The Best Way to Record Fingerstyle Guitar

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[MartimDurao]

FINALLY YOU ARE THE 1ST GUY THAT GIVES A TOP SHOT OF THE MIC POSITION EVER!!!! FINALLY

[refractivemusic]

So nice to have the focus on recording finger style instead of pick

[KirbyJane]

You're making my life so easy. Most pages just cover guitar tones for electric amp mic'ing, or for basic acoustic strumming. I so appreciate you doing this in-depth specifically for fingerstyle, and really explaining what/why it works! Love your channel, as well as your demos with presonus.

[trevorharmonguitar]

When I heard “position it over the soundhole”, I did *not* expect it to sound the way it did! Also, thank you covering the way that ORTF vs XY collapse down to mono, that comparison was excellent.

[wyattfreeman]

The best video of its kind that I've seen. Thank you!

[NMPIN]

Here me out, Behringer C2s with the low cut engaged and a couple of $10 laser pointers, the ones that beep incrementally and and have a little levelling bubble, taped onto each mike to provide consistent points of reference.
Level, orient one axis between the G and D strings at the twelfth fret the other dead centre sound hole, level again. If you put a crosshaired square of paper over the sound hole while setting up it's more effective.
I set up to 3 incriments which is 300mm
Sweeping the sound hole mike backwards or forwards of the default setting is like pick-up selection.
Now for warmth and body 2 SM57s one 100mm (4 inches?) From the centre of the scratch plate the other mirrored at the hip of the lady.
There are no rules but common sense and constants.

[keiljazz]

As someone who does not play or frequently record guitar, but who just scored a fingerstyle client, I thank you for the timely bend in my learning curve!

[chrissouthern]

Thanks Joe. I’ve been recording this way since getting the Lewitt 040 match pair a few weeks ago, plus a handy stereo mic stand. A new world of acoustic guitar sound for me. I hadn’t really thought about the difference moving closer and further away would make, so that is really helpful. Incidentally, the same set up works amazingly for recording my wife’s cello. Happy to recommend the 040’s

[NaveedandtheNavlets]

Omg my next project is very fingerpicking heavy and you uploaded this at the perfect time. Thanks Joe!

I've also been binge watching your videos and have learnt a whole bunch of stuff over the past 3 weeks. Here's to hoping my next song sounds a lot cleaner and punchier than the muddy mixes I have released. Cheers!

[billa]

Your video should be required viewing for "How to" YouTube video aspirants. I wish I had entered "fingerstyle" into my search term sooner. I learned more about recording guitar with two microphones in the last 12 minutes than in all the other videos and papers on recording guitar, combined. You are concise, demonstrably informative (You don't just tell us, you show us) and likeable. Thank you. I am a fan new subscriber.

[chrisoconnor]

Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge - this was just what I was looking for.

[HoneyOnOurTongues]

What a perfect video for me to find! I've got the same guitar and have a fingerstyle song in open D that starts on the same note. Great opportunity for me to compare and contrast the recording I've got with yours and these two approaches. XY has pretty much been my standard, as it seems less easy to mess up than the others! Thanks!

[rapptor]

Great video! Looking forward to more of these microphone recording videoes!

[obidavekenobe]

pro tip: try rotating your X-Y setup 90 degrees, so the mics are aligned vertically. i think that’ll offer more forgiveness when your guitar player moves around. it worth playing around with to get that sound your looking for that fits into the music🙂

try moving your mic setup closer and hire up on the neck further from the sound hole but your still picking up the strings vibrations.

[arthurzatarain]

I get good results with X-Y mics recorded into two mono tracks rather than a single stereo track. This allows separate EQ and comp for each mic. I pan the mics L and R at variable volumes into the bus channel to get a stereo mix if desired. I can also switch the bus to mono and pan the composite mix anywhere in the L-R field. I find this much more useful then using a single stereo track.

[davidscanlan]

I spent Weeks chasing down an ORTF guitar track that was great when solo'd in my headphones but somehow messed up my whole mix. Eventually I just recorded it mono, but in the future I'm totally going XY, what a beautiful sound!

[obidavekenobe]

whenever you record in stereo, you are going to have some phase issues to some degree. you can’t escape it; there are physical properties at play. this is what makes stereo recording interesting and adds that sense of life the sound. phase is a natural phenomenon we can use to achieve a certain tonal quality or immerse the listener in the music. effects like choruses, phasers, and flangers depend on phase.

[dawmix]

A cool sidebar between the lines information is how spacing of mics and color the sound, too far away mic in a live performance, so overall this is good info for this and more, . Thanks Joe.

[john]

I once recorded a flute player sitting in a swivel chair with a friend of mine spinning her around (until she got dizzy). Single mic on a high boom. Sounded very cool! 😎

[PeteJohnsMusic]

Love that overhead shot Joe! Excellent advice I’m sure will help my finger style recordings