The guitar has been an essential part of popular music for some time now, and its significance in the evolution of songwriting, band instrumentation, and production over the past 60 years or so is undeniable.

Most bands today have one or two guitarists, and in the recording process, both acoustic and electric guitars are often utilized. This makes the recording of guitars a vital tool for any engineer. I have a method that I’ve developed for recording guitars over the last 50 years that I believe is foolproof.

ACOUSTIC GTR I utilize a simple two-mic system on the acoustic guitar that I’ve found reproduces the guitar extremely well across all styles and dynamics from finger picking to full on strumming. The first mic is the infamous C12A by AKG, a large diaphragm tube condenser mic that is shaped like a C414, but is tube-driven like the original AKG C12’s. This mic has incredibly low distortion, a frequency range spanning 20Hz-20kHz, and a built-in bass roll-off, all of which are great features when considering a mic for acoustic guitar. Another fantastic option is its successor, the AKG C414; it has comparable specs and is significantly more affordable. I place this first mic about six inches out in front of and centered over the sound hole of the guitar with a bass roll-off on at 40hz to remove unwanted boominess.

The second mic is one of my favorite secret weapons; you may remember it from my earlier entry on drums as a hi-hat mic. It’s the Sony ECM-50 or ECM-50PS lavaliere condenser mic. The PS stands for power supply, meaning that it can run on phantom power (the original version is battery powered only). I clip this mic to the sound hole, about 45 degrees from the fingerboard, over a strip of console tape so it doesn’t damage the wood with the mic facing upward on the outside of the guitar at about a 45 degree angle or say at 10 o’clock.

I run both microphones through a signal chain that emulates an API console, starting with two BAE 312A mic preamps, which are Brent Averill’s version of an original API 312A. These pres utilize Avedis’ 1122 op-amps and I consider them the best modern mic pre’s on the market. Out of the mic pre, I run the C12A/C414 through an API 525 in compression mode with ceiling at 4 and the input around 10:30 and the output around 2:30. The compression switch in and both attack switches in the out position (fastest). The 525 is a fast compressor and does an incredible job of keeping the acoustic guitar level throughout the track. This is a characteristic that you will come to praise in the mixing process, and nothing beats the warmth and size of analog compression on the way into the digital domain. The ECM-50PS doesn’t get compression. Then, each signal goes through an API 550A for further shaping. The C12A/C414 usually gets a boost of 4 or 6dB at 10 khz on a shelf, +2db @ 3k that is a peak to bring life and shine to the high end. As the gain of a shelf on a 550A is increased, the frequency range extends lower, so 10k will end up affecting frequencies all the way down to 2khz. The ECM-50 can get a reduction of 2dB at 50 Hz on a peak to remove unnecessary boominess if it sounds like it does otherwise I leave it, and a boost of 2 to 6dB at 15 kHz on a shelf to add air to the top end. I then check phase between these two mics and make sure the phase is correct

I utilize the C12A/C414 as the main mic and blend the ECM-50 until it’s characteristics are supportive, but not overwhelming, as the ECM-50 doesn’t stand alone as an acoustic guitar mic. I’ve found that the individual qualities of these two mic’s, when blended properly, complete the natural sonic spectrum of the acoustic guitar. I bring the signals up on two auxiliary channels in Pro Tools, balance them there, and then sum them to a single record-armed audio track. This forces you to get the blend right during the recording process. I’ve found it important as an engineer and producer to trust your ears and commit to what sounds right. Decisions left as options during the recording process will stack up as too many possibilities and uncertainty in the mixing process. The closer the acoustic guitar sounds to the finished product in recording, the better it’ll sound once mixed.

Below is a picture of my Blueridge Lonesome Pine Fiddler’s 70th Anniversary acoustic guitar all mic’d up.