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Post by davidmgt on Apr 12, 2011 18:32:48 GMT -5
What techniques have worked best for you? I am developing an acoustic project and will likely use a Sure SM 57 to mic my OM and have no experience with advanced mic techniques.
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ck1
New Member
Posts: 447
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Post by ck1 on Apr 12, 2011 18:37:12 GMT -5
Well, it depends what kind of sound you're going for, but you've got your work cut out for you if you're using an SM57 to mic an acoustic guitar. They are dynamic mics, so have fairly low gain output (i.e., you'll have to crank your preamp when recording something as "quiet" as acoustic guitar), and have a fairly extreme EQ curve with an enormous bump around 5k. If that's what you've got, then that's what you have to use. But if there is any way you can beg/borrow/steal even a modest condenser mic or two, your recordings will thank you for it.
If you can snag some other mics, I'll give you my 2 cents about placement then.
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Post by davidmgt on Apr 12, 2011 19:12:31 GMT -5
Well, it depends what kind of sound you're going for, but you've got your work cut out for you if you're using an SM57 to mic an acoustic guitar. They are dynamic mics, so have fairly low gain output (i.e., you'll have to crank your preamp when recording something as "quiet" as acoustic guitar), and have a fairly extreme EQ curve with an enormous bump around 5k. If that's what you've got, then that's what you have to use. But if there is any way you can beg/borrow/steal even a modest condenser mic or two, your recordings will thank you for it. If you can snag some other mics, I'll give you my 2 cents about placement then. I do have a cheap MXL condenser. Do you think a cheap condenser is more effective than a SM 57 - I suppose I could always compare the two  |
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Post by Infinite Ego on Apr 12, 2011 20:20:11 GMT -5
The SM57 is less than ideal, let's put it that way.
But, anyhow, there are a lot of ways to capture acoustic guitar, just as there are many ways to capture any instrument/source.
If you just want to use that 57 I suggest aiming it at the 12th fret of the guitar with the diaphragm angled toward your picking hand.
Better results would probably be arrived at by substituting the MXL for the 57 and use the same 12th fret target
About 50% of the time I will use two small diaphragm mics (one aimed at the 12th fret and the other mic I experiment with placement, e.g., over the right shoulder aimed at the soundboard) and the other 50% of the time I will use the mid-side technique: one large diaphragm condenser mic aimed at the 12th fret and a figure 8 LDC set up 90 degrees to the other mic at 'exactly' the same distance to avoid phase distortion....but if you get some you can easily line the separate signals up in your DAW and make them more or less in phase. Take that mid source, duplicate the track, reverse the phase of the duplicated track, and then pan the two mid tracks hard L and R ... a nice sound.
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ck1
New Member
Posts: 447
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Post by ck1 on Apr 12, 2011 21:16:08 GMT -5
Do you have the ability to record two at a time? If so, you could always try using the MXL as a "distance" mic, back maybe 3 or 4 feet, and then use the SM57 up much closer. Then, when mixing the two later, the MXL will give you a much nicer true acoustic tone (as much as your gear will allow) and then you can blend in the SM57 for what I'll just call presence. Might work well.
I have come to stereo mic everything, but not with the same type of setups that IE is using (though I've used those in the past with good results). I'm tracking again on Friday for a friend, so maybe I'll take a picture and upload it here for you to see what I'm trying now.
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Post by davidmgt on Apr 13, 2011 16:13:24 GMT -5
Great ideas. I am actually considering using a combination of mic and direct plug into my mixer. I'll experiment with a few permutations of dual micing and mic/direct. I can certainly see why recording with mics is something of an art form. I use direct recording almost exclusively and it is a breeze in comparison.
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