I've read a lot on this subject and as usual, I found about as
many different
opinions as I did experts. This is how I do it with great
success.
First of all you need to get a proper microphone. Most people
just use the
voice mic that's provided where you're playing and that will work, but
not give
you the fidelity you need to really get all the sound your acoustic
guitar has
to offer. Condenser cardioid unidirectional mics with a small
diaphragm
& flat frequency response are best for close miking of your
guitar because they
have less bass boost than other directional types when placed close to
the
guitar. If you have the bucks, the AKG C480B, DPA 4011, and
the Neumann KM184,
are considered to be about the best. These will run you from
maybe 800 -
2200 USD. The more reasonable for most budgets and stage use
are the Shure SM81,
AKG C1000S, and Audio-Technica AT3528. These will run from
maybe 250 to
550 USD. The recording/sound engineer I work
with advised me to get the AKG C1000S. I paid about 250 USD
for it and I am very satisfied with it.
Positioning:
If you are only going to use one mic (and most sound dudes will only
offer one)
position it as follows...
I position the mic
between the
soundhole and the edge of
the guitar body approximately 3 inches away to start off
with. This
reproduces fingerstyle and quiet playing great. You can hear
all the
harmonics and nuances that make acoustic guitar what it is.
If I need to
play louder or adjust volume, I back off to about 6 to 8
inches. You can experiment to see
what you like personally. To get more bass, bring the soundhole a little
closer to the mic. Depending on the set up, you may
experience feed back
when you do this so be careful with the soundhole thing.
If you have the pleasure of using two hopefully identical mics, place
one at the
12th fret and another by the bridge. There's a [ 3
TO 1 Rule Of
Thumb ] for distances. If you mic for
instance 5 inches from the
guitar, the mics should be 15 inches apart.
Bob, Gman ( o )==#