Mics and Miking
Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 12:02 am
Now, where was I...?
Ah yes! First-off, Russ and I have both made a mistake about the numbering of the Sennheiser 'posh' cab-mic. It's the 906, not 609 - and a very nice mic it is too.
For those on a budget who need to mic an acoustic guitar for live use - and recording at a pinch - check-out the Thomann T.Bone Ovid mic and it's various attachments. You can get attachments for guitars, cellos, fiddles, double-basses, pianos, flutes etc etc etc.
The various clamps are lightweight and rubber-faced so won't damage instruments. There's then a mic on a very thin gooseneck which you can angle into position as appropriate. It can be powered either from mixer/interface phantom-power or via the 'plug-in-power' from a radio-mic pack.
A very versatile system which punches above its weight:
http://www.thomann.de/gb/ovid_series.html
So now a little bit about miking for recording...
Most folks know about the 'standard' position about 30 cms or so away from the 12th fret, but it's important to bear in mind that this is a starting point for experimenting and by no means the only place you can put a mic. So much depends on the mic being used, the sound of the room in which you're, recording, the way you play the instrument etc etc.
I've achieved some good results by using one mic slightly higher up the neck - roughly frets 10-6 and one below the bridge - roughly. Blending those two gives a nice balance of body and string sounds. Normally you'd want to avoid pointing a mic at the sound-hole as that will result in a very boomy resonant sound.
You may find this video - featuring a well-known guitarist - helpful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VzZU_8XPPU
Please come back with any comments, questions etc - and Russ will do his best to answer them!!
Mike
Ah yes! First-off, Russ and I have both made a mistake about the numbering of the Sennheiser 'posh' cab-mic. It's the 906, not 609 - and a very nice mic it is too.
For those on a budget who need to mic an acoustic guitar for live use - and recording at a pinch - check-out the Thomann T.Bone Ovid mic and it's various attachments. You can get attachments for guitars, cellos, fiddles, double-basses, pianos, flutes etc etc etc.
The various clamps are lightweight and rubber-faced so won't damage instruments. There's then a mic on a very thin gooseneck which you can angle into position as appropriate. It can be powered either from mixer/interface phantom-power or via the 'plug-in-power' from a radio-mic pack.
A very versatile system which punches above its weight:
http://www.thomann.de/gb/ovid_series.html
So now a little bit about miking for recording...
Most folks know about the 'standard' position about 30 cms or so away from the 12th fret, but it's important to bear in mind that this is a starting point for experimenting and by no means the only place you can put a mic. So much depends on the mic being used, the sound of the room in which you're, recording, the way you play the instrument etc etc.
I've achieved some good results by using one mic slightly higher up the neck - roughly frets 10-6 and one below the bridge - roughly. Blending those two gives a nice balance of body and string sounds. Normally you'd want to avoid pointing a mic at the sound-hole as that will result in a very boomy resonant sound.
You may find this video - featuring a well-known guitarist - helpful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VzZU_8XPPU
Please come back with any comments, questions etc - and Russ will do his best to answer them!!
Mike