Capturing Authentic Acoustic Guitar Tones
Acoustic guitar recording requires balancing warmth with clarity while avoiding the thin, lifeless sound common in home recordings. Grammy-winner Jacquire King, Steve Albini, and indie specialist Chris Coady share mic placement strategies, DI blending techniques, and approaches to capturing authentic acoustic sound. These methods will help you nail that elusive guitar tone whether for intimate singer-songwriter tracks or fuller rock arrangements.
4 videos
Universal Audio
Recording Acoustic Guitars for Sing-Songwriters
Join Grammy-winning producer Jacquire King as he shares his expert techniques for recording acoustic guitars, focusing on singer-songwriter setups. Using a large-diaphragm condenser and a pencil condenser mic, King highlights the importance of capturing both warmth and brightness for a balanced, three-dimensional sound. King discusses strategic microphone placement, aiming for the 12th fret area to achieve a well-rounded capture without muddy low frequencies. By choosing microphones with different tonal characteristics, he creates depth and avoids phase issues. The session also covers preamp selection, with King demonstrating how different preamps like API, UA 610-B, and Neve 1073 can shape the guitar’s tone, lending clarity or warmth depending on the track's needs. Finally, King emphasizes a hands-on approach to mic positioning and encourages experimentation with different picks to fine-tune the acoustic guitar’s character before resorting to EQ adjustments.
Electrical Audio
Recording acoustic strings: Steve Albini's natural approach
In this bit, Steve Albini explains his approach to recording acoustic stringed instruments at Electrical Audio studio. His key idea is to evoke the "sense memory" of hearing acoustic instruments naturally, emphasizing the importance of capturing the entire system—the strings, bridge, and body—using microphones rather than pickups. Albini details how the body of an acoustic instrument shapes its unique sound, explaining why microphones are preferable for achieving an authentic acoustic recording. He critiques pickups for failing to capture the full acoustic profile, making them more suitable for demos or amplified settings where sound quality isn't critical. By understanding the mechanical and acoustic properties of instruments, Albini provides insights into choosing microphone techniques that preserve the instrument's natural sound. This knowledge is invaluable for creating recordings that reflect the true essence of acoustic music.
Audiopunks
Filling out an indie rock arrangement with warm acoustic guitars
Chris Coady discusses mic placement for recording acoustic guitar while producing Rachel Bobbitt's "Sweetest Heart." He uses a Heiserman 251 mic, positioning it about 2-3 feet away to capture a direct sound without excessive room ambiance. Coady emphasizes finding a sweet spot where the mic is close enough to avoid a distant sound but not so close that it feels overly magnified. He adjusts the distance by moving the mic until the room sound is audible, then pulling it back slightly for the desired clarity. This approach allows the guitarist to find their own comfort zone by listening through headphones, ensuring a natural and integrated sound in the production.
Universal Audio
Recording Acoustic Guitar DIs
Jacquire King highlights the use of a DI (Direct Input) when recording acoustic guitars to add mid-range clarity and presence. By blending the DI with a mic signal, King achieves a balanced sound that emphasizes the guitar's immediacy without the influence of room acoustics. In situations where using a DI is the only option, King enhances the sound through tone shaping with EQ and compression. He uses a UA 610-B Tube Preamp to soften the tone and an 1176 Limiter with a unique two-to-one ratio for subtle control and character. To add dimension without overwhelming reverb, King sends the DI signal to an aux with Ocean Way Studios plugin, using room and reverb modes to create a spacious feel. This approach ensures a polished guitar sound, offering flexibility and depth in the mix.