Recording Acoustic Guitar 101 - Warren Huart: Produce Like A Pro

One of my first videos on YouTube was called “Recording Acoustic Guitar,” and ever since then I frequently get asked to talk in more detail about recording acoustic guitar.

In today’s video, we’re going to be a lot more thorough than we were in that first video! We’re also going to go through a bunch of different mics, as well as micing techniques.

Although we’ll be using 7 different mics, we’re not doing a shootout between them because they’re all very different. All the of the sound differences that you’re going to hear in this video are going to be a combination of the mic and of course the mic placement.

To keep this as simple as possible, we’re only going to be using an Audient iD4, my trusty Yamaha LL16 acoustic guitar, and the mics listed below. No compression, no EQ. Just straight into the DAW! This is a great real world example that you can recreate in your own studio!

The microphones cost between $100 and $300.

These are the mics we used:

How to Record Acoustic Guitar:

How to record acoustic guitar on a budget. Warren Huart discusses importance of guitar choice, mic choice, and his personal favorite microphone position for recording acoustic guitar.

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Produce Like A Pro is a website which features great tips to help the beginning recordist make incredible sounding home recordings on a budget.

[gbaxter]

I have about 30 mics in my locker and i LOVE SM57's on acoustic guitars. It softens the brashness of new strings and roll off some of the shrill of certain guitars that have a lot of top end (Taylor etc).

[davitofarito]

So much better than the Rick Beato video on the same subject. He was using mics whose price points were way beyond what most home studio hobbyists would be comfortable with.

[Producelikeapro]

Hi Friends, one of my first videos on YouTube was called "Recording Acoustic Guitar, " and ever since then I frequently get asked to talk in more detail about recording acoustic guitar. In today’s video, we’re going to be a lot more thorough than we were in that first video! We’re also going to go through a bunch of different mics, as well as micing techniques. To keep this as simple as possible, we’re only going to be using an Audient iD4, my trusty Yamaha LL16 acoustic guitar, and a few different mics. No compression. No EQ. Just straight into the DAW! This is a great real world example that you can recreate in your own studio!

[Thomas]

22:41 “The moment I realized; YEP this is the choice for me”
Wow what a sound. Great GREAT microphone

[mikesmith]

I'm so glad your using the same stuff the rest of us can afford.
Most others demo gear that is waaay beyond our grasp.
That Aspen mic sounds amazing!

[JohanDoornenbal]

Tnx Warren. Your a great teacher. And fun to watch. Even for this elderly guy that has been playing and recording for over 35 years now.

[aguitarmaker]

I once traded picks with Mickey Moody. Mine was a 2.0mm, the dark purple Dunlop. He was using 1.14mm which eventually became my sort of standard pick. I still use the 2.0mm for darker tones. For bass I like the yellow Dunlop whatever that is. For strumming on the acoustic I like the .73mm. I have a little pick holder on my key chain that my daughter gave me for Father's day. In it I keep one each of those 4 picks, so I never leave home without them.

[Greenmantislives]

One of the best examples of acoustic guitar tracking I have seen. The repetitive nature of using the same techniques, regardless of mic really helped to solidify the concept. Great approach for future videos I think. Great job Warren!

[jasonohara]

I was wondering if I really needed to watch a 42 min video to figure out how to mic my acoustic but by the end I wish it went longer. Fantastic video! Hell of a guitar player too!

[billyhughes]

Great video Warren. The Lewitt LCT-240 and the Aspen Pittman sounded great. Roswell and good ole 57 great as well. Actually, ...listening some Roswell is really impressive.

[suedelacy]

I’ve been waiting for a vid like this! I’m so glad you included the Nt1!

[Aohoid]

I was on my way to my home studio to record acoustic guitar and saw you posted this video. The timing couldn't have been better. Wonderful video as always!

[smokeynewport]

yet another extremely informative video! You demoed all kinds of low cost mics while packing in recording techniques all throughout. Thank you so much Warren. Just saw the news about the studio move. Can't wait to follow the journey along with you. Much love to you and your family.

[aleksandrkrivets]

Great, I wanna buy Lewitt LCT 240 Pro... Sounds fantastic!!! Well done

[ryKirwan]

One of my favorite things to record is an acoustic guitar. I believe this is one of the best, and most thorough videos I’ve ever seen on the subject. Thanks again Warren. Right on 🎸🎤🎼

[DavidHudson]

Nice to see a new version of one of your first videos.

[jessegoplen]

Already this is the greatest video on this topic I've ever seen, learned so much, and I'm only halfway through. Definitely have to get a 57. Thanks a million for sharing your wisdom, and cheers from Dick Wagner's hometown, Oelwein, Iowa, great to see his book there on display!

[deanh]

That 'BBC' mic position is killer! Thanks for the tip, Warren!

[slamcrank]

There's an old Tape Op interview with The Shins about their first record... they used the SM57's on drums, but everything else was the Rode NT1. They recorded it onto a PC using "Cool Edit Pro" (hah! Remember that program?!) ... they used the Roland VS-840 to record the drums, but then "mixed" them back into the PC's "Cool Edit Pro". Home recording has come a long way since the early 2000's.

[thewhiskeycowboy-official]

I love that this shows that even affordable mics do fantastic jobs. And you show only ONE mic being used at a time. Two have their advantages, but using one can still be fine. But on another note (no pun intended... ok, a little pun), I am not sure if others noticed this; how the mic worked seemed to influence how you played. Different mics had different strengths and you slid into what the mic seemed to "do" better when you played. I find I do the same thing depending on what guitar I am using, what pick (or not), and even with the electric what settings I am going with. My playing changes and I slide into the "mix" for what it is. I may have in mind to play one thing, but end up playing something else. Great video. Cheers.