What guitar are you always relieved to see?
 

I'm shopping for a new acoustic, and i want it to be one that is great for recording as well as stage use and singer-songwriter stuff.

For those of you who have recorded quite a bit, has there ever been one particular guitar/model that you know will always sound great with minimal fussing on EQ and micing? One that you're relieved to see come through the door?

I've had recommendations for the J45, but wanting to get some feedback from producer types.

This should answer your question...

https://i.imgur.com/3vyVrzV.jpg



https://i.imgur.com/hI6z4Sx.jpg?3

It's not the guitar. It's the player of the guitar. I've recorded the products of many makers with all kinds of wood combinations. If the player produces a good tone, it can be captured in a recording.

Non-dread Martins are usually boom-free and have a nice character. Taylors don't give trouble, but don't sound very special either. Gibsons seem to be hit and miss, very inconsistent. J-45's are usually nice but I've honestly never recorded one I could rave about. For strummy stuff, older Guilds are always good. Had an Olson show up once, got really excited about that, but the TV-celebrity "arteest" couldn't play. Dang. And I totally forgot to sneak a look out back to see what she was driving. I bet it was Olson-equivalent.

I think it depends on the style of the music you make, whether it's primarily finger picking or strumming. For strumming I think a Gibson J45 is one of the best all arounders (test drive them because in my experience they can really vary in tone) or a Martin OM or triple 0 for finger picking.

Small guitars record well generally speaking. My ladder braced 1963 LG1 has great balance and intonation. It also needs no compression. I believe that’s due to the ladder bracing.

Stage guitars are a different matter. Although I used my LG1 in the past I’m more likely to take my Waterloo to a gig. The Gibson lives in my home studio.

For what it’s worth one guitar for everything just isn’t enough!

I think any good sounding guitar can be captured in a recording, you just have to spend some time figuring out how to do it.

These 2 posts sum it up for me. From my point of view it can be hard for the recording to do justice to the guitar, not the other way round.

I am finding that non-guitar related stuff is as important as the guitar. My acoustic guitar recordings are sounding better and better as I have treated my recording space properly, been willing to purchase better mics, and learned different placement techniques that complement what I am trying to achieve.

That said, my smaller bodied Gibson L OO sounds better with less “fuss” than my HD 28. I can get both to sound pretty good though..

I guess what I am saying is that a good guitar will sound good if I put in the time to make it sound good.

I should have just quoted this in the first place and shut up. :D