I always use condenser micophone as I believe that it will almost always sound better than a dynamic microphone for acoustic guitars. There are many condenser microphones now on the market that will suit the budget of a small setup. I use a Rhodes NT2-A for recording acoustic normally and if I want a brighter sound I use an sE-Mc1 but I have also used Behringer B-1 which I was surprised at the sound considering the price (£64)
When getting ready for a recording session it is best to use new strings.
Microphone placement of a single microphone pointed at the fret board between the sound hole and the 12th fret normally yields the best overall sound. Exact placement is a matter of taste and what sounds best for the performance. With two microphones, one placed at or near the sound hole and one again pointed at the fret board near the 12th fret captures the wide range and dynamics of an acoustic guitar including the warm bass of the body and string attack of the strumming hand as well as the brighter sounds from the fret board and the players other hand. As always moving the placement of your microphones will allow you to find the sweet spots your looking for. Then you can start working farther down the chain.
Use and EQ and Compressor/Limiter while recording it will help you control the sound a lot. The compressor should be set to approximately 3:1 this will help tighten up the sound.
Take all things into account and when you finally capture that magic performance you can rest easy knowing you got the best sound possible with what you had to work with at the time. Be it a studio full of high end gear or small home setup on a budget.
For that John Cougar Mellenkamp sound, try medium gauge strings, a little more compression, and try adding a little EQ around the mids -- lets say 700Hz-1.2K. That will give you a sound that is a little more "woodsy" (a highly technical term).
"Ya, well what about Melissa Ethridge," you say. Try this on for size. Use a guitar with a built-in pick up and a microphone to boot. You will undoubtedly get some phase anomalies, but that's part of the sound. Experiment with moving the microphone closer and farther. That will affect the phase relationship of the two sound sources. Sooner or later, you'll hit on something that will put a smile on your face. You can pan the two signals left and right to get a broad stereo sound, but make sure that if you check the sound in mono, that there's still some signal left. Keep an eagle ear on Mr. Phase, he can be a tricky bugger.
And now ladies and gentlemen, for the most often heard acoustic guitar sound at the 1993 Grammys . . . it's that Eric Clapton classical/gut string guitar! Piece of cake. Once again, use a condenser microphone, but place it about ten inches away from the guitar. As a matter of fact, try placing it about 3 to 4 inches up the neck, but aim it at the players picking fingers. This angle will reduce boominess by virtue of the microphone's cardioid polar pattern producing a natural roll off when it's aimed off-axis, while simultaneously delivering the attack of the fingers. Try and say that three times in a row! The added distance will pick up some of the guitar body's resonance. A compressor/limiter is a must for this case because of unexpected peaks. A 4:1 ratio is a good place to start, but set the threshold fairly high so that the most of the guitar's natural dynamics are left in tact.
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