Recording acoustic guitars

I agree - but I'm kind of stuck these days, since they're repaving the street in front of the house.

D.H.

 

A dead room isn't necessarily a bad thing for recording acoustic guitar!

If you can get a clean but colorless recording, you can apply as much structure, space and character as you like with reverb and EQ plug-ins. It's not that hard to make a dull-sounding recording brighter and more dynamic in your DAW.

What kind of mics are you using? What kind of set-up?

 

I've had decent results with a condenser mic and experimenting widely with placement, both distance from the strings and moving up and down the guitar from bridge to nut until you find that spot.

Then in the DAW, it likes a lot more reverb than an electric (IMO) and needs a little more EQing.

 

Maybe I missed your point about not wanting to play with mics.

 

With the construction I've had to DI acoustics. One is a Taylor 414 with a magnetic pickup (Baggs M1A), the other a Taylor 12 string with ES2. Both go into an "acoustic guitar" mic patch. They don't sound like they do through mics, but they sound OK for rhythm parts. In fact, the bass seems better defined on the 414 with DI.

But I wouldn't choose this if I were doing a fingerpicking instrumental part that would be out front in the mix.

D.H.

 

I leave something like this set up attached to the computer desk all the time. Swing it one way to record the amp (in conjunction with a dynamic mic that's always against the amp), swing another way for vocals, swing again for acoustic.

That can be tough with a temporary set up but if you can get there, I find I record much more when I don't have to set up mics each time.

 

Although it’s somewhat of a hassle to set up the mic(s) to record acoustic, it’s not that hard to get a decent acoustic track. I’ve had success using a small condenser or an inexpensive ribbon. The condenser is a bit brighter and ribbon warmer.
I think keeping it simple helps. I don’t use two mics just the tried and single mic focused on the 12 fret and about a foot away.
I don’t know how you would do direct because using the onboard pickup on an acoustic electric is not good at all.

 

Like most here, I've gotten the best results using microphones to record my acoustic guitar. My mics go into my mixer (for EQ and effects if desired) then into the recording device (in my case a computer). Of course, mic placement is key and you can get a variety of sounds by just shifting the mic positions relative to you guitar. The biggest problem is that once you have everything set up and you're ready to record, you realize you're surrounded by all sorts of cables and mic stands! That can be distracting, so the more you can make things tidy the better.

 

A 57 would not be my first choice for recording an acoustic.

 

Does not need to be hard

I am recording at the moment (or rather successfully avoiding writing chords and doing another acoustic overdub here) using an SM58 about 8” from the neck join, pointing at the sound-hole.

Always works for me.

Direct... not remotely close.

 

Got decent flat response cans? Set ‘em loud on monitor and you can move around to find your guitars sweet spot in moments.

 

Short cut to a good acoustic sound is a pair of pencil condensers or large condenser mics depending on how much space the acoustic will have in the track.

A lot of times the magic of a great acoustic guitar will have either a little compression or excessive compression when tracking. Depends on the song style.

Hi pass with a gentle slope is your friend around 125 to 250Hz if it's part of a dense song. If it's a ballad not so much. What it sounds like after this will reveal if your mid range and upper end is good or harsh i.e. usable or not. This is what will reveal if your mics are not working for a particular guitar.

Another tip is, after all the above, if it's primarily a pick strumming part, pan it hard left or right and then add a delay or reverb only to the opposite side for a spacious sound. You can also try panning the fx in mono on the same side if it's a dense track and you need it to have a room sound but not dominating the sound field.

Last, many times I've thought the sound was not that great but with panning, Hi Pass and FX, things come together. If not, I reach for another mic, preamp or compressor.

Just some random experiences.

 

I use one relatively cheap condenser in my actual garage. Not totally dead but definitely not a great room sound.
$200 AKG C-1000 about a foot back and slightly up from where the neck meets the body.

*Picture is the guitar (Tacoma) but not the mic (that's a 414).

 

very very good sound klasaine. Nice playing too! I actually recorded a song of me singing and my acoustic in my garage the other day. Just on my phone to get the idea down and saved and I was kind of pleasantly surprised at the sound. It was definitely different than the living room but almost in a good way. Seemed clearer and less room noise. Which you think would be the opposite. Maybe the higher ceilings with no drywall. Mine is exposed rafters.