How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

[jcthejester13]

Do you guys have any set way you record electric acoustic guitars. Do you go via an amp, mic the sound hole, go direct in, etc?

This is my first time recording using an electric acoustic and I was looking to get some opinions on how you guys do the trick.

Thanks,
Joshua

 

[CrookTele]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

I know a few acoustic players who record via micing the sound hole. They swear by it. But I have no experience with it.

 

[jeremy]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

when i record any acoustic i use condenser mics

typically a small condenser 6-12" the 12th fret and another a similar distance from the bridge. ive also done an xy pattern starting at the 12th fret and moving it around till i get a nice sound. ive used large diaphrams too maybe 24" from the guitar top. if you have some condenser mics, experiment and see what sounds best to you

 

[FretFire]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

We've used a combination of several things. Most acoustics we record are Taylors with the Expression system, so we'll run that direct and then mic the soundhole and the fretboard. Then mix/balance those channels to find a tone we like.

 

[jcthejester13]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

We've used a combination of several things. Most acoustics we record are Taylors with the Expression system, so we'll run that direct and then mic the soundhole and the fretboard. Then mix/balance those channels to find a tone we like.

Do you guys go direct with the expression system or do you feed it into an amp?

 

[FretFire]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

Do you guys go direct with the expression system or do you feed it into an amp?

Direct through a Fishman DI.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

It depends on if you want that piezo "plunk."

I don't particularly like it in general, so I record with mics as described above, but some songs and some producers' ears like that piezo plunk, and in that case, I think it's best to go direct, and add any effects in the DAW.

 

[FretFire]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

It depends on if you want that piezo "plunk."

I don't particularly like it in general, so I record with mics as described above, but some songs and some producers' ears like that piezo plunk, and in that case, I think it's best to go direct, and add any effects in the DAW.

Yep, we always toss it in one channel so we can blend it in if/when needed. So far we've used it sparingly, and the mics have dominated. We've tracked some old Guilds & Gibsons too, and the lack of electronics wasn't an issue.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

Yep, we always toss it in one channel so we can blend it in if/when needed. So far we've used it sparingly, and the mics have dominated. We've tracked some old Guilds & Gibsons too, and the lack of electronics wasn't an issue.

That mirrors my experience recording acoustic guitars.

From the producer standpoint, it can't hurt to have it - but it just so happens that I have never blended much if any (piezo signal) in.

 

[jcthejester13]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

This is all going to be pretty low key mellow finger picking. A lot of intricacies will be involved, so I could do without a lot of plunk in there.

 

[uOpt]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

In this day and age you should always record all sources you have, in this case both pickup and with a mic.

You then decide which one to use (or any mix thereof) when you mix the song.

It is just too hard to predict what works together with the other instruments. What sounds awesome in isolation might be too muddy in the song. Usually what sounds too dry in isolation is what mixes well.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

IMO, even the best acoustic guitar pickups are compromises that are really only worth it for live use. I would never even consider using one to record, unless its sound was somehow a part of what I wanted. If you want it to sound like a classic acoustic guitar, just mic it up! If you want it to sound like something else, then considering using the pickup to record, or the pickup and a mic.

 

[jtougas]

Another cool setup is a small diaphragm condenser over the player's shoulder, if they're sitting down. It mimics what they hear while they're playing.

 

[jeremy]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

ive done that with another aimed at the 12th fret. it sounded awesome but took a little work to get the two mics working together nicely. at first there was a ton of phase cancellation

 

[Gypsyblue]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

when i record any acoustic i use condenser mics

typically a small condenser 6-12" the 12th fret and another a similar distance from the bridge. ive also done an xy pattern starting at the 12th fret and moving it around till i get a nice sound. ive used large diaphrams too maybe 24" from the guitar top. if you have some condenser mics, experiment and see what sounds best to you

Me too. I start by aiming them in the direction of the neck/body joint and then move them around a little until I get a nice sound. I like that sound better than aiming the mics at the sound hole. I never use the pickup in the guitar to record - i only use it for my live sound at gigs.

 

[jtougas]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

Yup. Phase cancellation can be a pain.

Fun part is making sure the guitarist sits still.

I once had an issue with a player who kept shifting... I walked into the room we were using as live room, looked at him for a second, and conspicuously put down a staplegun.

He didn't shift the rest of the session.

 

[jcthejester13]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

Yup. Phase cancellation can be a pain.

Fun part is making sure the guitarist sits still.

I once had an issue with a player who kept shifting... I walked into the room we were using as live room, looked at him for a second, and conspicuously put down a staplegun.

He didn't shift the rest of the session.

lol. I love it. Hopefully we don't have to resort to that.

 

[El Dunco]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

There will be phase cancellation between the piezo signal and the mic signal because the sound takes longer to get to the microphones than it does straight to the desk. This is easily combated by running the piezo signal 100% wet through a delay and making sure it's running at the exact same time as the mic track. Or drag the tracks so their in time with each other.

This also happens when people try to run a bass DI track with a bass amp track without doing anything to compensate for the time difference.

That may be why a lot of people don't like blending and let the louder track suppress the quieter one... there could be comb filtering if they bring it up any louder.

I like to blend both, keeping the mic signal dry and putting chorus and delay effects on the piezo track and having it softer in the background.

 

[jtougas]

It's not a cheap solution, and it's not right for every situation, but I've had good results running acoustics through an Acoustic Driver DI from Tech21 ( which are excellent for stage use). Now, it's called a ParaDriver (also, incredibly handy for recording a doublebass with a pickup).

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: How do you guys prefer to record electric acoustics?

i use a condenser mic pointed at the lower bout half way between the bridge and the guitars bottom for recording and about 4 to six inches from the soundboard. It gets a nice woody tone and keeps out of the way of the player, as well as not getting the scratchy noises coming from your fingers. I find one mic is fine in a nice room.
Near the soudhole can get too wooly and bass oriented, and also picks up a lot of finger noise. Some peole like to point the mic at the fretboard to lessen the boominess of teh soundhole but that juts gives too much finger noise and brightness for me. It also is constrictive for the player.
The electro part of an electro acoustic is purely for live IMHO cos its simply the easiest way to get a clean, reliable, bleed free and low feedback sound source to the FOH. Piezos suck and just sound glassy and fake to my ears, but they are the lesser of many evils in a live environment.