Looking for recommendations for recording acoustic guitar. Technical stuff, but mostly what inexpensive mics would you recommend?

Try a 57 over the shoulder. You will want a lot of gain on tap so it will be noisy, but surprisingly rich.

In general the OtS spot is pretty great to my ears and under-used. Try it in combination with a more sensitive mic about three feet away, in line with the headstock, pointed at the neck joint. You will need to fiddle a bit to catch the phase but when everything locks in it is on point.

Solo acoustic is a different beast to record than is acoustic in a mix of course. Then there is fingerstyle versus plectrum and whatnot.

What are you going for? More Nashville or more Sebadoh?

If I was a gal/guy with jamming econo in mind?

I would seriously consider trying the following(assuming mixes were gonna wind up in a daw with an impulse loader...) -

- First, I'd get a Behringer ecm8000.
- Armed with that acoustic track, I'd load one of these impulses -

https://micirp.blogspot.com/

I've been seriously thinking over doing just that, but it ain't been a "Front Burner..." concern lately.

Even thought about it being pat of a multi-microphone set up or the position Seby mentioned.

Nothing unusual here for me. I am usually fine w/ any pair of small diaphragm condensers. Mine are Okatava MK-012 w/ the cardioid caps. If I had to go out and buy a new pair, I'd probably get a pair of AT Pro 37s.

My starting point is usually to take one pointed to where the fingerboard meets the body at about a 45 degree angle from the body/fretboard and about 12" away and then the other also at 45 degrees but pointed somewhere between the bridge and the sound hole. If the person wants more of a pick attack, I might aim them more at where the player is picking, but I tend to dislike that clicky stuff so much as my own personal taste. May as well use a pickup at that point IMO (which considering the client's needs, might be worth experimenting with as these have really come a long ways).

I've experimented w/ different mics like ribbons and dynamics and always come back to this. Same w/ adding room mics for more ambience but I've rarely had access to a great-sounding room to really add anything there either.

Shure ksm137 in the typical position outlined above (neck joint) I'd try an Oktava there any day.

I often like a large diaphragm condenser above the body (maybe a foot) angled down at it so the sound hole is off axis.

A couple times I've had a track sit in nicely in a busy rock mix recorded with a Beyer 201, or an old EV mic. Not hi Fi enough for a stripped down thing and sounded goofy when solo'd but found a nice niche with electric guitars and drums around it.

I think acoustic guitar is still one of the hardest. Every time seems new, even with the same guitar and mic. Compression settings are important and hi pass filter on the eq can erase some problems.

Two mics can give you choices but phase is complicated and the relationship can shift by the performer sitting in a slightly different position.

Garth wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 4:26 pm Okatava MK-012 w/ the cardioid caps. If I had to go out and buy a new pair, I'd probably get a pair of AT Pro 37s.

Came here to suggest Oktavas. They are my go to mic, and for the money, I'm not sure you can do better. I have a pair of SM81's and they can be good too, if not a little zipper. Then can be over stabby if someone strums hard with a pick. I have a pro 37. It is ok too. It sounds a little pinched in the high mids to me, but I haven't really tried them much on guitars, I mostly use it under a snare drum or just lying on the floor somewhere. I've had fun with clipping a Sony ECM 44 on the sound hole (inside) or just taping it directly to the body to pick up a bunch of low end to compress the fuck out of and blend in under Oktavas. Doesn't always work, but it can be cool. It works good on Baritone Ukuleles.

As for placement, I often point one SDC at the body at the bottom, where a volume knob would be on an electric, really close to the body (no more than 4-6" maybe) and one somewhere around the neck joint. wherever it sounds good. I do not pan them wide, and usually they are mono. more of a bright mic/dark mic thing. Sometimes I will pan them a little if the mix demands separation between the zippy and the thud.

Other than that, if the guitar sounds good in the room and I want a more ambient sound, I will use a LDC about 3 feet from the guitar, aimed around the neck joint. It all really changes based on how the player plays.

Just to point out the obvious...

Those Oktavas are also a decent "If I Was Only Gonna Have One Microphone..." choice.

I almost never record acoustic guitars but I've had decent results with a couple of single mic setups.

Bog standard: large diaphragm condenser (roswell mini k47 and a microphone-parts T12) from a slightly elevated position aimed around the 12th fret.
Sensitive to ass-on-chair incidental noises (more like chair creaks, rather than flatulence). Which can be cool, or not cool, depending on what you're going for.

Weird: Beyer m201 dynamic pointed sort of down the neck at the soundhole.

The dual-SDC setups look cool but getting the phase relationship right can be tricky, I've never liked my results doing that better than a single mic.

seby wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 3:35 pm What are you going for? More Nashville or more Sebadoh?

Good question. I'm looking to record acoustic as a layer in some songs, starting there. Eventually, I'd like to record it as a main instrument.

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

For a layering thing yr gonna want some EQ and compression. I just tried the Airwindows Bandaxall the other day both boosting treble (I used a Royer r10, which is pretty dark) and cutting bass which worked very nicely. You might wanna stack compressors: one to chomp down on the attack and one to even out the sustain. I also had good luck adding a subtle detuned chorus: not enough to be recognizable as chorus, but just enough to make the notes shimmer out slightly.

Recording lone folk guitar vs overdubbing within a busy mix are very different things.