Acoustic guitar amps - in the studio?

[hydro]

Hey fellas,

I may be doing some acoustic guitar on some upcoming albums. I now have a nice Taylor steel 6 string with an instrument out and tone stack.

I don't have much experience with doing this. In the past we always just put a mic on acoustics and went for it. Here's my 2 part question -

A) Do people typically use acoustic guitar amps in the studio, or just for live stuff?

B) What are good value acoustic guitar amps out there? Is it worth considering one for the studio or should I just mic it?


Thanks --

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Acoustic guitar amps - in the studio?

I would say mic it. And forget about the amp for the studio.

I have a Taylor 710CE with the Fishman Matrix Blend system. I prefer the Fishman over the ES--I have never been able to get a good sound out of the ES; it seems to work okay for delicate fingerpicking, but I'm a hard flat-picker and strummer. And in that context, the ES sounds very unnatural to me.

I hear some records where it's obvious that a UST was used; you can hear the typical piezo snap and quack. I could see that, for some songs, recording that way would serve a purpose. I prefer a recording with a full, natural sounding guitar, so I like a mic.

And actually, this is one area where the Taylor SHOULD shine. The signature tone of Taylor guitars is one that is balanced from lows to highs, without the booming bass of say, a Martin Dreadnought, like a D-28. So getting a good natural acoustic tone should be easy (-ier). I've used my 710 without the pickup in live situations, using a simple dynamic cardioid like a Shure SM-57 and gotten great results. The proximity effect of these mics adds warmth that make it sound nice and full--the same mic could make a Martin sound muddy. No offense to Martin, I have ten Martins and only the one Taylor, so you know where my loyalties lie.

And you shouldn't need an acoustic amp, even if you opt to use your onboard pickup. Any effects you need, save some compression, should be added at the final mix, not on the initial recording. You won't need it as a monitor; you should be hearing the guitar through your cans (headphones) as you play.

Hopefully, you'll be working with someone who is an experienced engineer and a producer who knows what he's doing. Acoustic guitar can be one of the more "tinkier" instruments to work with in the studio, but you can achieve great results.

Good luck!

Bill

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: Acoustic guitar amps - in the studio?

Usually for a studio setting, folks will mic their acoustics. One thing we found out with the D-TAR Mama Bear is that a lot of players were using it in the studio. This surprised us since it was designed to be a live tool, primarily. But the reason it's used in the studio so often is because engineers don't have to worry about mic placement, which is critical.

 

[hydro]

Re: Acoustic guitar amps - in the studio?

Our studio guy has a lot of great pre-amps and we have DI boxes, so maybe I could take a DI along with a mic just to be safe. I had a feeling using an amplifier would kind of defeat the purpose in the studio, but wanted to see what the best practice was.

My Taylor definitely has a really nice, balanced sound and it's pretty loud. Regarding Martins, I know they are beloved by many and are extraordinary instruments, but I never could bond with them, whereas a Taylor just worked for me right away. funny how that is... maybe Taylors are more friendly to guys who are primarily electric players (like me).

 

[Liam1963]

Re: Acoustic guitar amps - in the studio?

Any studio work I've done in the past involving my acoustics (Takamine or Martin) the recording was done with just a mic (or two), and that's it. We did get experimental once and placed a mic above the lower strings (E, A, D), and another below the higher strings (G,B,E) recorded then blended the output, it actually sounded really good, different than anything I had heard before...

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Acoustic guitar amps - in the studio?

+1 for micing if it is a regular flattop acoustic. You will have to experiment with placement and different mic types to get the sound you want.

Acoustic amps are really just glorified mini PA systems. Piezos are also not my cup of tea when it comes to tone.

Having said that, the last few times i've recorded a resonator, i've had a mic on the guitar, but also used a magnetic pickup (paf) plugged into a fender tube amp which was isolated in the next room, to allow blending of the mic sound and the magnetic pickup/tube amp sound at the mixing stage.
I've done something similar with archtop guitars. Mic on the axe, and amps in another room.
Works a treat.