Third Take

Acoustic guitar is one of the most difficult instruments to record. I haven’t come close to mastering the art, but I have figured some things out along the way that I think are worth passing on to other home recorders. Some of these are sure to be controversial, and other people may have had great results with other techniques. However, after reading everything I could find and applying it in my own home studio, this is what has worked for me.

Don’t bother with the pickup

It is almost universally accepted that acoustic guitar pickups sound awful on tape. Some people advocate recording the direct signal simultaneously with the microphone and mixing it in to add brightness. That was even the advice I got from a very well-respected engineer in town. Although I have a nice sounding B-Band pickup in my acoustic, my experience has been that it’s a waste of time to record it. I’d rather just get a good sound from the microphone before I press record.

Don’t bother with stereo mic’ing

If the acoustic is for a rock or country song with bass, drums, and other guitars, don’t bother recording it in stereo. Most of the “pro” mixes have the acoustic off to one side anyway. I’ve tried the XY stereo pair, the neck/bridge pair, one close and one “room” mic, and the one in front and one over-the-shoulder techniques, and I always end up throwing one away or panning them into the same spot. In addition, you create phase problems, noise problems, and other headaches for yourself.

Find a good microphone and spend a lot of time placing it

I’ve tried large-diaphragm condensers (LDCs), small-diaphragm condensers (SDCs), dynamic mics, and various combinations of the three. Some people claim good results with a LDC 3 feet away - I got too much room ambiance. Even with the LDC 1 foot away, I picked up finger squeaks that were loud enough to ruin the track. The best sound I’ve ever recorded was with a single mic, my AT4041 SDC, about 4-6 inches from the 14th fret, slightly angled toward the sound hole, with the high-pass filter (bass rolloff) engaged.

It is worth every hour you spend searching for the optimal mic and placement. Not only will it save you time in the mixing stage of your project (trying to fix a bad acoustic tone with EQ is tedious), but it will sound better in the end - and it will also influence the performance of the player in a positive way if he likes what he is hearing in the headphones.

Listen for bad noises before you press record

There are a lot of “bad noises” that come with acoustic guitar - finger squeaks, fret buzz, pick noise, and environment noise. You have to listen to all of them when placing the microphone. If you just concentrate on the tone, you might record a take only to play it back later and notice that

• the finger squeaks are really loud
• the headphone cable bangs against the body of the guitar
• the chair squeaks
• the air conditioner comes on in the middle of the take
• the pick scratches are too loud

None of these can be “fixed in the mix.” Sometimes you can tame finger squeaks with EQ and/or a de-esser, but those treatments will also alter the tone you worked so hard to find. It is much better to position the microphone in such a way that it rejects those noises and favors the good sounds.

Own the song

If you are recording yourself, play like you own the song. Don’t record it until you can play it confidently. If you are tense, it will come through in the recording, even if you play exactly on time with no mistakes. This is true for any instrument, but it’s worth mentioning because we often record acoustic “just to add texture” and don’t spend a lot of time perfecting our performance.

Don’t play to the equipment, play to the song

This is another performance-oriented tip: if you wrote the song strumming softly and emotionally, then that’s what you need to record. This should sound obvious, but I’ve found myself strumming fully and loudly so I could “get a good level on tape,” and then wondering why my performance sounded sterile and devoid of emotion. I recorded another guitarist recently who was doing the same thing. I had to talk him into giving a great performance, and then adjust the equipment to capture it - not the other way around.

Don’t do things without a reason

Don’t automatically put new stings on before you record - unless you need them. Some of the acoustic on Nirvana’s Nevermind was recorded with an old beater guitar that Kurt Cobain never changed the strings on. Listen to the guitar you’re recording - if it needs new strings, put them on, but if it sounds warm and mellow and good, then don’t change the strings just because you read that you should put on new strings before each session.

Likewise, don’t take any other recording advice - especially mine - without listening to how it sounds. The only thing that matters is what ends up on tape, and however you achieve the right sound is the right way.