Position the two microphones close to the guitar at approximately 30-50cm away. Between them, the pair know a thing or two about great sounding acoustic guitars, and so its understandable why Universal Audio got the pair together as part of their UAD Tones & Techniques series to teach you all about micing acoustics in the studio. The immediate answer is to record a wide stereo image of an Related tracks View all. Very true. The Spaced Pair Recording Technique The Wide Spaced Pair Recording Technique The Mid-Side Recording Technique The Trident Recording Technique The 3:1 Rule Choosing the Right Guitar You can buy a guitar for a couple hundred dollars, or a couple thousand dollars. The distance will depend on the size of the musical group being recorded. It has a slight presence boost at the 7kHz mark and a bit of a roll-off at the really low and high end. One of my favorite workhorse mics for recording vocals in this situation is the fixed-cardioid Shure SM7B ($399 street). For this technique, set your mics to cardioid or omni and point them at the sound source, either on- or off-axis. 1. Special thanks to JZ Microphones for helping to make this one free to the public. New posts Search forums. The recording will have a narrow stereo spread but with a strong centre image. Solo acoustic guitars sound excellent using these techniques. Good for: all-purpose, small spaces, effects. On deck are techniques like horizontal XY, Vertical XY, ORTF, Spaced, Pair, Over-The-Shoulder and more. The outer limits of the recording angle should be reproduced at 30 (time difference approximately 1.1 ms). The crossing point is marked (): Hence, the spacing (d) should be 40 cm (16 in). XY stereo recording uses a coincident pair of directional- or bidirectional, angled microphones. This first one is pretty simple. The room was not ideal as it had a very square reflection sound as there were very few absorptive materials in the room and the room was a square. A more common practice in popular music recording is the spaced pair overhead pattern. KineticSound said: Opinions will vary, however my favorite method for acoustic & classical guitar is to use one LDC and one SDC panned in stereo. We have positioned the microphones carefully into a spaced pare. Infinite Tones. One Cab. Mic bleed, or 'spill', is typically met with a frown in the audio community. The book provides in depth information on how different mic techniques can be used, 6.4 Near-Coincident Pair Techniques. Of the level difference techniques X-Y is one of the best known, using coincidently placed cardioid mics angled at 90 degrees away from each other. Acoustic Guitar Chain: MK-012 microphones UA2-610 preamp UAD 1176LN Rev E compressor Neve 88RS channel strip. The first and simplest way to record an acoustic guitar is to use a single microphone for a mono recording. How to Record Guitar with Spaced Pairs Technique | Recording Dojo. 9.7 Larger Vocal Groups. There are even specialty piano microphones that sound amazing and greatly simplify this technique. Due to the scarcity of the woods used in this instrument, the quality of the build and the corresponding price-tag, the DB Signature Deluxe is unlikely to become a first choice acoustic for heavy touring. The mics you use on any instrument in your home studio recording are a major variable in how your recording will sound, but mic placement is a big part of capturing the best tone for your recording. I recorded acoustic grand piano with great success.

Hypercardioid dynamics are Why would we want to utilize a spaced pair microphone technique? Them blend can sound quite good. If you want the guitar to How do you go about micing up an acoustic guitar? It has a black-matte ceramic coating, which is both durable and really good-looking. Record both mics dry and flat (no With a spaced pair of omnis, your first setup step would typically be to hunt for a miking distance that gave you the desired balance between direct sound and room reverb, and then youd tweak the stereo setups pickup angle (as determined by the spacing between the mics) to accommodate the width of the ensemble as seen from that miking location. The X-Y stereo mic approach uses two matched microphones placed close together. Whether with a single mic or in stereo, steel string or nylon string, Justin Colletti offers up some of the most popular and proven approaches to getting a truly great sound. Spaced Pair. However, drawn in by its captivating acoustic voice, we set up a spaced pair of Gefell M300 mics to test its potential as a recording instrument. Infinite Tones. In stereo, the close mic can be panned to the center. Show more. 1) Vertical X/Y at the 12th Fret. Bryan Clark. Instead of pointing the mic directly at the amp, turn it around. Best acoustic guitar mics 2022: our pick of microphones for recording your acoustic guitar. XY (Coincident Pair) This method uses 2 cardioid microphones, at an angle of 90-135 degrees to each other. This is often used for relatively large sound sources, like an entire drum kit or a grand piano. Thread starter Warrior; Start date Apr Finally melodic piano, such as a lead part or solo is a combination of the two. Bryan Clark. I always recorded with them as a spaced pair (tried coincident pair but was harder than I though to place them without a stereo bar, now I got one but have not yet tried it). Guilty. The first is harmonic, offering support to the music, usually in the form of chords or a pad like part.

The Spaced Pair technique was used to capture the full tonal energy of the guitar. Two mics (often omni) are set some distance apart, delivering stereo information by differences in loudness and precedence.

After that, the spaced pair of microphones can be panned left and right. Cardioid mics have a characteristic known as proximity effect that creates a deeper, bassier sound as you move the mic closer to a sound source. Assuming youve followed rule #2 and youre reaching for a microphone instead of a DI to record your acoustic, please do yourself a favor and back the mic up at least a foot away. Justin Colletti walks us through some of the most useful techniques for recording drums, including diagonal spaced pair, ORTF, Glyn Johns, Recorderman and more. Then put another microphone, of the same type, four feet away. For a good balance between the sustain and articulation of methods two and three, open or remove the front panel under the keyboard to expose the bottom of the harp, and position a mic on either side, angled slightly in. Blackbird Studio ace Bryan Clark breaks down the versatile studio technique and provides some advice on how to avoid phasing issues. Infinite Tones. In a close mic mix, the acoustic guitar will be pushed up front more often. For the purpose of recording the acoustic guitar in the home or project studio domain, there are 3 setups that work well for stereo imaging: X-Y, ORTF, and A-B stereo.

Featuring the M5 Matched Pair to demonstrate different stereo applications, we recorded Sydney musician, Caitlin Park on acoustic guitar. A step-by-step mix walkthrough of my song "With You" with tips and plug-in settings. JOHN TAYLOR: In terms of mic techniques, the main change I made at an early stage, in the mid-1980s, was to abandon the crossed-pair configurationknown as X-Y stereo in favor of the spaced-paircalled A-B stereo. This can be done with a small or large diaphragm condenser microphone placed where the neck of the guitar meets the body. 2. If you would like to see the full hour and a half discussion you can see the video further down the page. Time differences and level differences between the two mics generate the stereo image. The most obvious stereo mic setup is the spaced pair (sometimes called AB, see Figure 1). Also, sounded good on acoustic drums paired up with SM57s snare and toms /Sm58 and sE X1 and D112 on kick drum. As the name suggestions, sound arrives at a widely spaced pair of microphones at slightly different times, creating a stereo effect. A more common practice in popular music recording is the spaced pair overhead pattern. Theres another version of the spaced pair recording technique known as the wide spaced pair recording technique. When capturing the overheads of a drum kit, this technique is often used with the two microphones equidistant from the center of the snare to minimize phase issues. I always recorded with them as a spaced pair (tried coincident pair but was harder than I though to place them without a stereo bar, now I got one but have not yet tried it). The capsule of the mic is aimed at the guitar's 14th fret, and it is also angled to almost 45 degrees relative to the floor. Then tweak thresholds so only the loudest peaks are reined inusually around 5 - 6dB, depending on the overall volume of your track. I recorded acoustic grand piano with great success. 10 Microphone Placement Techniques for Acoustic Guitar. Aim at the bridge and the 12th fret (ballpark). They arrange the microphones parallel to each other 40-60cm apart. This is one of the most popular ways of recording acoustic guitar. SM57s sound fine, and as an introductory mic, it's a great choice. Balanced and Rich: Front Panel Open, Mics On Bottom of Strings. The song we recorded was Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. Current visitors New profile posts Search profile posts. Mar 18, 2013. The microphones were placed 20cm apart with help from the Stereo Bar's mounting guide & markings. So the microphones were moved further apart, farther back, and higher in increments, listening carefully to the effect of each change. I bought my first guitar mic (an SM57) this year and I'm using it Stream RDE M5 Matched Pair in Spaced Pair configuration - Caitlin Park Acoustic Guitar by rodemics on desktop and mobile. In this configuration, one WA-87 will be placed over the floor tom and the other WA-87 above the high hat. How Do I Record My Acoustic Guitar With A Stereo? Ideally, both microphones should be the same type and manufacturer. XY. But in home recording, you often have to place the mics much closer to eliminate undesirable effects of the room. You can also find single microphones that are designed for MS recording such as the Sony ECM-957Pro or the Sanken CMS-7S. While some legendary microphones come with jaw-dropping price tags, you can get excellent results with inexpensive options like the Audio-Technica AT-2020 or AT-2021 ($100). We put one of the microphones pointing towards the bridge of the guitar and one of the microphones facing the 12th fret. Four general mic techniques are used for stereo recording: coincident pair, spaced pair, near-coincident pair, and baffled-omni pair or artificial head. Raise the microphone a little above the beam of the soundhole to reduce the amount of bass, or place the microphone deeper into the beam to increase the bass.

Justsomeguy. A/B recording technique applications. Perhaps the most versatile option on this list, the three-mic approach combines a dedicated vocal mic with a stereo pair of mics to record the guitar, allowing you total control over the balance between each instrument and the amount of room tone. While the first mic is still a small diaphragm condenser pointed at the 12th fret, the second mic is positioned on a mic stand around the performer's ear level, pointing down either at the bridge or at the strings just in front of the bridge.

Spaced Pair Method.

Seems a little quiet over here Be the first to comment on this track. Technique. The most basic technique is the spaced pair. Use an X/Y technique-put the mic capsules one on top of the other (so they are coincident, i.e.

no time of arrival differences) and spread them about 90 degrees or so = crossed cardioids. The result looks like a wide V shape and is known as a coincident pair of microphones. Technique. Quiet is the new Loud. In an ideal acoustic environment, you might get a great sound with the mics as much as three feet away. Using 2 Small diaphragm Omnidirectional Condenser Mics Placed directly over the strings in the Piano just past the Hammers. 9.6 Small Vocal Groups. Place the microphones 6 to 9 above the strings and about 18 to 27 apart. Rule #3 Back Your Microphone Up. As you move closer, the sound will be more direct and have more bass. In this configuration, one WA-87 will be placed over the floor tom and the other WA-87 above the high hat. However, each technique is a little bit different. Microphone Selection, Set Up, and Positioning. Three Surefire Techniques. 1. New posts New profile posts Latest activity. Two Mics. July 18, 2022. This will allow you to hear the instrument and an element of room ambience. Surely, a more expensive guitar is going to sound "better," right? Also called spaced pair this is a technique where two stereo microphones are placed anywhere from 3 to 10 feet a part to create a time difference that the brain perceives as a stereo imaging effect. Cakewalk Support Knowledge Base - 10 Microphone Placement Techniques for Acoustic Guitar. Acoustic Guitar Microphone Techniques. I like to pair this with a small-diaphragm cardioid condenser mic, like a vintage Neumann KM84, KM54, or more recent affordable mics like the superb Rode TF-5 ($1,499, matched pair), or even the budget friendly Rode NT5 ($429 matched 90% of recordings sound like listener's nose is up against the instrument. For example, if mic A is 6" from the 12th fret, mic B should be at least 18" away from mic A this will help keep phase cancellations to a minimum and provide a smoother sound that will translate well to mono Also, sounded good on acoustic drums paired up with SM57s snare and toms /Sm58 and sE X1 and D112 on kick drum. It brings out the sound of the room. How to place the instrument mic. If your guitarist is using a capo, then place it on the first fret after the capo. To avoid phasing issues, both microphones should adhere to the 3 to 1 rule and be positioned apart from each other at exactly the same height. Start by placing the vocal mic, then focus on dialing in the guitar sound. Unless it was a stereo pair or a drum recording microphone set. There will be no phase issues and the recording will be mono-compatible. When you record using the X-Y technique, keep these points in mind: The stereo image (the placement of the instruments in the sonic environment) isnt as wide or realistic as it is in real life. Turn the Mic Around.

Experiment to see what distance works best in your room and with your guitar. This technique takes two identical microphones and places them on stands usually 3 to 10 feet apart. Three Mics. 6.6 MS (Middle-Side) Techniques. Second, rhythmic is more aggressive and percussive in nature. Stereo Microphone Techniques. So, another approach is needed. This technique is primarily a variation on the previous setup. You should have perfect mono compatibility so you can pan them however you want.