmmm how should I call it, I guess kind of like a "sweet spot" of the instrument. And then we perform similar operation with 2 or more mics. Depending on what you record of course. I like a *



* technique as well. 

Very good points Mr. Bantam. By the way are you a Bantam that makes Bantam connectors by any chance? onder: If yes then big up! :T

Kirill


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## Darnstrat

Kirill said:


> Very much agreed! Experimenting is the key in recording anything really... When we record an instrument we usually analise it with just moving your head around it and finding hmmm how should I call it, I guess kind of like a "sweet spot" of the instrument. And then we perform similar operation with 2 or more mics. Depending on what you record of course. I like a *Blumlein Pair - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia* technique as well.
> 
> Very good points Mr. Bantam. By the way are you a Bantam that makes Bantam connectors by any chance? onder: If yes then big up! :T
> 
> Kirill


This forum is sooooo refreshing! Pros advocating learning authentic and proven recording techniques (Blumlein, Decca Tree, XY, etc.) and the science behind sound. 
One of the things that is dismaying to me is with the proliferation of cheap software and hardware in the recording world is the rise of the home recordist who can't figure out why his/her recordings sound awful. Used to be that recording engineering was restricted to folks who knew what they were doing and had done their homework on the technology (and music) necessary to qualify as being "pro".
It's okay to do all the wonky stuff that's found on recordings today, but it's much like the world's best musicians have said - learn your theory, scales and modes, then forget them... same deal with recording, learn what works and why it works, then you can do whatever you like. Seems like a lot of today's "engineers" are skipping the first steps!

Just my opinion.


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