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Pro Studio
Edition e-Newsletter
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| In Session
with Al Schmitt, Part II: Acoustic
Guitar |
 What
are your microphone preferences on acoustic guitar?
I'm using the Royer SF-1 ribbon mics on acoustic guitars and I couldn't
be happier with the sound. I'll use the Royer on a lot of things,
including a guitar amp. Sometimes a player will insist on an SM-57
for a guitar amp, and there's nothing wrong with that. The most important
thing an engineer has to remember is he's got to keep the musicians
happy.
Most of the time, musicians will go with the engineer's choice of
mic, but sometimes, especially if they've had good success with a
particular mic on their amp, they'll be adamant. Of course, if their
choice is going to affect the sound of the record, you can sit down
and talk with them and explain why you think another mic would be
much better.
Where do you place the Royer on the guitar?
If I have the tracks available, I'll put two up in stereo configuration.
One mic will be about a foot off the guitar and a little to the left
of the sound hole (looking towards the guitarist from the front) and
the second will be about 18 inches to the right of the first mic,
oriented toward the fretboard. Then I can pan these mics in the stereo
field.
If I'm using one mic, I position it about a foot away from the picking
hand, and aimed toward the instrument's sound hole.
I've also used a couple of Neumann M149s or a single M149 on the acoustic
guitar and that gives an incredibly big sound. Your mic selection
depends a lot on the part that's being played and the situation in
the studio. If it's a strong rhythmic part, sort of a Freddie Green*
sound, I will go with the Royer. But if it's somebody that's doing
a lot of intricate picking, I'll go with the M 149. It gives me a
little crisper top end and definition.
* Freddie Green recorded 32 albums with Count Basie, as well as countless
dates with other groups. He's remembered today for his thick, full
sound as the quintessential jazz rhythm guitarist.
What about on ensemble dates?
If the acoustic guitar is going to be the lead solo instrument, I'll
put them in a booth to get the necessary isolation. However, if he's
part of the rhythm section, I'll keep him in the room with the other
guys, but I'll isolate him a bit with some baffles or gobos.
How do you handle acoustic guitars with built-in pickups?
In a lot of cases, I'll use both. In other words, I will use a mic
in addition to taking a feed from the instrument's pickup. I'll put
them on separate tracks. Sometime it works to blend them together,
or I may end up using just the mic or just the pickup. I try to find
what fits in the track best and that's what I'll use.
Do you ever use any EQ or signal processing on acoustic guitar
tracks?
I rarely use any EQ. If anything, I may add a little top way up there,
around 17 kHz, to give it some air. Using good microphones, then running
them in a good tube preamp gives me my sound. (Al favors the Mastering
Lab tube preamp on acoustic guitar.)
Depending on the instrument, I may use a touch of compression. If
I do, it'll normally be a Summit TLA-100 or dBX 160 SL. I'll pull
about one dB (of compression), just a little bit. I also have a couple
of Neve 33609 outboard compressors that I have been using a lot and
they work very nicely.
Any examples readers can check out of your acoustic guitar
sounds?
Yes, I did an album with acoustic guitarist Marc Antoine (2001's Cruisin',
available on GRP) and he played beautifully. We got a nice sound that
I was very happy with on that date using two M 149s for his instrument.
Also, readers can check John Pisano's tracks on Live in Paris
by Diana Krall, his nylon string guitar really came out nicely. It's
a live recording, and again, I believe we were either using the Royer
or a Neumann 184 (a small diaphragm, cardioid condenser.)
Click
here to read Part I with Al Schmitt: Recording Piano
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