Apologies for this post which I imagine has had a huge amount of coverage for but I'm still kind of confused. To begin things I am trying to record solo acoustic guitar instrumental stuff along the lines of john fahey, robbie basho etc etc and i'm recording in a cramped carpeted bedroom with a SM57 and a own brand multi pattern condenser bought from thomann. Not an ideal set up by any stretch of the imagination... Does the choice of microphone have an impact on the type of music that should be recorded? Ie would one use the same set up to record someone strumming a 6 string steel guitar in addition to someone finger picking/playing lead on a 12 string steel acoustic? Some seem to suggest using a large diaphragm condenser (or two) or a pair of small diaphragm condensers. Is the current microphone set up I have reasonable for the time being or should I look towards getting a pair of SDC's at sometime, and if so any recommendations for some cheap ones? Here's my soundcloud page if it's of any usage...http://soundcloud.com/earwighoneyAlso I keep on picking up breathing sounds making the recordings sound like they were performed by a wheezy ashmatic who's just run a marathon, I can't seem to avoid this. Any suggestions how I should be angling/placing my microphones from the acoustic guitar? Thanks in advance...

Point the condenser at the body behind the bridge. Point your 57 at the neck around the 12th fret.Body mic picks up guitar sound, fret mic picks up attack. Listen to results and move mics as needed to cure any phase problems, then mix to taste. I usually try to pan them to the same spot in the stereo field, but some folks I know like to move them away from each other (stereo!). Personally, I think that sounds unnatural. Angle them down slightly if you're getting too much of your own breathing.This approach or variations on it has always worked for me. If forced to use one mic, stay away from the sound hole if at all possible, as it often combines the worst of low mid mud and too much jingle jangle. Behind the bridge with a slight bump in the upper mid will usually work best in those cases.

There is no 1 way to record every acoustic guitar. Every acoustic resonates at a different spot. This is what I will say that has worked for me in the past. I never put anything any closer to the hole of the guitar than 12 to 18. I usually mic the neck joint, just where the fretboard is even with the body. I have mic'd the lower body just under and behind the bridge and had good results especially with nylon strings. Don't rely on really close mice to give you what you want, a little distance can help, especially with a very good sounding guitar. An acoustic guitar benefits from being in a nice sounding room as much if not more than any other instrument. Moving the player around until you are getting the right amount of reflection (or the right lack of reflection) is sometimes as helpful as moving mics, but this kinda goes for anything while recording.Remember, a great sounding guitar can sound like shit if the wrong person is playing it and vice versa. Sometimes it is hard to get a good recording of shitty playing.P.S. DO NOT BE AFRAID OF MONO ACOUSTIC GUITAR!!! I have no idea why stereo seems to be the default mic setup for acoustic. Try mono sometimes, if it that isn't working, stereo away.

Looking forward to hearing some opinions on this. I too suck at recording acoustic guitar. With the 8 or so mics available to me the best (most natural) sound seems to be a large condenser pointed where the neck and body join. However, it tends to have to be so close that it makes playing rather uncomfortable.

I don't want to state the obvious but the two single most important things you need to get a good sound are a good guitar and a good guitar player. There is nothing you can do to help a shitty player with a $75 Yamaha guitar sound like John Fahey. Fahey played a Bacon & Day on most of his early stuff. They are absolutely beautiful sounding guitars and with his playing you could record it on a boom box and it would sound great.

japmn wrote:There is no 1 way to record every acoustic guitar. Every acoustic resonates at a different spot. This is certainly the case -- also the points japmn made about different players, different playing styles, etc. as they are with all instruments, are probably more so with acoustic guitar.

zom-zom wrote:but you need some air.The point I really wanted to make. getting too close to an acoustic instrument is what makes it sound like a box and not a guitar.+1 on the Schoeps. If I had the cash, it'd probably be a pair of those or maybe some DPA's on my list for acoustics.zom-zom wrote:Our typical setup is a stereo pair of Schoeps, approximately 45 degree angle maybe 12 away from the body, simple and sounds great. Schoeps make any acoustic instrument sound wonderful really.X/Y?

Tommy wrote: extremely boomy, extremely thin, or all attack.Those are good examples of what happens if I am too close to the guitar. Other than moving away, you can try and omni mic close. They don't suffer from proximity effect near as bad as cardioid mics. Again, some air goes a long way. a good sounding room can help you keep some of that low end as you move the mic away from the guitar. All rants about sm57's aside, I think they can be useful for somethings, they are maybe one of the worst mic choices for micing an acoustic guitar I can think of. Way too much proximity effect (all that 125-160 Hz!), peaks in freq. ranges that generally sound bad for acoustic guitar (hello 400-500 Hz, Hello 6-8KHz), just so thud and tszzzz inducing, they really just aren't right for it. Opinions. If a 57 style mic is what you have a budget for, try out something else. EV635a maybe, They are cheap. I've got pretty good results with Oktava MK012's before. Especially the omni capsules. They only cost about what a 57 cost.In dash-x's case, I'd toss the 57 and find the right placement for the multi-pattern in omni and in cardioid and decide which I liked best. Start no closer than 12-16 and move back from that. Get the best sound you can from a single mic before you start mixing 2 together, especially if they aren't matched or even like models.God, a decent pre can't hurt either. I used to have a hard time with the highs getting weedy before I actually had a few preamps that didn't suck.

bishopdante wrote:japmn wrote: they are maybe one of the worst mic choices for micing an acoustic guitar I can think ofThis is true, if it is to be used, it's to be used like a special effect or an EQ, just a teeny teeny bit.EV RE55 would be ideal.The RE55 is a similar mic to the 635a but with an extended low end isn't it? It's been a while since I geek'd out on old EV mics.Edit: I'm thinking of the RE50b

elisha wiesner wrote:There is nothing you can do to help a shitty player with a $75 Yamaha guitar sound like John Fahey. I can't speak for everyone, but I can tell you that when I'm recording anything I don't expect to make gold out of shit. I'm personally just trying to get a reasonably accurate representation of what we are hearing, be it shit or shinola. I've found that particularly difficult with acoustic guitar. It seems all too easy to wind up with something extremely boomy, extremely thin, or all attack.