Hi Guys,
Okay, this may get a little long and scattered here, but these are some
of my thoughts. I have also got some links to here examples of what I'm
talking about.
First I'll cover both acoustic and nylon string miking. I will misspell
some here, so Jaws doesn't go on and on with micing and miced...
Nylon:
I mostly use 2 small diaphragm mikes or a small diaphragm by the bridge,
and a large diaphragm by the soundhole. It all depends on the guitar,
and how much punch it has, and how much I want to get. For more
classical, or solo which requires a good bass presents, I will go with
the small and large combo. For flamenco, jazz and most pop, I stick
with the 2 small diaphragms. Either way I start with the same
placements regardless of which mike combo being used, and I go from
there.
Where to start:
I place a small diaphragm mike 6 to 10 inches in front of the players
picking hand. You want the mike slightly above the hand and pointing
downward. Lets say the mike is pointing down at a 20/ 30 degree
angle. You also want to angle the mike relative to the guitar. The
mike should be at a 30 to 45 degree angle relative to the body of the
guitar. Make sure that you are closer to the bridge than the soundhole,
but not behind the bridge, and the height of the bottom of the diaphragm
is around the middle of the players hand. The mike should be even with
the middle 2 strings, (G and D), with the diaphragm facing the soundhole.
Fretboard mike:
Get this one a little closer to the player, or even with the bridge
mic. I normally go 5 to 8 inches for a small diaphragm, and 6 to 10 for
the large diaphragm. You will want this mike a little more straight,
and not angled downward as much. Start with the mike parallel to the
fretboard, and adjust from the chord end of the mike, (if we are talking
small diaphragm). Angle the mike to be level with the bottom 3 strings,
(G, B and E). Try to have the diaphragm even with the 13th, 14th and or
15th frets. You have always heard about miking a guitar at the 16th
fret, but we want to go a little wider on our spread here. As stated,
this mike will almost be parallel to the fretboard... Slowly adjust it
until the diaphragm is 30 to 50 degrees relative to the body of the
guitar. To hear the full affect, pan the bridge mike 100 right, and the
fretboard mike 100 left. If you have any fazing problems, you will
notice quickly, and they can be resolved easily by angling the fretboard
mike more in the direction of the guitar, and capturing it at a 20/ 40
angle.
I use those placements for any acoustic or nylon guitar, when I stereo
mike. Here's an example of a large and small diaphragm combo on a
classical guitar.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/13037545/08-Shawn%20Brock%20_%20Andecy.mp3
Here's a pare of small diaphragms on a flamenco guitar. Keep in mind
though, these are 2 completely different instruments, with the flamenco
being more raspy, punchy, and not having the bass response of a
classical guitar. You will also notice that the mikes aren't panned as
hard. Its also worth noting that this guitar was miked more in the 6/ 7
inch range, where the classical was miked in more of the 10 inch range.
All in all the instrument and miking here are more in your face. You'll
also notice that there is more than one track of guitar here, but you
will hear that both guitars don't play all of the time.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/13037545/Shawn%20Brock-%20Pluma%20%28Tangos%29.mp3
Stepping away from nylon for a while. Here is some bluegrass with an
acoustic miked in this fashion.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/13037545/02%20Your%20Selfish%20Heart.m4a
And finely, something that took me about 20 minutes to do for a church
here in town. This is acoustic miked the same, and nylon the same...
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/13037545/Shawn%20Brock-%20Noel.mp3
As far as mikeing congas and bongos. I normally use small diaphragm
mikes, and will either double mike each drum, or will single mike each
drum and put up an overhead for the set. When double miking, I place
the top mike about 5 inches above the head, and about 3 inches from the
outside rim. This gives room for the hands, and if you angle the mike
at about 30 degrees, you will pick up the full head of the drum, and a
good attack on the slap. If the congas are carrying the tune, (heavy
latin), I will double mike, with a mike low on the outside of the drum,
and about 3 inches from the side. It works well to pan the drums hard,
and leave the overhead mike in the center, if you don't want to double
mike each drum. With an overhead, I put it about 3 feet above the
center of the kit.
Hope this offers something new for someone to try. Love it or hate
it, at least its something that you may have not tried yet.
I'll leave these files up for a few days.
Best,
Shawn Brock
----- Original Message -----
*From:* Erik Bryndahl <mailto:erik@xxxxxxxxxxx>
*To:* ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Sent:* Wednesday, August 29, 2012 1:03 PM
*Subject:* [ddots-l] Re: recording acoustic guitars
Hi Shawn!
I would be very interested in your experience and thought's on this
matter aswell.
Regards, Erik
*From:* D!J!X! <mailto:megamansuperior@xxxxxxxxxxx>
*Sent:* Wednesday, August 29, 2012 8:44 PM
*To:* ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Subject:* [ddots-l] Re: recording acoustic guitars
Hi Sean, just in case you send the Email privately, I'd sure be
interested to hear your thoughts on mic selection and positioning at
least for guitars, and if you've got something to say regarding mics
or mic placement for percussion such as congas and such, even
better. In the next few months I'm going to be doing some work with
these instruments (recording some salsa and bossa and such latin
styles), so would like to hear your thoughts, you know we can never
learn enough :)
THX, D!J!X!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] *On Behalf Of *Shawn Brock
*Sent:* Wednesday, August 29, 2012 2:37 PM
*To:* ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Subject:* [ddots-l] Re: recording acoustic guitars
Hi Manny,
Yes it does make a big difference.
Most times I mic an acoustic and stay away from using the pickup on
sessions. Key words here are most times...
You will have to consider what genre of music your recording, and
how much the song is carried by the acoustic. If the acoustic plays
a big part in the song, and the genre of music is folk or country
for example, you will be better off using microphones. If you are
recording hard rock or something, where the acoustic just lends a
little color to the song, then you may want to think about recording
from the pickup, or taking a track of the pickup and microphone.
Most times I stereo mic acoustics, and pan each mic hard right and
left, but maybe that's more than you want to get into at this point?
Mic selection and placement on acoustic instruments is an area which
I have explored heavily for many years, and I can offer some
worthwhile thoughts on this subject if need be. And I'll try to do
so without just sending one word emails which don't contain any
substance...
Shawn Brock
----- Original Message -----
*From:* Manny <mailto:rivasma@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*To:* ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Sent:* Wednesday, August 29, 2012 10:05 AM
*Subject:* [ddots-l] recording acoustic guitars
Hi all,
Many over here with a quick question. When recording an acoustic
guitar, is it better to use a microphone or the pickup on it.
Does it make a difference when recording an acoustic strum
compared to lead rifts.
Thanks,
manny
