Thanks, but $200+ here, which still leaves all the other options in play too.
If you had $500-$1000 or thereabouts, a decent acoustic/electric guitar, had a PC and you wanted to set up a professional sounding no-nonsense recording set up what would you buy?
Also, could you explain why this choice would be better than anything else in a nice easy, for dummies way (for people like me that don't understand much about the jargon side of things).
@drubbing Just for basic recording, I have a simple Samson Go mic. I think they're around 30-40 bucks, and plug into the USB port on your computer. You're not going to get a professional recording out of it, but they sound pretty nice.
I recorded a quick sample just for reference. I just turned the mic on and went, so I probably could have done better without the fan going and if I'd bothered to position it. Still shows the mic pretty well.
Forgot about this, it was recorded using the same mic but through an amp.
ETA- haha...can you tell I'm not used to fingerstyle on the electric?
@guitarguy999...sorry. Not ignoring you. Just not informed enough to give a proper answer.
Wow, that sounds pretty good for a $40 mic. I think I'm going to have to get one of those.
Have you tried recording the sound coming from an amp with it at all?
The second one is through an amp. I've not tried anything loud or with any fx though.
Thanks bradt. Twice the price here, but worth looking into.
My new guitar has a passive piezo pickup system built in but no pre amp. I want to connect it to my computer. Will the output level be to low to connect into the line in of my computer? What about the mic input?
Piezo pickups should really be plugged into a very high impedance preamplifier (a dedicated piezo preamp). You won't hurt anything by trying it into your mic input (the level is much too low for the line-in), but it probably won't work, and if it does, the sound will probably by horribly thin with no body to it due to the relatively low impedance of the mic input.
A dedicated preamp is the way to go, IMHO.
1) Every room, player, string, guitar, mic, mic preamp, mic position, playing technique, song, and style of music is different. It may seem obvious, but it makes the question, "How do I record my acoustic with the best sound?" pretty meaningless. There is no one way that will always give you the best results.
2) Play the guitar in different parts of the room, or different rooms. You may be surprised how different it sounds. Where it sounds best, that's the playing position where you record it.
3) Rehearse a lot, warm up before recording, get used to recording a lot so you don't get "red light fever". Remember, "An amateur practises until they can get something right, a professional practises until they can't get it wrong". The recording will only be as good as you play it. Technique is very important for the best recorded sound.
4) New strings/old strings. Pros usually put new strings on within 24 hours before the recording session. However some people (myself included) quite like the sound of older strings. One person's zingy and bright is another's harsh and brash. One person's old and muffled is another's warm and woody. So choose wisely for the track, which would sound best in the mix?
6) Mics are a huge subject in themselves. They all record sound, but they all sound different. Do you want a large diaphragm condenser, a small diaphragm condenser, a dynamic, or a ribbon? Should you use the omni, cardioid, or figure 8 polar pattern? A single mic, a stereo pair (and if so, in X/Y, A/B, ORTF, DIN, NOS, M/S, or something else altogether?), or more? Perhaps also a distant mic for room sound? Do you use the high pass filter and pad built into the mic, or not?
7) Mic pres are another huge subject. Most of the best classic acoustic guitar tones have been recorded through very high quality all discrete transformer balanced class A preamps. These aren't cheap, and the ones built in to your audio interface are almost certainly not nearly as good, and won't sound as good (that's not to say you can't achieve great results with them, just that a really good pre WILL make a very positive difference). What is the output impedance of the mic? What is the input impedance of the pre? Are they a good match?
If you take anything away from this entire post, let it be this: Mic position is the single most important variable in getting the best possible sound. Most people don't realise that moving the mic just an inch or two can change the recorded sound DRASTICALLY! The only way to find where that best position is for you (see point one above), is to experiment, take notes, and listen. In pro studios you'll often see the engineer running around at the beginning of the session, mic in hand, a pair of headphones on, wildly trying different positions in front of the acoustic player, trying to find "the spot". This is really the only way to do it. If you can get someone else to play your acoustic in the recording room/position, have a go at this. You might be surprised how different it can sound. Try to use headphones that cut out the surrounding sound, and turn up the volume so you can mainly hear the miced sound, rather than the sound in the room. Note how the sound changes as you move the mic, where it sounds good, and which position might be best for the track. Far better to get the best sound at the source, than have to worry about EQ and things later. There are many, many articles on the various "go to" mic positions for acoustic, so I'll leave you to look those up.
9) It is considered by most professional guitarists and sound engineers that an acoustic piezo pickup is a horrible, quacky sound, to be avoided at all costs. For live it's convenient, of course, but when you've compared a DI'd acoustic to a well recorded miced acoustic, you are never likely to want to use the pickup/preamp/DI for recording ever again. However, for effect, why not? There are no rules in audio!
I hope this has been in some way useful to some people! There is no one answer, it's all about the process, lots of practice, lots of experiments, and above all, lots of listening to find out what works for you, in your space, with your gear, for your tracks.
Good vibes for that extensive sharing of personal info experience.
For strummed chords recently I've really been digging my Advanced Audio CM48T tube large diaphragm condenser in cardioid mode, no pad, 125Hz HPF switched on, into the Chandler TG2 pre at 300 Ohm. Position at 14th fret (where neck meets body), about 18 inches back, angled at 45 degrees toward the sound hole. Sounds great! That mic/pre combo is very "coloured", if I want things a little more flat/transparent/natural I'll use the Line Audio CM3 small diaphragm condenser in a similar position.
@greg - Awesome tips here man. I was using the Tascam Audio Interface but heard that preamps are way better this just proves it. Thank you tons! Excellent tips overall.
No worries! Glad it was helpful.