How To Record Acoustic Guitar: Mic Placement, EQ and Compression

In this episode, I will show you multiple detailed ways to mic an acoustic guitar. The guitar is a 1957 Gibson Country Western. I will show you what multiple mics sound like and how to stereo mic tan acoustic.

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[ikigai]

For those that can't afford a condensor mic, here is an SM57. Run through thousands of dollars worth of compressors/EQ

[FiliFilizzola]

It's pretty obvious to me that Rick has 47 hours in his day while the rest of us mortals have only 24. That is the only way to explain how he can master so many aspects of music and still have time to record a thousand videos every month. Absolutely insane!!

[stovexr]

So plug my acoustic guitar's output straight into the $20 Audio Interface I bought from some Chinese company on eBay and hope for the best? Got it.

[cornbobrimlove]

I too, need to cut down on air blasts coming out of my

[kevinsturges]

Rick, I have that same guitar. Mine's a 1956. What you just showed me is the best recording I have ever heard of it. Wow.

[vikramjitkhanna]

'Release times in compressors are very tempo dependent.'

I can not believe that I just learnt this gem, for free.

Thank you @Rick Beato, for taking the effort and time to share your knowledge (and fantastic studio) with others.

[bigbaby]

Everyone complaining about the high end nature of this needs to relax. There’s tons of plug in and home recording tutorials. There is a need for this and it’s great

[acidstorm]

I have 3 acoustic guitar / vocalists coming to my venue this Friday, and I don't get a chance to mix acoustic guitars very often. This video will help me pull the best out of their performance. Thanks for doing this series Rick, it really helps me out as someone who is relatively new to sound engineering.

[brucehartsell]

RIck I admit i'm a total beginner but I never imagined there was so much tweaking involved in a single mic. I have a lot to learn!

[phel]

That would be great back when we were tracking to analog multitrack. Today my process is to record digitally with high-quality microphones and A/D converters, and do all the processing in post. The target audience for a tutorial like this are not very likely to have access to any of the expensive gear used here. There's a lot of DAW plugins available that model the behaviour of legacy analog gear. I'm not saying that the analog way can not produce very good results, but if necessary it is hard to undo mistakes made with filters, EQ and compression on a processed recording. With all processing in post, if I have a cold or otherwise a bad day as a recording engineer I can focus on good mic placement and correct gain-staging to get the recording-job done and wait to do the audio-processing some other day when I'm in a better shape.

[PherotoneStudios]

It's nice watching someone that really knows their gear and can effortlessly get great results. This is a great channel

[shomystilllazy]

Next video, how to record acoustic guitar using scarlett 2i2 and entry level condenser mic.

[j.p.]

everything you say i nod my head to☺The single transformerless 57 and the KM? small diap stereo mic tech were the best sounding setup for my ears....its really great hearing a great professional talk about all the aspects of Music Writing/Engineering/Business ect because im the same in that from the start i had to learn to do EVERYTHING or it didnt happen at all....thanks Rick

[Nikkimaya]

Great video Rick! I don't have any of those high end mics or no
actual compressors/EQ, but you totally changed the way i record my guitars (and every other part of my songs) with the mics and plugins I have. Thats why you have been my go to youtube channel for anything to do with music. Keep 'em comming.

[whitemonkeysband]

I’m gonna do this today with an Sm57, a rode Nt1a, a sennheiser e604 and a cardioid style mix. Straight into a focusrite scarlet. I don’t have the budget for the amazing mics on show here, but the eq and compression tips are gold dust. Thanks for the inspiration.

[OzzMazz]

Very interesting Rick.
I use a completely different technique to you as I'm a minimalist.
My key focus is determining where the resonant frequencies occur and treat those points.
Firstly I will sing into the sound hole of the guitar and feel for resonances with my hands. These frequencies are the critical frequencies and you will commonly fine multiples of harmonics, so find the lowest frequency and treat that. By treating I mean adding a notch filter to the frequencies I have found and apply about -10db or so, whatever it takes to level out the sound. At this point the guitar will be very well behaved and will hardly require any further treatment.
Regarding brightness, etc, this needs to be applied in the mix of the song. Just listening to the guitar is misleading. As Walter/Wendy Carlos described: It doesn't matter what the sound sounds like in isolation it's how it sits in the mix.
Keep up the great work.

[gammadrums]

Always something amazing to teach...!!! This guy is incredible. Thanks for everything. I watch you religiously.

[rawkinj]

If all musicians had 10% as much passion as Rick, there would be too many great musicians writing and recording wonderful music..so keep staying lazy everyone else!! Good news for the rest of us. Thks Rick!!

[briandavidofficial]

"release time with compressors is very tempo dependent."

Just learned something new. Thanks!

[jwromero]

wow ive never heard of you on youtube before but man i wish i did much earlier. All I needed to see was the introduction and I instantly thought this guy is all about music! instant subscriber and looking forward to watching what I missed!!!