Guitars that are easier to record?

[runamuck]

Not to disagree with any of the specifics mentioned here, but generally speaking, an OM or 000 is commonly known to be easier to record (and mix with other instruments) than a dreadnought.

[russchapman]

I would imagine it's easiest to record an artist with the instrument of their choice. For Billy Strings, it's gonna be a dread, for James Taylor, likely an Olson, for Willie, it's gonna be Trigger, and so on and so forth...

[rick-slo]

Probably midsize or smaller guitars are easier to record faithfully but their overall tone may not be your thing.

Also brighter sounding guitars can become screamingly bright by the time the microphones get done with them.

Much also depends on what type of music you are playing. Music that benefits from marked sympathetic vibrations
and longer sustains (such as in perhaps Celtic music) may record well with one type of guitar while a different type
of music would be more effectively recorded when played on a different type of guitar.

[gwlee7]

Originally Posted by cliff_the_stiff

Lots of discussion about the placement of mics, room prep etc.
Regarding a guitar that records well- Maybe a guitar built with tone woods on the back and sides that compress some?
Perhaps a D-28 with Mahogany, maple, or walnut instead of Rosewood?

To the best of my knowledge, all the 28 style Martins are rosewood back and sides. I have an HD 28 let me see if I can find something where I still have a solo track of it and I will post it up.

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by gwlee7

To the best of my knowledge, all the 28 style Martins are rosewood back and sides.

The D-18 is mahogany, but it still booms. It's inherent in the body shape and size, I guess.

Back in the day when I recorded some solo fingerpicked instrumental tracks at my friend's studio we settled on my 000-18MC. We had also had my J-50, J-100Xtra and 000-28EC to choose from.

Nowadays I just use them all to record and use mic positioning to compliment their tonal differences. Also I'm not really that picky anymore I guess.

[Bob Womack]

For fingerstyle, grand concert sizes come across the mic really well as a full-bodied instrument. The bass tilt-up of a close condenser is countered by the gentle bass of the GC. For many other applications the grand auditoriums come across well. If you are playing rhythm with an ensemble I love to see you bring a mahogany or rosewood grand auditorium with you. If we are going for the "chirp" or high-end scrape I know I'll be rolling out the bass and carving out the mids. Done.

Bob

[Dane Johnson]

I’ve had this issue as well especially with my SJ.

I have to make a number of adjustments from pre-amp levels, pad, and roll offs which took some learning. And staying organized with the settings. Some times I’ve found to be in a rush and the tracks just go to garbage.

Another good point is choosing chords or notes in a different octave. I’ll go back later and add a second track for the bass notes of the chords. Just works sometimes to keep it separate.

Also.. don’t forget about where you’re picking from. Too far ahead of the sound hole on a dread or forward shifted and you’re looking at muddy result.

[Mbroady]

There are so many great acoustic guitar songs recorded with all kinds of guitars. Some of the iconic songs of my youth were recorded with dreads and jumbos (this list is to long).
To that I would say that in the right hands (not necessarily the players) and in the right room, any half way decent guitar can sound amazing.

With my limited experience and in my ok sounding room I find an OM guitar works best.

[PorkPieGuy]

From my experience, Taylor Grand Concerts record amazingly well.

Also, a friend of mine, after trying his best to record a variety of nice Martin dreads, tried out a cheap Johnson guitar with mahogany back and sides and sitka top. Microphones love this guitar for some reason. I think the guitar was maybe $200, but it recorded amazingly well.

[jim1960]

Blaming the guitar just doesn't hold up under scrutiny. There are thousands of records recorded with Martin dreads that sound wonderful. If you can't get a good sound out of a great Martin, the problem isn't the guitar. The problem may be the room or it may how the player is being mic-ed; but it's not the guitar.

[PorkPieGuy]

Originally Posted by jim1960

Blaming the guitar just doesn't hold up under scrutiny. There are thousands of records recorded with Martin dreads that sound wonderful. If you can't get a good sound out of a great Martin, the problem isn't the guitar. The problem may be the room or it may how the player is being mic-ed; but it's not the guitar.

I think sometimes bass-heavy guitars can come across as a little muddy in recordings. Also, I've never really recorded with the best mics out there, and I'm not that great at recording anyways. If I never mix music in a studio again, I'll be just fine with that. The last project I did broke me of ever wanting to do it again.

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by jim1960

Blaming the guitar just doesn't hold up under scrutiny. There are thousands of records recorded with Martin dreads that sound wonderful. If you can't get a good sound out of a great Martin, the problem isn't the guitar. The problem may be the room or it may how the player is being mic-ed; but it's not the guitar.

I've been a pro engineer for a very long time. I know what I'm doing. And I've been in many situations where a strummed acoustic guitar couldn't be isolated or miked from any appreciable distance without picking up unacceptable bleed. In those situations, a Martin dread is, let's just say, far from the best option.

As a session player, you can certainly show up with your D in a situation like that and place the onus on the engineer. "Here you go. I pitch it, you catch it." But the outcome is unlikely to be ideal. And the likelihood of your engendering disfavor among the others in the room will be high.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

I've been a pro engineer for a very long time. I know what I'm doing. And I've been in many situations where a strummed acoustic guitar couldn't be isolated or miked from any appreciable distance without picking up unacceptable bleed. In those situations, a Martin dread is, let's just say, far from the best option.

As a session player, you can certainly show up with your D in a situation like that and place the onus on the engineer. "Here you go. I pitch it, you catch it." But the outcome is unlikely to be ideal. And the likelihood of your engendering disfavor among the others in the room will be high.

I'm not saying that every guitar is as easy to record as any other. I'm saying that every quality guitar CAN be recorded well. Thousands of great sounding albums recorded with Martin dreads prove that point.

[Ncbandit]

Originally Posted by lppier

Just wondering, from your experience, do you find that certain guitars are easier than others to get a good recorded sound ? I reckon bass heavy guitars are harder to record, yes?

I have had great success with 3 different acoustics using the same AKG C214 mic. It all came down to mic placement with all 3 being different. I found it much easier to leave the mic stationary and with headphones on move around with the guitar while playing to find the best angle and distance to achieve the tone your looking for.

More frustrating was finding the best pic for strumming that made the least amount of noise. On 1 song that required a very warm tone with no pick noise I ended up strumming with my index finger out of desperation and ended up sounding great.

Now when recording a new song I do a sample with all 4 of my acoustics and choose the best fit.