your secret acoustic mic'ing techniques,dare i ask

[silvercord]

Hi all.I have just got my new Rode NTK tube mic and ART mpa gold tube mic preamp..and im really excited about how to get interesting, full sounds from my acc. guitari have one loved technique for a not-dull sounding mixi place the mic about 4 inches from where the neck meets the body...and go into the mic pre amp..i milk the tubes as much as possible to bring out those harmonics that tubes are so well-known to do...i also go line out from my acc guitar's pickups into the other Channel of the tube pre amp...i also 'milk' the sound but try to get a warmer low end than what the mic delievers...i pan them about 75% left and 75% rightwith that the mix seems more alive (yet i have to deal with room noise and hiss in a wave editor)i would love to know your recording methods...holler~ geoff

[arkjack]

I'm doing pretty much the same thing. I set up my NT1 at the neck end of the sound hole off set about 45 deg. I also run a line out through an ART reverb effect unit. I run the mic into a presonus tube pre, and then into a compressor limiter gate, that I can chose to by-pass. I also set up XY stereo mic patterns and offsets with an additional condenser mic. I'll record up to 6 channels of the same performance, then experiment with effects and eq on each to see what gives me the sound I like best. I also pan opposite and add effects on the opposite side, and sometimes make a copy of a track to pan elsewhere for deepening. Then when we know a thunder storm is coming, I lay the guitar on a table and raise it up through the skylight..... Igor throws the main switch and......ArkJack

[ibanez468]

[byllsong]

It's Alive...It's A l i v e.....It's A l i v e..............

[drumbri]

Hi Geoff, I love this kind of info! Can you post some examples of your recordings using your technique? For acoustic guitar I recently did a track on one of my songs using a nylon string Yamaha CGX171CC clasical guitar. This guitar has a nice B-Band preamp w/eq, a pickup and a mic built into the guitar that pivots on a little goose neck so you can point it different directions inside the guitar! And you can mix the mic volume with the pickup volume to create different textures. Talk about versatility. Externally I usually use an AKG C 414 mic, mine is the B-XLS model and i set the polar pattern to hyper-cardioid. I position the mic half way between the hole and the neck. I run my mic to an Avalon VT 737sp preamp / EQ. I do a frequency roll off at 100 Hz, then a frequency boost +4db at 240Hz and +4db at 32kHz. The preamp channel from the guitar I left the eq flat cause it sounds great. The internal guitar mic i pointed directly towards the neck and set the eq sweep to boost +4db at 4kHzI dont use any compression while recording but I will use 3:1 compression on the channel after its recorded and set the attack and release by the speed of the song. I like using the TC Electronics reverb but very lightly and a slightly brite reflection. Here is a link to the track, its still under construction so the mix is a bit rough yet. Cheers!Brianhttp://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_id=98580&stream=true

[silvercord]

Hey Brianthanks for the posti shall post the song up as soon as i get my g/f to do the vocal tracks (im excited to hear what a folk song will sound like in Korean....my guess its gonna sound cute and sweet) its really hard to hear your guitar mix though the stream, if you knowwhat i mean....but the lead sounds really warm and roundand duge..you have an avalon..im instantaneously jealousi mean like when i read that ...*POOOF* jealousy!;)i know the song must be of great quality from the detail you gaveme..and yeah i dig that im such an audio nerd(however..i got my 1st submissions back..and seemingly..i feel like i now know NOTHING about audio(sigh).my drummer just sent me a mix of a song i was to master inmp3 form 128k hehe and i yelled at him saying how the heckcan i master in 128 k..its like trying to paint with my foot(no offense to those of you that are painters-by-foot;)peacegeoff

[silvercord]

and btw, ArkJack..i really like the NT1...i have both the nt1 and the tube ntk and didan A/B on the mics and i found the Nt1 standing up against the ntk. Nt1 one had allot of full bite and i was almost sad that i bought the NTK because i liked the NT1 so much.(almost sad: )then i tried my Oktava 319 to see if maybe just all mics sounded good through my new ART mpa gold preamp...NOPE...Oktava, in my best description was...bleeech !

[silvercord]

Ahh Brian..here's an example of the tech. i usedBUT it wasn't with the NTK mic nor the art mpa gold(since this was back in the day)it was used with the same guitar..same line in and Oktava 012-01small condenser micsi hope you dont mind that i sent u the d/l link for thisas its quality is better than the online streaming stuff...which always makes me what to hurl...lolhttp://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_id=94161&download=1

[ernstinen]

The EASIEST way I've recorded my Takamine is to have a good condenser mic in the position y'all are describing, then have another track using the pickup so it's recorded in stereo.But the BEST recording I've ever gotten is using the above method (I don't use much pickup sound) plus two other mics:1.) A Sennheiser small diaphragm condenser mic with a shotgun capsule pointing down the neck from the top of the guitar around the tuning pegs.2.) A PZM sitting on a table about one foot away from the guitar body.Now THAT'S a huge sound! Experiment with panning the four tracks to your liking, and make sure you don't have any phase problems. Me likey! Ern

[presto66]

Sound always comes down to great instrument, great player. That being said my fav combo is a stereo pair of AKG 451's or Casacade Ribbon mics through a Fearn Pre and Langevin compressor. Cascade Fat Heads give a full warm sound, 451's are crisp and clean. If you haven't tried the Fat Heads they're a bargain! Stereo pair with Blumlein bar shipped to your door for $365!(No I don't work for them). Good Luck!