Recording, getting 'that' sound?

I am going to be recording a compilation of my music for CD Baby in the next few months or so. The trouble is, when i've recorded before i've always ended up with a kind of recessed sound. I do use a chorus for some tunes, but when playing live the sound is fine. What i'm looking to achieve is a fairly upfront, involving sound but with an 'ambiance' around it. I find digi reverb not natural enough and it seems to overwhelm and push back the music, but I want a sense of 'the acoustic'. Maybe I should record using mics, combined with pickup in some empty building somewhere.......any suggestions?

[theotherone]

use 2 high-end small condeser microphones
in a X pattern and find the sweet spot and you can't go wrong.

[david_m]

I've never had a lot of success with the xy postion (that sounds kind of kinky )

I've been using two small condensor about 24" away from the guitar. One pointed at the bridge, one at the 14th fret. I usually elevate the mics a bit, so they're pointing down at about a 20 degree angle. Then I use a large condensor mic about three feet away and five feet high set to an omni pattern. The small condensor mics get a very intimate sound, and the large condesnor mic gets a full ambient sound.

Also, I usually take the pick up out from my guitar and capture it on another track. If you want to get a really nice, full bass sound with boominess or muddiness you can just EQ the p/u track to remove all the muddiness but provide a great bottom end.

Four tracks of acoustic guitar. Hard pan the small condensor mics left and right, and VERY slightly play with the large condensor mic and p/u tracks in the stereo image. They should stay very close to center.

You should end up with a HUGE, detailed yet warm acoustic guitar sound.

Hope this helps,

David

[rlwing]

Thanks David I think you just cost me more money! I was going to go out and buy 1 new condensor mic, now I think I'm gonna have to buy two! My wife is gonna kill me now.

What do you think of the Audio Technica 3000 series? I already have a 3035, and I was going to buy a 3031, or 3032 (well two now). Any recomendations?

[ihs]

Hi Rob,

I don't have any experience with the Audio Technica's, but I do have a pair of Marshall MXL-603s. They run about $160 for the pair, and they are a good mic. Very clean and detailed, they really seem to reproduce what I'm throwing at them without coloring too much. In fact, they're what I used for my TGF Christmas CD recording. I used the XY pattern (with about 120' of spread instead of 90') at the 12th fret about 8 inches out, panned them hard left and right and then just a bit of the DDSM's pickup a shade to the left. Just my experience, and, as always, YMMV.