First disillusion recording acoustic guitar

[Jimi75]

Hey friends,

Yes I know, I have promissed to post some clips of my new Takamine, but I have to admit that recording an acoustic guitar is a whole new and different world. I use Line 6's Gearbox software and I accept that of course using a software preamp doesn't sound like the natural sound I hear when I play my acoustic guitar, but still I do not get anywhere close to an acceptable result, although I would compromise on this one.

What are your experiences with recording acoustic guitar? Are you miking the guitar? Hell, I have never done that and I am afraid doing this. First of all I have no good mic, second I know that the room has to fulfill special requirements....think this is gonna be tough for me, but I take all this as a challenge.

If you have tips, presets for Gearbox that work for you, then please help me out a little bit. Since I have this acoustic guitar, I do not wanna touch my electric....

[wingsdad]

Jimi,
I don't do Gearbox, but I've recorded a lot of acoustic guitars, many different ways. I will say that mic'ing usually gets the best results, with the right type of mic(s) and mic technique. So...what mic's do you have...and describe your 'room'...there's possibly some cheap work-arounds I can suggest - unless you live in a Train Station, a harbor, or under a major highway underpass.

But...and I have 2 a/e Tak's myself...recording direct can produce decent results. Again, there's some tricks involved.

And then there's doing both at once...

We have a time-lag here, and I'm about to go to work, back in about 12-14 hours from now...someone else will probably step up and give you some good advice here...

[Jimi75]

Jimi,

But...and I have 2 a/e Tak's myself...recording direct can produce decent results. Again, there's some tricks involved.

And then there's doing both at once...

We have a time-lag here, and I'm about to go to work, back in about 12-14 hours from now...someone else will probably step up and give you some good advice here...

Wings,
Thank you for your reply. How do you record directly? Via D.I. Box? I am recording in medium sized room, living room so to say, but I only have a cheap mic PG48 or 58 Sure. Nothing special and I bet not worthy recording a guitar with it.

[markb]

My rule for recording acoustics is DO NOT USE THE PICKUP. I'm sorry to shout like that but undersaddle pickups sound nothing like an acoustic guitar. With one mike, try pointing it at the end of the fingerboard from about 8" away. Two mikes give you a lot more scope to move them around and capture body tones. Try one mike as above and the second further off, say about 2' or so and pointing somewhere below the bridge.
A Shure 58 (even a PG) is perfectly good for acoustic instruments but a large capsule condensor is better at getting the nuance. Try to record in a "live" space and the tone will open up. A wooden floor is good.
I've had good results with a little Sony stereo walkman mike straight to minidisk.

[Spudman]

Set your mic up on a stand at guitar height. Put on your headphones and start playing into the mic. Move around until you find the sound you are looking for. Sure the mic can make a difference but so can just using your ears with the mics that you already have.