Is stereo guitar recording using different mic types a terrible idea?

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by MThomson

I'm a total newbie to recording and it's safe to say I don't really have a clue. But I'm keen to start recording to give me a bit of focus. Would be looking to do some solo fingerstyle type stuff as well as some songs with guitar and vocals.

For acoustic guitar, the best recordings I've heard have been with a matched pair of small diaphragm condenser mics, but I understand that these aren't great for vocals.

From what I gather, the stereo aspect really adds depth to the recording and I wondered if you could get good results with a small diaphragm condenser combined with a large diaphragm condenser which could be used for vocals?

I've searched a bit to try to understand this and haven't found anything so I'm assuming it's a crazy idea, but I'd appreciate any advice the experts here would be willing to share.

Thanks a bundle in advance.

Not sure what you are recording with, if you already have mics, or what you want to budget...

I always premise most of my posts with the caveat of my "frugality", so I'm usually target my stuff to like-minded recordists.

I've had a variety of gear over the years and in keeping with my increased emphasis on simplicity I picked up a Zoom Live trak L-8 for my latest minimalist rig. I'm going to post a bit about using it, and some tricks to multi-track beyond the 8 tracks it offers.

Since I'm focusing on inexpensive options I picked up a "matched pair" of Behringer C-2s just to see what they could do. They are surprisingly nice for the $50 cost.

There are some LDC / SDC mic packages that come in at low bucks and that might be just the thing to get you started if you don't already have mics.

[TBman]

Seems like a fun thing to try out. I rarely use two different types of mics. Either its two small condensers or two large together. I do have a ribbon mic that I think I'm going to play around with this weekend also. I finally have a sort of gobo set up for recording so I might as well.

[MThomson]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Not sure what you are recording with, if you already have mics, or what you want to budget...

I always premise most of my posts with the caveat of my "frugality", so I'm usually target my stuff to like-minded recordists.

Thanks for all the advice. I think my issue with my Googling has been that I moved to details too quickly instead of spending more time exploring the general area. So I'll now go back and look at the wider picture again - thanks JKLOTZ for the starters.

As far as mics etc go, I don't have anything at the moment. I'm trying to get a plan together striking a balance between my desire for frugality (more colloquially known as being a typical Scottish cheapskate) with my desire to buy once and then learn how to make the most of what I have. I'm also aware that I may not like the process once I get into it, but I've got a good project in mind, and I'm hoping that will keep me going through the early learning curve.

I would also like to explore looping so my idea had been to get a mic set that would support vocal recording, guitar recording and looping. Preferably relatively small and easily storable.

With that in mind, my current thoughts are as follows:
Mics - Sontronics STC-1 (have heard Will Mcnicol get great results from this) with Aston Element (seems to get great reviews, and Michael Watts was very positive about it)

Audio interface - Focusrite Scarlette 2i2 or Apogee Duet 3 (deciding whether to go lower end to see if I stick it, with the risk that I want to upgrade, or to spend more so that I don't have to think about upgrade at any point and just get on with using it)

DAW - Reaper or Cubase elements. Still looking into this as there may be others that are more suited for a beginner - but these certainly would seem to let me do anything that I wanted.

Looper - TC Helicon Ditto Mic or Boss RC30. Simple with little learning curve vs more learning curve and slightly more flexibility.

[jim1960]

A good place to start your research is with the AGF Members Gear Masterlist thread which is stickied at the top of this subforum.

[MThomson]

Originally Posted by jim1960

A good place to start your research is with the AGF Members Gear Masterlist thread which is stickied at the top of this subforum.

Completely agree! I've been through it several times and it led me to learn a lot about what I might need and where to look in the area. Before I looked there, I didn't even know what the different mic types were!

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by MThomson

Thanks for all the advice. I think my issue with my Googling has been that I moved to details too quickly instead of spending more time exploring the general area. So I'll now go back and look at the wider picture again - thanks JKLOTZ for the starters.

As far as mics etc go, I don't have anything at the moment. I'm trying to get a plan together striking a balance between my desire for frugality (more colloquially known as being a typical Scottish cheapskate) with my desire to buy once and then learn how to make the most of what I have. I'm also aware that I may not like the process once I get into it, but I've got a good project in mind, and I'm hoping that will keep me going through the early learning curve.

I would also like to explore looping so my idea had been to get a mic set that would support vocal recording, guitar recording and looping. Preferably relatively small and easily storable.

With that in mind, my current thoughts are as follows:
Mics - Sontronics STC-1 (have heard Will Mcnicol get great results from this) with Aston Element (seems to get great reviews, and Michael Watts was very positive about it)

Audio interface - Focusrite Scarlette 2i2 or Apogee Duet 3 (deciding whether to go lower end to see if I stick it, with the risk that I want to upgrade, or to spend more so that I don't have to think about upgrade at any point and just get on with using it)

DAW - Reaper or Cubase elements. Still looking into this as there may be others that are more suited for a beginner - but these certainly would seem to let me do anything that I wanted.

Looper - TC Helicon Ditto Mic or Boss RC30. Simple with little learning curve vs more learning curve and slightly more flexibility.

Sounds like you have a solid game plan.

I enjoy looping in my home playground area. You might find my Forum topic "How do YOU use a looper?" of interest.

[MThomson]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Sounds like you have a solid game plan.

I enjoy looping in my home playground area. You might find my Forum topic "How do YOU use a looper?" of interest.

I will check that out! I've never used a looper, but I think there's the chance for a lot of fun to be had. Quite excited about this all now.

[KevWind]

Just adding to the chorus
There are a number of big name producers/engineers that only record an acoustic with 1-LDC and 1-SDC

I did it for many years

So you can record in two ways
#1 you can do the stereo guitar track/s with and LDC and SDC and then dub the vocal.
OR
#2 you can record a vocal and the guitar (albeit in mono) in one shot if you want to


So here are some samples offered as possible options

Here is an example of #1 --Guitar has an LDC and an SDC ...Vocal dubbed in later on LDC --2 takes


Or #2 SDC Guitar --LDC vocal one take
In this video through video FX , you see a blended two camera shot with the LDC in the further away shot and the SDC in the closer shot (It's aimed at the bottom of the bridge plate)



Then at some point you can always add a second SDC (if you have an interface with 3 or more mic pres (they are usually configure in either 2 or 4 ) and you will be set to record a mono vocal and a stereo guitar all at the same time . Like this 1 Take

[j3ffr0]

I'm still learning, but I prefer recording using some variant of spaced pair. And for me it's only a pair in that it's a pair of microphones rather than a pair of a type/model. Although I do have two of a some models, I like to use two different mics. For instance maybe an SDC on the neck for the transients, with a ribbon or LDC on the body to get better lows and not too much transients.