# What Mic Setup Should I Use To Record Acoustic Guitar?



## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

If you had these mics and could record two inputs at once, how would you record an acoustic guitar?

MXL 604 Pencil Condenser
MXL V67 Large Condenser
Shure SM58
Shure SM57


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

I would be inclined to try a few things. I would stick to the condenser mics and start with an x-y set-up with one mic pointed at the neck joint and the other at the bridge. Another option is a spaced pair, pointing both mics at the neck joint. My favourite is the mid-side, which usually uses a figure-8 pattern mic, but I know people who have had decent results using a cardioid. Point the small diaphragm condenser at the neck joint and set up the large diaphragm condenser coincident with the small diaphragm but pointed 90 degrees to the side. Pan the small diaphragm mic to the middle, duplicate the track from the large diaphragm, put it 180 degrees out of phase, and pan the original track to one side and the out of phase track to the other.

These are just a couple of starting points, experiment and trust your ears. Looking forward to hearing the results!

Disclaimer: I am pretty new to recording, and have yet to produce any hits. These are the set-ups that were suggested to me by people who know things and they have worked well enough for me.


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## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

With those mics, I'd try V67 on the body, back near your picking arm and the 604 aiming somewhere south of the 12 fret.

If that doesn't work too well, then maybe the V67 just north of the sound hole, off-axis and aiming at the fretboard or south of the sound hole, pointing at the body. The 604 I would put further up the neck.

You might may have to play with the distance. Generally speaking, the 3 to 1 rule for using multiple mics is a good rule of thumb.

Then you can pan the two mics to recreate the spread.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Note: with the X/Y configuration, place the mic heads at 90degrees to each other to minimize phase problems between the two. Experiment like crazy as Brian suggested because every environment and situation is different. 

Ditto: stick with the two condensers.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

You know I really tried two mics at once which was what I was trying to accomplish and I just didn't like it. The mic on the body of the guitar pointed at the bridge just sounded dull and sometimes nasally. The best sound I found was double tracking with each mic around the 12th fret pointed towards the body. Two separate takes panned 50/50 left and right with a bit of eq and compression on each track, a high pass filter on the guitar folder and a mild compressor and limiter on the master. The MXL 67 sounded pretty good but a little dull, the Shure 58 was totally usable but not super exciting. The best sound was the pencil condenser MXL 604. Guitar is a 2014 Martin D-18e Retro and the song is a bastardized version of In Hiding by Pearl Jam.

Click on the link in my signature.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

getting a bad link, can someone confirm

this should work


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https://soundcloud.com/guncho%2Fin-hiding


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

vadsy said:


> getting a bad link, can someone confirm


I can't get a direct link to work but if you click on the link in my signature, it's the first song.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

I liked it, sounded good. So this was the pencil condenser and two separate takes?

I noticed a slight droning in the background, can you hear it? and maybe some changes in the levels, left vs right. I'd say it's a positive overall. I'm not experienced enough to make a whole lot of comments though


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

vadsy said:


> I liked it, sounded good. So this was the pencil condenser and two separate takes?
> 
> I noticed a slight droning in the background, can you hear it? and maybe some changes in the levels, left vs right. I'd say it's a positive overall. I'm not experienced enough to make a whole lot of comments though


Yeah pencil condenser and two seperate takes. No I don't hear a droning sound. There's nothing else playing except two tracks of acoustic


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

bw66 said:


> I would be inclined to try a few things. I would stick to the condenser mics and start with an x-y set-up with one mic pointed at the neck joint and the other at the bridge. Another option is a spaced pair, pointing both mics at the neck joint. My favourite is the mid-side, which usually uses a figure-8 pattern mic, but I know people who have had decent results using a cardioid. Point the small diaphragm condenser at the neck joint and set up the large diaphragm condenser coincident with the small diaphragm but pointed 90 degrees to the side. Pan the small diaphragm mic to the middle, duplicate the track from the large diaphragm, put it 180 degrees out of phase, and pan the original track to one side and the out of phase track to the other.
> 
> These are just a couple of starting points, experiment and trust your ears. Looking forward to hearing the results!
> 
> Disclaimer: I am pretty new to recording, and have yet to produce any hits. These are the set-ups that were suggested to me by people who know things and they have worked well enough for me.



Don't x/y with 2 completely different mics (as a general rule - sometimes breaking the rules works out, but I am really doubting it here assuming it would be treated as a stereo pair vs just 2 mono mics placed closely to avoid phase issues).

M/S is great though, and you don't need identical mics at all. Requires some post processing to 'decode' the stereo but then you have really powerful control of the stereo image (by adjusting levels of the mid vs sides).


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## slag banal (May 4, 2020)

Lots of rules for placing mics In a studio. Here’s another: As few as possible; as many as necessary.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Granny Gremlin said:


> Don't x/y with 2 completely different mics (as a general rule - sometimes breaking the rules works out, but I am really doubting it here assuming it would be treated as a stereo pair vs just 2 mono mics placed closely to avoid phase issues).


I understand that using matched mics is the accepted orthodoxy for x-y micing, and that's the only way I've ever done it, but I'm curious as to why it is the standard. To my mind, as long as the diaphragms are coincident to avoid phase issues, it shouldn't matter if the two mics have a different "timbre". What am I missing?


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

bw66 said:


> I understand that using matched mics is the accepted orthodoxy for x-y micing, and that's the only way I've ever done it, but I'm curious as to why it is the standard. To my mind, as long as the diaphragms are coincident to avoid phase issues, it shouldn't matter if the two mics have a different "timbre". What am I missing?


Not necessarily matched but at least the same model vs completely differnt mic type (like LDC and SDC). It's because each mic is hard panned so the image/mix can be weird if the 2 mics are super different - 2 different levels and tones in L vs R. Also issues with gain matching the 2 channels (should also use the same preamp if 2 channel or 2 identical if single channel) or the stereo field will be lopsided. Can be done, can sound fine or even great, but you'll have to work for it and compensate for a lot of things and even after you do it might not be any good.

This (same mics and preamps) is much more important (hard no to differences IMHO) if you're stereo micing a band at once or it's going to be just acoustic and voice minimal mix sorta thing. If this is gonna go in the mix of a dense rock song with 2 electric guitars, bass and drums it is less critical but can still make mixing it in a pain. Better off to just use a 2 non-identical mic method (whether M/S stereo or a non stereo method... though the OP does not have a fig 8, or 2 identical cardioids, so M/S is not an option for him either... though he could fudge it with the 2 Shures as the side mics; 58 with the grille ball screwed off is pretty much a 57.... so that's an option for x/y stereo I guess but those mics aren't so great at neutral space capture from a distance). If you want different tonalities panned opposing ways then just mic it up with 2 mics (e.g. soundhole mic vs 12th fret or soundhole vs room) and then pan those as desired (it'll almost never be opposing hard L/R).

Perfect phase coherence is not everything (though it is very important to not be too far out of phase - it's a spectrum not a binary). Even with a coincident pair of especially large mics (like LDCs or ribbons) it's not perfect phase.

Now if you meant to use a coincident pair just to ensure no phase issues (not stereo per se) then fine, but then I'd say you're missing the boat on tonal options (and you still have phase issues because the 2 mics are pointing different directions by 90 degrees, and at a close distance AND not hard panned opposite ways this makes it worse). When stereo micing there is a distance implied (and I don't recommend recording an acoustic in one's den/spare bedroom with only essentially room mics - might work, but not likely). If you put an x/y pair right up on the soundhole, what's the point? Just use a single mic and have perfect phase and essentially the same tone end of story. Move a bit back to get some body and neck in there and potential phase problem city, far enough back to minimise phase issues and you''re micing a bedroom that probably doesn't sound so good. Now if there's a large living/dining room, sure, stereo mic it in there if it sounds good when you play in there - walk around yer house and find a good spot. 

Forget the book though, go with what sounds good to your ears. Try things and compare.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Granny Gremlin said:


> Not necessarily matched but at least the same model vs completely differnt mic type (like LDC and SDC). It's because each mic is hard panned so the image/mix can be weird if the 2 mics are super different - 2 different levels and tones in L vs R. Also issues with gain matching the 2 channels (should also use the same preamp if 2 channel or 2 identical if single channel) or the stereo field will be lopsided. Can be done, can sound fine or even great, but you'll have to work for it and compensate for a lot of things and even after you do it might not be any good.
> 
> This (same mics and preamps) is much more important (hard no to differences IMHO) if you're stereo micing a band at once or it's going to be just acoustic and voice minimal mix sorta thing. If this is gonna go in the mix of a dense rock song with 2 electric guitars, bass and drums it is less critical but can still make mixing it in a pain. Better off to just use a 2 non-identical mic method (whether M/S stereo or a non stereo method... though the OP does not have a fig 8, or 2 identical cardioids, so M/S is not an option for him either... though he could fudge it with the 2 Shures as the side mics; 58 with the grille ball screwed off is pretty much a 57.... so that's an option for x/y stereo I guess but those mics aren't so great at neutral space capture from a distance). If you want different tonalities panned opposing ways then just mic it up with 2 mics (e.g. soundhole mic vs 12th fret or soundhole vs room) and then pan those as desired (it'll almost never be opposing hard L/R).
> 
> ...


Thanks!


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## Midnight Rider (Apr 2, 2015)

Guncho said:


> If you had these mics and could record two inputs at once, how would you record an acoustic guitar?
> 
> MXL 604 Pencil Condenser
> MXL V67 Large Condenser
> ...


I would use the MXL V67 and MXL 604 and a spaced pair technique. The MXL604 small diaphragm condenser pointed at the 12th fret at a distance of 6"-12",...depending on what sound you are after. The MXL V67 mic 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. For a right-handed player, the mic will be positioned over the right shoulder. It should be placed out in front of the guitar and performer, angled back towards the guitar and not pointing at the ground. The sound produced will have the perspective of what the player hears.

The sound will be brighter and slightly thinner, but more open. Experiment with the mic placement to improve the recording signal timbre.

Ensure you utilize the 3:1 rule. The distance between the two mics should be at least three times the distance between each mic and the guitar. If the MXL 604 is 6" from the 12th fret then the MXL V67 should be at least 18" away from the MXL V67. This will reduce any phase cancellations to a minimum and give a smoother sound that will translate well to mono if ever needed.









The example below is of a recording I did for a client some years back using the aforementioned setup. The guitar and vocal tracks have been isolated from the from the rest of the mix so they may sound brighter than expected,... however when they are placed in the entire mix they sit well. However, it seems that when loading tracks on Soundcloud the playback tends to be a bit shrill and tinny when compared to the original mix,...perhaps they compress the file too much.


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https://soundcloud.com/rolltape-1%2Fshadow

Other Options


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

^ thar we go


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