MXL V67g - Page 4

Recording Acoustic Guitar
While it may seem obvious, your best
results for capturing the acoustic guitar
(or
any
similar
stringed
instrument
for
that matter) begin with a
properly tuned
instrument and strings that, while not
old, aren't so new so as to create tun-
ing issues due to stretching.
Bridge Placement: Similarly, you can
position the microphone 3 - 6 inches
from the guitar's bridge. This will gener-
ally produce a somewhat brighter tonal
quality.
You should also be prepared to
experiment
with
positioning
the
micro-
phone slightly off-axis if you find yourself
capturing too much low frequency
response
from
the
guitar's
sound
hole.
There are two optimum points for
microphone positioning - either near
the bridge or by the twelfth fret. While it
may seem natural to place the micro-
phone in front of the instrument's sound
hole, doing so usualy increases low
frequency response, causing the instru-
ment to sound "boomy."
The acoustical characteristics of your
room will also have a pronounced
efie
Twelfth Fret Placement: Placing the
microphone roughly2-4 inches from
the twelfth fret and aiming it directly
at the strings will generally produce
a wam, full bodied sound with good
tonal balance. Using this technique,
the sound hole's corntribution will be
moderated since the microphone is not
pointed directly at it.
effect on your results. A "live" room
will produce an overall "brighter" guitar
sound,
while
a
"damped"
room
wil
produce
more of
a
mellow tone.
If
you have two microphones, you may
wish to experiment using one in cose
proximity to the guitar as previously
described, with the second micro-
phone
on
a
stand a
few
feet
away
to
capture the room's ambience. Blend-
ing the to sources can produce
excellent results.
Fig. 2
Brldge Placement
12th Fret Placement
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