Recording an Acoustic

[evilmags]

Mic placement is an obvious starting point. The guitar itself moves relative to the microphone as you play it, so add in a little bit of compression and it should start to even out and sound smoother. The other thing I can see from your set up is that you are using 10s. 10s are way too light for an accoustic and will not get anything close to the full range of sound out of the soundbox. I'm afraid the biggest difference to your recorded sound would come from removing the 10s and sticking 12s (or 13s if you can deal with them) on the guitar. You can also buy half round Phosphor Bronze strings that don't squeak for recording purposes. http://www.daddario.com/DADProductFa...68&familyid=10 . Unless an accoustic is really lightly braced then tens will just make it sound bad.

[ESBlonde]

So does the guitar sound nice to you as you play it? If so just put the mic over your (right for right handed) shoulder aimed at your strumming hand. The 33a is detailed enough and not particularly boomy, don't get it too close to avoid any proximity effect.

[BigLicks67]

Do you know how to cut 'ugly' frequencies from a signal?
Insert an EQ plugin, set it to a medium Q and boost the signal by around 12db.
Then sweep through frequencies finding the ones that sound ugly/harsh/boxy.
Cut those frequencies by as much as you need to.
Be careful with compression.
I tend to not use any compression on acoustic guitars but sometimes a slight levelling can work.

When you say insert an EQ plug in, are you referring to the EQ's on Garageband or a separate entity?
Sorry, but I'm not the most clued up in computer lingo.

Regards, using 10's - I used every gauge of strings known to man and find these the best for me and the avoidance of RSI. It is a very lightly braced top and 12's seemed a bit heavy, but I'll admit the top B & E strings would be better if a bit heavier.

I managed to find a Dunlop Nylon .60mm plec in my tin of picks, so I'll try that.

Ideally if I had 2 mics I'd have one on the 12th fret and one on the soundboard near the bridge.

[evilmags]

Martin actually recomend 12s for that model, and two gauges down is unlikely to sound ideal. It is also likely to kill the guitar's volume, making recording it harder. These are low tension heavy gauge strings and sound amazing recorded. http://www.thomastik-infeld.com/guitars/index.html . Not cheap mind you.

In terms of the EQ, basically use a plug in that says "Parametric EQ" on it. You then create a spike, sweeping across the frequencies, until you pinpoint the bits you don't like. Very simillar to the way you cut out feedback on a live accoustic in terms of technique.

[guitarfishbay]

Martin actually recomend 12s for that model, and two gauges down is unlikely to sound ideal. It is also likely to kill the guitar's volume, making recording it harder. These are low tension heavy gauge strings and sound amazing recorded. http://www.thomastik-infeld.com/guitars/index.html . Not cheap mind you.

Even lower tension 12s will still be a noticeable step up from 10s, and not everyone can handle it. I'd personally be recommending only going up one gauge at a time if you have issues with hand pain, and re-assessing things honestly with regards to comfort after you've tried the thicker strings. While I appreciate thicker strings can sound nicer, there is no shame in not being able to handle thick strings as not everyone can. I've currently settled on 11s in standard on a 25.6" Jumbo, as I can play them for extended periods without pain. I tried going heavier, but eventually came back down for comfort reasons.

I've used Thomastik Spectrums and they sound fantastic, albeit the tone I liked didn't last very long in my experience. My favourites for tone on my guitar are John Pearse phosphor bronze strings, but again the tone I liked didn't last too long and they got duller than I wanted fairly quickly. I currently just buy daddarios in bulk, they sound ok, are relatively cheap, and for me the usable part of their tone lasts the longest out of the brands I've tried.

[octatonic]

When you say insert an EQ plug in, are you referring to the EQ's on Garageband or a separate entity?
Sorry, but I'm not the most clued up in computer lingo.

I tend to use outboard EQ but yes a plugin EQ should work find, as long as it has freq and level controls.
Variable Q would help too.

[evilmags]

Even lower tension 12s will still be a noticeable step up from 10s, and not everyone can handle it. I'd personally be recommending only going up one gauge at a time if you have issues with hand pain, and re-assessing things honestly with regards to comfort after you've tried the thicker strings. While I appreciate thicker strings can sound nicer, there is no shame in not being able to handle thick strings as not everyone can. .

With practise pretty much anyone can play a set of 12s. They really are not that heavy. Most people push too hard anyway. 10s on an accoustic are a total tonekiller if the guitar was built for 12s. I really can't see the point of spending a grand plus on an accoustic and stringing it with 10s. Unless you like no volume, poor projection and weak tone. I'd probably use 12s myself if I did not use so many alt tunings, which really need 13s for the dropped D to be articulate and not go all flubby.

[BigLicks67]

Conventional wisdom does indicate that heavier strings sound better, but not all of us are blessed with the hands of Jimi Hendrix.
However, Jimmy Page, Brian May, Billy Gibbons and Adrian Legg all use light strings and get great tone. I have had 12's & 11's on it and it always sounds like a good guitar irrespective of the string gauge. My main issue is how to get that good sound recorded properly.
Anyway thanks for all the advice. I now need to put that to some use.

[guitarfishbay]

With practise pretty much anyone can play a set of 12s. They really are not that heavy. Most people push too hard anyway.

I agree with you to a point. The problem is that you have to maintain your hand strength otherwise if you take a break from playing and then come back 12s can be too heavy. This of course is heavily style dependent. It is less of an issue if you play mostly chords around the nut, and more of an issue if you play a lot of single note runs.

I appreciate I'm in a slightly different position in that I've actually met the OP, as I bought his Telecaster recently, and we briefly talked about both liking easier setups on guitars due to hand pain.

Personally at the minute I'm going between playing long stints (3+ hours at a time) and then some times not having the time to play for several days due to other commitments. Due to my playing style I find I'm safest using a lighter gauge than I'd chose if recording guitars was my full time job. I'm of the opinion that playing guitar should be about enjoyment first, which for some people means they need to use a lighter gauge of string. I personally have had to take time off playing guitar in the past after causing myself injuries by using too heavy of a string gauge.

So I agree that a thicker string gauge would sound nice, but I know where the OP is coming from regarding wanting playing comfort. I think he'd be best off trying 11s first and seeing how they feel rather than just jumping to 12s, as they might be too much for him.

[Danny1969]

Best results I've got from an acoustic came from 2 mics, one near the soundboard and one pointing towards the 12th fret. Because when you hear an acoustic the sound from it comes from everywhere, having 2 mics seems to capture it more realistically. Set yourself up with a pair of cans so you can monitor what the mic's are picking as you move them slightly while playing.