Acoustic sound

I need to get the best sound out of my 12-string for recording, but I've never had good luck with this before (the microphone I have never captures the whole guitar (I.E. it does the bottom 4 strings, or its just really quiet overall), and I have a soundhole pickup but that has never sounded good (especially since I don't have an acoustic amp).

Has anybody else been down this road before, and can they help a recording n00b such as myself?

I would try two microphones, maybe? I've used two before, but I usually use my Les Paul or another electric when recording. I use a stompbox to get any acoustic tones I need out of it.

herrrrmmmmmmmmm.

well, I've been recording my acoustic for a long time now, and pretty much perfected the art of using a computer mic... however, I really dont have any problem with the sound. it always sounds like my guitar. perhaps a little bassy, but nothing a bit of EQ can't fix.

I guess make sure its tilted so its picking up the exact middle of the sound hole. also sit back a bit so its not concentrated on just the middle, but will pick everything up.

thats all I can think of man, good luck.

I don't have much experience with mic-in an acoustic but this might work for you. It's cheap simple and you can adjust the mic easily. First you can read the link below. It says to use shielded wire but it's not totally needed.

Piezo electric mic

Now all those directions are good but you're not done. You will need to crazy glue the metal portion of the piezo to a 1/8th inch thick piece of wood. Maple and Oak work well but anything will probably work. The other dimensions need to only match the size of the peizo pickup. Once this is done you can mount it to the guitar in any place you like. Trying different locations to find the best spot. I would use 2 sided tape or some thing that won't be permanent so you can experiment. I suggest starting by placing it on the back of the guitar and then under the bridge inside the body. Cigar box experience. It only costs a few dollars and can be used on other instruments too.

Just a thought.

@ Rockonn... Do you just put the computer mic straight into the mic input? (this is a problem for me; I've hacked inside my PC so much I had to disable the mic input to put in a CD burner, but I know a new audio card would fix that).

@ Bar Chord Nick... you just gave me a new project to work on o.< Maybe I'll report my findings here once I get that gerry-rigged.

Acoustic pickups and recording is really not the way to go. You should use 2 mics one over the sound hole and one pointed at the neck where it joins the body of the guitar. It is best to experiment with mic placement to get the fullest sound. You can also use two tracks playing the same part play along with the first one while you record the 2nd then right left the pans this give you a much fuller sound. If this is not full enough you can use a slapback delay on each track using a 23 ms delay on one side and an 11 ms delay on the other on mix down. EQ is a cure all for accoustic guitar on mix down.

Hope this helps

Originally Posted by: Gargy@ Rockonn... Do you just put the computer mic straight into the mic input?

yeeep, you'll need that mic in.

Sir Guitar, thanks a bunch, I will have to try that once I get Magix Stuido again and get my other PC built (since it'll have a mic-in that actually works).

If you are working with recorded material, you can boost the levels of the higher strings and keep the bassy low notes in check by using compression. You can get free VST compressors on the web or just use the compression plug in Reaper (another free download).

Stereo recording works pretty well i find with acoustic. I went and bought a pair of Behringer C-2's (ok maybe not the best brand but im a student, and they dont sound bad either!)

try recording the guitar as an XY pair. have both transducer heads close to each other and have them crossing each others path at 90degrees. point one mic at the sound hole and the other at the neck. maybe a foot away from the guitar.

Now I know this is'nt in direct reply to the tread itself, but it has alot of hints and how-to's
Alot of good reading on this site, all categorized and good explanations
Hope it does helps

Do browse through the categories on the left side, lots of 'gold' to find :)

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