I'm starting to think my mic might be too sensitive

[Chas007]

I'm using a Audio-Technica AT2020 with a Behringer Uphoria UMC202HD and have the gain set to about 3/4 full, to record acoustic guitar. I've tried a lot of different settings and positions. Changing distances and directions, but nothing is resulting in a sound that I'm really liking.

The mic pics up the squeak of my fingers too much and even the creaking of my chair. I like to play with my fingers, but the recorded sound seems to have too much bass.

I'm still working at it, but any suggestions would be much appreciated.

[Mbroady]

String noise can be diminished with technique changes, but to get rid of them 100% is difficult . imho.

Chairs noise is an easy fix. Get another chair

[b1j]

As to bass, I would think it’s best to play the way you want to play, and hi-pass away below 50 or 80 Hz. Or is it too much mid you’re hearing?

Saying your mic is too sensitive is like saying your camera sees too much.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Chas007

I'm using a Audio-Technica AT2020 with a Behringer Uphoria UMC202HD and have the gain set to about 3/4 full, to record acoustic guitar. I've tried a lot of different settings and positions. Changing distances and directions, but nothing is resulting in a sound that I'm really liking.

The mic pics up the squeak of my fingers too much and even the creaking of my chair. I like to play with my fingers, but the recorded sound seems to have too much bass.

I'm still working at it, but any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Saying "3/4 full" doesn't really tell us anything about the level being recorded. You could be coming in hot or you could be coming in too quiet. Check the track on the meter in your daw with the slider set to 0. Adjust your mic pre gain so that you're coming in between -12 to -18.

Squeaks come with the territory and there's a good chance you're over-reacting to them. If you listen to a broad variety of acoustic music and just listen for the squeaks, you'll find it's quite common and as listeners our ears and brains mostly filter it out. But as said, if you want to have fewer squeaks, there are some options
1 - Improve your technique
2 - Use a parametric eq to reduce the squeak frequency
3 - Use noise reduction software
4 - Use one of the available products that make strings squeak less (but I wouldn't use those on acoustic guitars, my opinion, ymmv)

As stated, get a new chair. There's no such thing as a mic that rejects chair noise.

[Chas007]

Originally Posted by jim1960

Saying "3/4 full" doesn't really tell us anything about the level being recorded. You could be coming in hot or you could be coming in too quiet. Check the track on the meter in your daw with the slider set to 0. Adjust your mic pre gain so that you're coming in between -12 to -18.

Squeaks come with the territory and there's a good chance you're over-reacting to them. If you listen to a broad variety of acoustic music and just listen for the squeaks, you'll find it's quite common and as listeners our ears and brains mostly filter it out. But as said, if you want to have fewer squeaks, there are some options
1 - Improve your technique
2 - Use a parametric eq to reduce the squeak frequency
3 - Use noise reduction software
4 - Use one of the available products that make strings squeak less (but I wouldn't use those on acoustic guitars, my opinion, ymmv)

As stated, get a new chair. There's no such thing as a mic that rejects chair noise.

Wow! My master volume in the daw was set to 0. I set it to -12 in the master track and it made a world of difference, for the.good in the sound of the exported file. I'm new to this recording stuff and I've only been adjusting the gain knob on the audio interface. I have no idea what this did, but exported mps file sounded better.Thank you.

[DupleMeter]

Originally Posted by Chas007

I'm using a Audio-Technica AT2020 with a Behringer Uphoria UMC202HD and have the gain set to about 3/4 full, to record acoustic guitar. I've tried a lot of different settings and positions. Changing distances and directions, but nothing is resulting in a sound that I'm really liking.

The mic pics up the squeak of my fingers too much and even the creaking of my chair. I like to play with my fingers, but the recorded sound seems to have too much bass.

I'm still working at it, but any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Too much bass might be the proximity effect of the mic, which is the tendency for a directional mic to increase bass response as it gets closer to the source.

The AT2020 is also quite bright. So it will exaggerate the squeaks.

Both those problems can be dealt with with more distance between the mic & the guitar. It might not be enough, but I'd start there.

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by Chas007

I'm using a Audio-Technica AT2020 with a Behringer Uphoria UMC202HD and have the gain set to about 3/4 full, to record acoustic guitar. I've tried a lot of different settings and positions. Changing distances and directions, but nothing is resulting in a sound that I'm really liking.

The mic pics up the squeak of my fingers too much and even the creaking of my chair. I like to play with my fingers, but the recorded sound seems to have too much bass.

I'm still working at it, but any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Regardless of how "loud" you record your guitar, the relative volumes of bass, treble, squeaks, breathing noise, etc. to each other are the same, all other things being equal.

Some thoughts on mitigation:

1. String Squeaks - there are several ways to minimize squeaks. Coated or flatwound strings help. Left hand technique to avoid squeaks is very helpful but takes a fair amount of time to learn how to do it and to incorporate it into your playing. There is recording software that you can use with the recorded track(s) that will remove most of the squeak sound. There's a learning curve for this and the good software that does this is not cheap.

2. Chair Noise - Change the chair.

3. Too Much Bass in the Recording - Your Audio-Technica AT2020's polar pattern is cardioid. As the mic gets closer to the guitar the volume of the bass frequencies increases more than the volume of the other frequencies. This is called the 'proximity effect'. Ways to eliminate this are (i) move the mic further away from the guitar (which can create room echos/sound problems) or (ii) lower the bass frequencies in the recorded file in your DAW.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Chas007

Wow! My master volume in the daw was set to 0. I set it to -12 in the master track and it made a world of difference, for the.good in the sound of the exported file. I'm new to this recording stuff and I've only been adjusting the gain knob on the audio interface. I have no idea what this did, but exported mps file sounded better.Thank you.

If you're making that mistake, you're probably making other mistakes as well. There's a wealth of information in the stickied thread about recording acoustic guitar as well as how to mix it once recorded. It's well worth the time to learn what you can from the videos there. It will put you miles ahead of where some of us long-term home studio folks started.

AGF MEMBERS GEAR LIST, TUTORIAL VIDEOS, PODCASTS, & COMPREHENSIVE BEGINNERS GUIDE

[Chas007]

Originally Posted by jim1960

If you're making that mistake, you're probably making other mistakes as well. There's a wealth of information in the stickied thread about recording acoustic guitar as well as how to mix it once recorded. It's well worth the time to learn what you can from the videos there. It will put you miles ahead of where some of us long-term home studio folks started.

AGF MEMBERS GEAR LIST, TUTORIAL VIDEOS, PODCASTS, & COMPREHENSIVE BEGINNERS GUIDE

Thank you. Yes I'm making a lot of mistakes. I will try to have the patience to watch those. I believe I have the pre amp gain set too high. It's not clipping because I'm playing really soft, but the microphone will even pick up when I exhale.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by Chas007

Wow! My master volume in the daw was set to 0. I set it to -12 in the master track and it made a world of difference, for the.good in the sound of the exported file. I'm new to this recording stuff and I've only been adjusting the gain knob on the audio interface. I have no idea what this did, but exported mps file sounded better.Thank you.

This isn't what Jim meant by recording at -12db. He meant the level of the recorded track, which has to do with the preamp gain, mic, mic placement, how loud you play, etc. The master track level affects the volume of the exported mix, not the recording level. For example, here's what a stereo track looks like in my DAW (this is Logic, but it doesn't matter).
Screen Shot 2023-06-05 at 5.31.00 PM.jpg

That level, what's in the recorded file, won't change based on where I set my master faders. It's just dependent on my preamp's gain, what i'm recording.

I'm actually peaking here around -9db, slightly hotter than Jim's recommending - that's ok, it's just a ballpark goal. Average level seems to be around -12. This has nothing to do with the setting of my master bus output, and by the time I export the track, it will likely be louder than this - that's a different discussion about what's the correct levels for a final mix. Leaving 6-12 db of headroom while recording is to be sure you don't distort by going over the limit (0), and to give some room for EQ and so on, which may raise the levels.

As far as noises, this is a common problem, but it's not about finding a mic that will somehow pick up the fine details of your guitar while ignoring other sounds, many of which may be louder than your guitar - that's just not possible. You've gotten some good suggestions for eliminating or reducing noise, but one more is to play louder. You say you're playing very quietly. That's a common mistake, you think you're in front of very sensitive mics, so you play quietly, like you're playing to someone who's inches away from you. Ignore the mics, play like you're playing to people in the back of the room. Fill the room with a big guitar sound. Set your gain levels accordingly so that your recording at that -12 db or so level. Your squeaks and chair noises and breathing will be quieter *in comparison* to the louder guitar.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by Chas007

Thank you. Yes I'm making a lot of mistakes. I will try to have the patience to watch those. I believe I have the pre amp gain set too high. It's not clipping because I'm playing really soft, but the microphone will even pick up when I exhale.

You need to play louder. "Play for the back row", as they say in showbiz. If you play very softly, there's no way for you to turn up the gain for the guitar without also turning up all the background noise too. Playing louder will allow you to turn *down* the gain, so you'll still get decent guitar levels but the background noise will be softer. EDIT: I just noticed Doug said almost exactly what I did, but he said it first! But I'll leave this post up for emphasis.

[Chas007]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

This isn't what Jim meant by recording at -12db. He meant the level of the recorded track, which has to do with the preamp gain, mic, mic placement, how loud you play, etc. The master track level affects the volume of the exported mix, not the recording level. For example, here's what a stereo track looks like in my DAW (this is Logic, but it doesn't matter).
Attachment 93332

That level, what's in the recorded file, won't change based on where I set my master faders. It's just dependent on my preamp's gain, what i'm recording.

I'm actually peaking here around -9db, slightly hotter than Jim's recommending - that's ok, it's just a ballpark goal. Average level seems to be around -12. This has nothing to do with the setting of my master bus output, and by the time I export the track, it will likely be louder than this - that's a different discussion about what's the correct levels for a final mix. Leaving 6-12 db of headroom while recording is to be sure you don't distort by going over the limit (0), and to give some room for EQ and so on, which may raise the levels.

As far as noises, this is a common problem, but it's not about finding a mic that will somehow pick up the fine details of your guitar while ignoring other sounds, many of which may be louder than your guitar - that's just not possible. You've gotten some good suggestions for eliminating or reducing noise, but one more is to play louder. You say you're playing very quietly. That's a common mistake, you think you're in front of very sensitive mics, so you play quietly, like you're playing to someone who's inches away from you. Ignore the mics, play like you're playing to people in the back of the room. Fill the room with a big guitar sound. Set your gain levels accordingly so that your recording at that -12 db or so level. Your squeaks and chair noises and breathing will be quieter *in comparison* to the louder guitar.

Yes, I've been reading up on my daw and I figured out how to set the input gain in it to -12. I think that's as low as it will let me go. I believe 7 - 8 inches away and placed where the neck meets the body is going to be a good placement for the mic. I tried 2 feet away for the mic, but you hear the room in the recording. Not any sounds, just like a hollow sound to the recording.

[keith.rogers]

So, first, recording a clean track requires a lot more body control than you realize (or realized, perhaps). When we're just jamming away with friends or by ourself, your brain just filters out all those little noises that the mic simply records. Get a new chair, preferably something bolted together that can be tightened over time and you can test well. I got one chair at IKEA that works, and another from the overstock/closeout room at a Rooms-to-Go place. No wheels or hydraulic/air lifts, swivel seats, armrests, etc. And learn to sit still! (I usually have my shoes/sandals off, too!)

Next, fix the room, is my second suggestion. Don't use inexpensive foam, but even heavy moving pads/blankets in a V (front and behind), with a rug under your feet will give you more space to experiment with mic placement.

7-8" is really close for an acoustic guitar, especially with an LDC (IMO/IME). You're definitely in the bass-enhancing part of its sensitivity, and at that location, fingerboard/string noise and sound-hole output will certainly be unbalanced in the recording. You could try recording behind the bridge if you don't have any technical problems with dragging your [right] hand/fingers/arm across the guitar while playing.

With room reflections damped a little bit ("fix the room" part), getting that mic out to a foot will help you pick up more of the whole instrument. I mean, you don't listen to an acoustic guitar with one ear 8" from the neck joint, right?

[j3ffr0]

most of the time my mics are somewhere between 12 and 18" from the guitar. If you go too close you get more proximity boominess and transient artifacts (like finger squeak). Of course the further away you get the more room and background noise creep in.

For finger squeak in particular, beyond coated strings you can make an adjustment in your playing technique. --> Pick the fingers up a little before sliding up and down the neck.

[shufflebeat]

All good advice so far.

Two more things to add:

There’s more than one right (and wrong) way to record acoustic guitar. I once had a BBC engineer (after an exploratory take, I was sat down) move a mic to just outside and in front of my knee (pick hand, I’m left-handed so outside my left knee) pointing slightly upward and across the guitar toward the sound hole. I asked him why it wasn’t just at the 12th fret, he said, “I want less string noise and bass”.

He was right, of course.

Also, room noise is not always a bad thing, it depends on the room, and the treatment in the room.