What is the best pickup system for RECORDING?

rifflord · #1 03-28-2015, 07:05 PM

I am going to invest in an acoustic guitar soon for tracking. This will not be used in a live situation so how it sounds through an amp is irrelevant to me. I am concerned with getting the best most natural tone inside my DAW.

For what it's worth I have an interface as well as an Axe FX 2 that i use for recording. The axe fx sounds great with my classical nylon so i'm sure i can use some of it for the acoustic electric, at the very least it's a great DI

Anyways, i do not have the means to sound treat my room and go the condenser mic route otherwise i would! What do you guys think? If neccesary i can get the guitar and the pickup system separately and have them installed by my luthier. 2000 is my price range for this project

Thank you in advance! if you have any soundclips or videos with examples would greatly appreciate it as well

SpruceTop · #2 03-28-2015, 07:21 PM

Have you tried a good dynamic mic for recording your acoustic guitar such as a Shure SM57 or Shure Beta57A? These will help eliminate much of your room noise and will sound good once you establish a good working distance and position for the mic. You can further isolate any mic from room noise by using one of the stand-mounted sound-shields like an PrimeAcoustic VoxGuard or SE ReFlexion Filter. These come in large and smaller sizes

Regards,

SpruceTop

Yamaha Man · #3 03-28-2015, 09:01 PM

Here's a sample clip of a recording made with my D-35 with a Lyric pickup into the Venue DI into Sonar X3....

http://www.soundclick.com/player/sin...&q=hi&newref=1

Lately I've been using the Lyric pickup blended with a Shure Beta 57A and have been getting great results.

plroad21 · #4 03-28-2015, 09:14 PM

A mic. Short of that, the Lyric. Didn't like it live, but I felt it recorded nicely.

jpfeiff · #5 03-28-2015, 09:36 PM

Another vote for a mic. Pickups are for avoiding feedback that comes with stage volumes. I would not recommend them for recording. Get a large diaphragm condenser mic.

lschwart · #6 03-28-2015, 10:25 PM

$2000 is way more than enough money to buy a condenser mic and some blankets to hang on the walls if you need them. If you're looking for a natural acoustic sound, do that. Pickups are compromises made for stage use. I can see using one to record with heavy effects, but for natural acoustic sound, use a mic.

Louis

midwinter · #7 03-28-2015, 11:53 PM

If you have $2000 to spend and a luthier, buy either a condenser mic or a pair of pencil mics and be done with it (and come in well under budget). No pickup system will ever sound as good as anything you could record with those options.

If you insist on recording a pickup, here's a song with the guitar recorded with only a Baggs Lyric.

janmulder · #8 03-29-2015, 03:44 AM

Whilst I agree that the mic is the way to go for the best acoustic sound, you specifically asked about pickups and not mics which i can understand. Sometimes you want to just plug in and record ... my suggestion would be the K&K Trinity. Below is a video demonstrating the plugged in sound compared to a mic ... first of the component parts first, the K&K Mini elements, then the internal Trinity and then the whole pickup system.

I've tried recording the Lyric mic on its own and I just feel the sound is too compressed and thin sounding (when installed in its usual position below the bridge) ... even with all the DAW EQ power. If you do decide to go this route for only recording then you can place the pickup somewhere nearer the soundhole ... I put it just below the lower soundhole lip (where you might place a Lavalier) and got a much better recorded sound ... still compressed but a lot more body.

It of course all depends on the sound you want ... I think we are talking about recreating the acoustic sound ... but you might actually like a more pickupy sound in which case an ovation or godin gives a lot of very nice options ... especially when used with something like a mama bear.

Hope this helps. Happy hunting.

janmulder · #9 03-29-2015, 03:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dakedi

If you do decide to go this route for only recording then you can place the pickup somewhere nearer the soundhole ... I put it just below the lower soundhole lip (where you might place a Lavalier) and got a much better recorded sound ... still compressed but a lot more body.

... although gives a better sound than standard placement IMO, if you are going down the route of internal mic based pickup you may also consider the MiniFlex systems.

Mbroady · #10 03-29-2015, 04:24 AM

Hey rifflord, welcome to the forum.

My vote is for the k&k Trinity-mic and mini combo. Dakedi's vids shows what a little EQ can do with that combo.

Another option could be a UST through a Fishman aura. If you can find the right sample to match your guitar it could sound OK.

I also agree that a couple of (moving) blankets on the walls and a pair of pencil mics would be an option

SpruceTop · #11 03-29-2015, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dakedi

Whilst I agree that the mic is the way to go for the best acoustic sound, you specifically asked about pickups and not mics which i can understand. Sometimes you want to just plug in and record ... my suggestion would be the K&K Trinity. Below is a video demonstrating the plugged in sound compared to a mic ... first of the component parts first, the K&K Mini elements, then the internal Trinity and then the whole pickup system.

Thanks for the video!

Although every system in the video sounds really good, the video demonstrates a typical ethereal fingerstyle mode of play in which just about any pickup system sounds decent. The video is of merit for those who play in fingerstyle most of the time but doesn't demonstrate the tonal qualities of these systems when playing with a flatpick in a moderate to aggressive strumming, single-note, or Carter-style chord-melody manner. A flatpick is the nemesis of many systems.

Regards,

SpruceTop

janmulder · #12 03-29-2015, 09:50 AM

You are absolutely right! My bad for not mentioning that important point.

In fact this is a problem with so many guitar/pickup/amp/etc reviews ... i.e. they don't have a varied enough selection of playing styles ... often grossly misleading the viewer about the capabilities of the equipment.

MaurysMusic · #13 03-29-2015, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plroad21

A mic. Short of that, the Lyric. Didn't like it live, but I felt it recorded nicely.

+1. That's exactly my view as well.

janmulder · #14 03-29-2015, 10:00 AM

... it of course depends on what sound you are after or how high you set your bar ... but for my ears I've yet to hear any direct recordings of the lyric on its own that I'd consider good ... let alone great ... and am a bit surprised it gets so many recommendations for recording usage.

guitaniac · #15 03-29-2015, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dakedi

... it of course depends on what sound you are after or how high you set your bar ... but for my ears I've yet to hear any direct recordings of the lyric on its own that I'd consider good ... let alone great ... and am a bit surprised it gets so many recommendations for recording usage.

I thought the Baggs video demos sounded very good, but now we know that the engineers were embellishing with saturation and multiple band compression.