Who doesn’t like the crisp sound from an acoustic guitar?   I always loved playing my acoustic, not only for the creating peaceful music, but for the sheer pleasure of it.  But when you get in the studio and start recording on your favorite guitar, you will realize soon enough that it sound as good as you might think.

There are millions of ways to record anything.  This is how I do it.

Before Recording

Tune your guitar everyday, and practice your songs

Make sure you have a fresh set of strings that are properly stretched.  If you changed your strings hours before the recording session, you might find yourself tuning and re-tuning your guitar while producing an over buzzing guitar track.  Be prepared and change them about a week before your recording session.  Tune your guitar everyday, and practice your songs.

You also have to try to get rid of any buzzing sound.  You might need to adjust your neck, the bridge,  or simply change your fingers’ position.  Sometimes, if you place your fingers differently, you’ll get rid of those pesky annoying rings.  As a musician, it’s important to know your instrument. To know the bad and the good your instrument has to offer.  Every guitar is different and even expensive guitars will have their own specific needs.

The Room

With the home recording business taking a boom, there is always something missing from the non-professional album.   When you can hear the lack of life in your sound, you know you have to focus more on your room then your mic placement.  When recording Drums, acoustic instrument, or any type of vocals, the room becomes one of the most important thing.   If you have a square room, you may find a problem with standing waves.  Also, if your room have absolutely no reverb or life, it will kill your sound and make your guitar sound like crap.   You have to find the perfect balance between the two.

There is a simple solution for a “lame” room

There is a simple solution for a “lame” room.  You can create sound panels.   You don’t have to spend thousand of dollar on simple sound proof panel.  You can build some with 2×4, insulation, and fabric. Use your imagination here.  You are a musician, you probably know how to create things.  It doesn’t have to be beautiful, and it doesn’t be sound proof.  You only need panels that will dampen the room but not kill the sound.  You could build 2, 3, or 10, it doesn’t really matter.  Just make sure that they are portable, and they can be place anywhere in the room.  Have someone play guitar and place the panels around him or her.  Listen and tune the room with your ears.  Make your room sound the best it can.   The panel will reduce the reverb of the room and will break any standing waves.

The Microphones

A simple SM58 will not do

One thing that home recording studios lack  of  are good microphone.  A simple SM58 will not do.  A vocal condenser is OK, but you can have better.   For me,   I always use my overhead condensers that I use for my drums.  They have a perfect response for HI and MID frequencies.  They are bullet type microphone, so they capture the sound that is directly in front of them.  If you like a certain type of microphone, use it.  The point here is having the best sound without using any EQ.  Leave the EQ for the mixing process.

The Mic Placement

I seen too many so-called engineer placing their microphones about an inch from the instrument.  I would not recommend doing this.  The instrument needs to breath and live within your newly tuned room.   You would never listen to your guitar from an inch away; it’s the same for your microphones.  Always treat a microphone as your ears.

I use 2 microphone, one for the neck and one for the body of the guitar.

I use 2 microphone, one for the neck and one for the body of the guitar.   The neck mic will give you the crisp clean sound, and the body mic will give you the resonance and mid that you want.   I place the neck microphone about 3 feet away and point it at a 45 degree angle towards the top of the neck, the first fret.  I also put the body microphone 3 feet away from the guitar and point it at a 45 degree angle towards the body.

Have the guitarist play.  As every guitar is different, start from there and move your mic around until you get the sound you want.

The Mic Preamps

It’s also great to have a mixing board with good preamps.  The preamps/gain on your board will give the sound its quality.   The better the preamp, the less noise you will have when you raise the volume.  Also, your preamp may give you the warmth you are looking for in your sound.

If you follow this, you should have a great sounding acoustic guitar in your mix.  You can even pan the two mics differently to give the guitar space.  Choose your mics carefully and always tune your room properly. Then, play until your fingers bleed.