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Old 04-09-2010, 05:41 AM
Ty Ford Ty Ford is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 1,357
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Certainly, more is not always better. First, a lot has to do with the acoustics of the space. If you have crummy acoustics, opening another mic may do more harm than good. Unless you have a really, really good sounding space, one good mic is better than two not so good.

Next there's the arrangement to consider. Is there enough space in the arrangement for a stereo guitar? Maybe. But you can fill up the stereo spectrum with stereo reverb and/or delay effects. They can be preferable because you can dial in as much as you need.

How do you do it? There are SO many ways. Here are some:
-matched XY
-unmatched XY
-M/S
-Blumlein
-A/B (spaced pair)

and don't forget, you can mic vertically as well as horizontally.

Cardioids, hypercardioids, omnis?

Cardioids and hypercardioids ignore the room more, but you have to be careful about when you put them. They are more sensitive to low frequencies, the closer you get them to the sound source. As a result, you usually can't get them near the sound hole. If you need to get close, try where the neck joins the body and angle as needed to the sound hole to fill in the low frequencies.

Omnis, OTOH, usually can be pushed right up to the sound hole, if needed. You can get stereo with two omnis because, even though omnis are "omni", they are directional at high frequencies.

Some say you can't get the true sound of the guitar unless the mic is at least a guitar length away from the instrument. I have not found that to be true. In addition, at that distance, the mics are picking up a LOT of room.

Regards,

Ty Ford
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