I about to record Acoustic...Whaaaaa...Need some generarl advice?

[chadsxe]

Well I finally am about to record my first acoustic part. It is a seg-way transition between two songs. You know the typical acoustic part ends, cue reverse cymbal and then bam, the heavy stuff knocks you out of your seat. Well in theory that’s how it is suppose to work.

Anyways, I am looking for some advice on how to go about this. I am going to be using a Shure KSM44 (as I hear LDC mics are better suited for the job then SDC mics). I am a little torn between what pre I should use. I have narrowed it down to a Great River MP-2NV or a Grace Design Model 101. I am leaning a little bit towards the Model 101 because it is a little bit more of a "line gain" pre, less color. What do you think?

The guitar is a really nice Larrivee so I am anticipating no problems there. It has a half way between a round tone and a high bite tone.

So what about mic placement?

I am guessing a minimal approach should yield something nice. I am thinking the KSM44 at the 12th fret dead on about a foot back. Is this in the ball park of something normal? Like I said the song is nothing but acoustic. It will have double rhythm 90 L/R, one or two parts that strengthen the fundamental notes, and maybe one or two small lead parts. I also have a pair of Shure KSM141's (SDC) to work with.

Any advice would be great...

Thanks

Chad

 

[~BURNY~]

Aiming the mic at the fingerboard near the body/neck joint (not too close, 15 '' maybe) is a good start. Avoid to point at the hole (lot's of ugly overtones there).
If you have a nice sounding room, you may consider using a stereo pair from a larger distance.
I think small diaphragm are better suited but that's just my opinion.

 

[chadsxe]

I think small diaphragm are better suited but that's just my opinion.

Hmmm.....even when going with the minimal and pointing at the neck/body joint?



Also, you are suggesting to stay away from the sound hole so does this mean I should even maybe face the mic off axis towards the head of the guitar?

What about distance? Does tone change with distance? As an educated guess I am going to say the farther away you get the brighter things become.

 

[~BURNY~]

Hmmm.....even when going with the minimal and pointing at the neck/body joint?



Also, you are suggesting to stay away from the sound hole so does this mean I should even maybe face the mic off axis towards the head of the guitar?

What about distance? Does tone change with distance? As an educated guess I am going to say the farther away you get the brighter things become.

Toward the head sounds a bit extreme but you are free to experiment. I'd say aim it at the part where the fingerboard and the body join as a starting point.
Yes I think sdc are fine even with a minimal close micing.
About the distance, It's totally up to your recording space and your mic so it would be silly if I gave you an exact distance.
Sure, the tone is affected by the distance. It changes the room/direct ratio and the low mid amount depending on the type of polar patern of your mic.
Cardioid and 8 patern have an obvious proximity effect while omni patern is more neutral. It's not the farther, the brighter. In fact, the farther you put the mic, the more you loose high frequencies. And the closer, the more proximity effect you get (sounds like a yoda quote ) The proximity effect raise the 80-200hz range and hide higher frequencies. You need to find the best compromise.
Once aigain, nothing better than experimentation.
Oh and sorry for my english, It's kind of pathetic,I wish I could express myself better but I hope you understand what I am saying.

 

[chadsxe]

Toward the head sounds a bit extreme but you are free to experiment. I'd say aim it at the part where the fingerboard and the body join as a starting point.
Yes I think sdc are fine even with a minimal close micing.
About the distance, It's totally up to your recording space and your mic so it would be silly if I gave you an exact distance.
Sure, the tone is affected by the distance. It changes the room/direct ratio and the low mid amount depending on the type of polar patern of your mic.
Cardioid and 8 patern have an obvious proximity effect while omni patern is more neutral. It's not the farther, the brighter. In fact, the farther you put the mic, the more you loose high frequencies. And the closer, the more proximity effect you get (sounds like a yoda quote ) The proximity effect raise the 80-200hz range and hide higher frequencies. You need to find the best compromise.
Once aigain, nothing better than experimentation.
Oh and sorry for my english, It's kind of pathetic,I wish I could express myself better but I hope you understand what I am saying.

It makes perfect sense and I appreciate the effort.....

So back to the axis of the mic.......you say to avoid the sound hole because of weird bouncing building frequinces.....do you ever go towards the sound hole or is it really "stay the f away"......I am guessing when the mic is on axis with it things get boomy.....

 

[~BURNY~]

Sure towards the hole is ok. Just avoid pointing directly the sound hole and everything should be fine.

 

[chadsxe]

I know I am being a pain and anything said should always be taken with a grain of salt, but I am just trying to get a good idea were to start.

So, do you care to share why you prefer SDC over LDC....

 

[kev]

Here's a short clip of a £150 acoustic and a shure sm57 i did ages ago-

http://s54.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1I23VNHPD6YI23NZNVLWYK3ECG

 

[~BURNY~]

They seem capture more details, they add less character, they have more punch. Hard to tell really.
However, I'd choose a good LDC over a cheap SDC.

 

[~BURNY~]

Here's is an interesting article. I swear I didn't read it before I post.
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug01/articles/recacgtr0801.asp

 

[chadsxe]

Crap....I just noticed my great english in the title of this post....

 

[chadsxe]

Here's is an interesting article. I swear I didn't read it before I post.
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug01/articles/recacgtr0801.asp

Well I just read that article and it basically sums things up for me.....I think I am going to go with the idea of you can never record to much....I will try a bunch with each pre and a LDC vs SDC....

Thanks

Chad

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

I'd go stereo pair XY

 

[cobhc]

Here's a short clip of a £150 acoustic and a shure sm57 i did ages ago-

http://s54.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1I23VNHPD6YI23NZNVLWYK3ECG

Kev man, that sounds nice the drums sound like they're clipping an awful lot, sounds like the level is too high, otherwise it sounds really nice

 

[KeithRT99]

what about classical guitar? any opinions? btw that sm57 recording sounded good

 

[chadsxe]

Well I went with the KSM44 for the seg-way song I recorded yesterday. Like I said this song was only acoustic so there was a lot of room that could be filled up. The LDC was much fuller the the SDC's. I will have to export and example to show you guys pending the band lets me.

Thanks again,

Chad

 

[LynchpiN]

kev, how did you placed the 57?

 

[cornerarea]

Here's a lot of great tips and techniques on recording acoustic guitars:

http://marsh.prosoundweb.com/index.php/m/0/8354/0/

 

[kev]

Not much thought went into recording that clip tbh, was just a case of getting the lick down for future reference. From what i remember the sm57 was placed as close to the sound hole as possible, on a 45 degree angle coming in from between the sound hole and fret board. Its all boosted a bit high tho i guess :hotjump:

 

[Sinister Mephisto]

I asked about this sort of thing a while ago and everyone was very helpful. If you want it...

Thread: http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=218445&highlight=Sinister+Mephisto