Recording setup for acoustic

[BluesGuyJ]

I know nothing when it comes to recording you guys. I'd really like to be able to record acoustic stuff and do not see myself needing a super advanced recording setup at first. Being able to record single tracks is cool enough for me and adding tracks of melody or leads ontop of chords would be cool. I'd like to be able to throw together a CD or something, ya know? What gear do I need????

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: Recording setup for acoustic

You need some kind of audio interface with integrated mic preamps, and then a condensor mic of some sort. For acoustics, my favorite setup is either a nice pair of SDC's with one pointed near the bridge and one near the 12th fret or a very nice LDC like a U87 placed near the last fret of the guitar but angled slightly towards the bridge - it really depends on the guitar, player, room, and mic.

What's your budget? I'd say a single LDC would be easiest for you since you wouldn't have to deal with phase relationships or mixing two tracks for every performance.

*edit* on a really low budget, a USB mic like the AT2020usb wouldn't be a bad choice.

What kind of computer do you have? If you're on a Mac, the Apogee One's built in mic is really good for this sort of thing, too.

[BluesGuyJ]

Re: Recording setup for acoustic

I just picked up a new gateway desktop. a lot of what you just said went over my head. I know NOTHING about recording or different types of mics or what the hell a mixing board does, condenser mic... I'm a newbie.

[jeremy]

Re: Recording setup for acoustic

sdc=small diaphram condenser mic

ldc=large diaphram condenser mic

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: Recording setup for acoustic

Ah sorry, three real different types of mics:

Dynamic - uses electromagnetic induction to produce sound, usually used on instruments (SM57, MD421) but also used for broadcast mics like the SM7b or RE20.

Condensor - uses capacitance change to produce sound, for instruments and vocals but generally not percussion (again, *very* general statement). Two main types, small (SDC) and large (LDC) diaphragm. SDC's are generally used for stringed instruments, drum overheads, pianos, spot micing in general. LDC's are generally used for vocals, room micing, and sometimes stringed instruments/overheads. LDC's are generally "bigger" and "chunkier" sounding, wheras SDC's are usually "smaller" and not necessarily more detailed but tend to have a certain charm to the high mids/top end.

Ribbon - uses a ribbon as a diaphragm, generally darker than either a condensor or dynamic, more sensitive to sound pressure levels (SPL, aka volume). Generally used on rooms, guitars, stringed instruments, sometimes drum overheads/cymbal spot mics.

Take none of that as a rule - I violate the suggestions above all the time (SDC on snare, LDC on guitar amps and kick drum, dynamic mics on vocals and acoustics, etc).


Something like the mentioned AT2020usb would be perfect for you, I think. It plugs in via USB and uses your normal soundcard for output, so it's pretty fool-proof.