SIX-STRING STRATEGIES

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Michael Cooper

Magic Carpet Ride

It bears mentioning that yet another approach besides those discussed earlier may be necessary when recording overdubbed acoustic guitar in a heavily damped project studio, such as one that is carpeted or makes extensive use of acoustical foam. In such a situation, I have achieved great results by placing a small-diaphragm, cardioid condenser mic — one that responds very quickly to transients, such as a B&K 4011 — roughly 18 to 24 inches above the guitar's sixth fret, and about a foot in front of the guitar on the horizontal plane, angled so that it points at the strings (see Fig. 1). This mic placement would likely be too distant in a room with very live acoustics, when other instruments are playing with the guitar in the same room, or with a mic that has a soft high-frequency response.

For neophytes who are still learning how to record, Dodd advises putting up several mics simultaneously in different positions relative to the guitar while recording (see Fig. 2). They can then choose which mic(s) and position(s) sound the best during subsequent playback.

Newland has similar advice for acoustic guitarists who record themselves. He recommends they move the mic up and down the neck of the guitar while wearing headphones until they find the position that sounds the best. Newland generally avoids placing the mic near an acoustic guitar's sound hole.

Pro Choice

Because every microphone has a different sonic signature — which, especially with a directional polar pattern chosen, varies according to the distance the mic is placed away from the source — mic choice is usually decided on together with mic placement. All four engineers were careful to state that they always make spontaneous mic choices based on the live sound being created by the guitar and player. They also said there is no inherent difference in their approach to miking an acoustic guitar fitted with a capo as opposed to one that is not.

Dodd, whose credits cover a wide range of both pop and country productions, takes essentially the same approach to miking acoustic guitar no matter what the musical style, noting that “the player makes more of an adjustment than a microphone ever could.” That said, all four engineers revealed a general preference for using small-diaphragm mics to record acoustic guitar.

“Often my favorite mic to start with would be like a KM 54 or an M 582, if I'm going for a nice, well-rounded kind of featured acoustic guitar,” says Way. (Both mics are vintage, small-diaphragm Neumann tube condensers.) “The other microphone that I love a lot of times is the AKG D 19,” a '60s-era dynamic mic used by the Beatles on drums, piano, and acoustic guitar. “It's great when you want something that has a little ratty attitude. It's sonically interesting rather than beautiful. You used to be able to get them for about $200 or $300, and now I've seen them as high as $600 on eBay.”

Newland also generally prefers small-diaphragm condensers for recording acoustic guitar, citing the Neumann KM 84 and AKG C 460 B. “That said, there are times when it seems like a Neumann U 47 [a large-diaphragm condenser mic] is the right thing to put up,” he qualifies. “A lot depends on the instrument.”

The artist's personal preference can also come into play. On Norah Jones's second album, Feels Like Home (Blue Note, 2004), Newland used a Royer R-121 ribbon mic placed 6 inches away from a fingerplucked acoustic guitar. “We really wanted to get the wood in the guitar,” he explains. Because the R-121 exhibits a significant amount of bass-boosting proximity effect and an attenuated high-frequency response, Newland recalls he had to roll off a little bottom-end EQ and add some highs. However, he mostly compensated by moving the mic farther down the neck, away from the sound hole, when he wanted a sound with less bass. He also points out that aiming the back side of an R-121 at the instrument yields a less bass-heavy sound. In any case, Newland preferred to roll off bottom-end EQ on the track as needed, rather than moving the mic farther away and picking up too much of the room sound.

Ahern likes to record acoustic guitar using a B&K 4090, in part because its fixed omni pattern and small profile facilitate very close miking. The larger B&Ks, such as the 4011, sound too pristine for his taste. “The 4090s have a little color to them, what I call ‘armpits,’” Ahern says. He recollects that he used an AKG 224E on all of the early Emmylou Harris records he engineered, with great results. He also cites the Neumann M 50 microphone as “arguably the best ever made. You can record an acoustic guitar 15 feet away [with an M 50], and it sounds like it's in your face.” For recordists on a budget, Ahern recommends the Shure KSM27 condenser mic on acoustic guitar.

Dodd's favorite small-diaphragm mics include the Neumann KM 140 and KM 56 (the latter is a vintage, variable-pattern tube mic), as well as the workhorse Shure SM57 dynamic mic. He'll use a mic with a wider frequency response — one that will capture more of the instrument's sound — if he doesn't know ahead of time how the guitar will need to fit in the mix. “It's easier to get rid of it than it is to make it up,” he explains. But if there will be a lot of electric guitars and drums for the acoustic guitar to compete with in the mix, Dodd notes, there is “no reason why an SM57 or 58 won't work. The mic's natural tendency to be ‘middley’ is going to save you some trouble later.”

Newland has also used the SM57 to record acoustic guitar. “In a rock context, where you have some pretty slammin' stuff going, put a 57 on there and compress it a little bit, and it'll give you that nice midrange rip,” he says. “Sometimes the unusual thing is the right thing. Most of the time, I do sort of the standard stuff. You know, the small condenser or whatever. But every once in a while, you just need something weird.”

Who's Sorry Now?

Dodd makes no apologies about using the inexpensive SM57 to record acoustic guitar. “A 57 only sounds like an inexpensive microphone when it's paired with an inexpensive preamp,” he declares. “You pair it with an extremely sensitive, musical preamp, like a Telefunken V76 or Neve 1073, and the balance of the two is a wonderful thing to be heard.”

Dodd's philosophy on mic choice should hearten those on a limited budget. He notes that using a very expensive mic can sometimes “adversely affect the performance” by putting added pressure on the performer. If, on the other hand, you “up the ante of the performance by making the person feel comfortable, that will improve the sound more than any finessing of microphone choice or position,” he says. “It's got to be in the ballpark. But you can have the best microphone and the best mic pre, and if the player isn't comfortable and can't perform, you've got nothing.”

Dodd asserts that fast setup is also far more important than choosing the absolute best mic. “It's better to have the wrong mic ready than the right mic after the performance has peaked,” he insists. “‘Keep playing, I'm just gonna try this … keep playing, I'm just gonna try this … keep playing, I'm just gonna try this …’ Okay, now they're all played out. Now you've got a great mic, and nothing to record.” He adds that the instrument, room, performer, musical arrangement, and choice of strings and pick “have more effect on the acoustic guitar sound than the choice of any given set of good microphones.”

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SIDEBAR
ACOUSTIC GUITAR GURUS
Brian Ahern's discography spans 35 years and includes engineering, mixing, mastering, and production credits with many of the biggest icons in country music. Artists Ahern has worked with include Anne Murray, Glen Campbell, Emmylou Harris, Guy Clark, Johnny Cash, Linda Ronstadt, Béla Fleck & the Flecktones, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, and Ricky Scaggs. Ahern recently accepted the Canadian Country Music Association Hall of Fame Award.

Richard Dodd's recording and mixing credits know few musical boundaries and include work with artists as diverse as Johnny Cash, George Harrison, Green Day, Joe Cocker, Roy Orbison, Electric Light Orchestra, Boz Scaggs, Sheryl Crow, and John Hiatt. Dodd has also produced Uriah Heep, Little River Band, and Steve Earle, among others. His mastering credits include Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Jars of Clay. Dodd has earned Grammy Awards for Best Engineer (for Tom Petty's Wildflowers; Warner Bros., 1994) and Mixing (for Delbert McClinton's Nothing Personal; New West, 2001).

Jay Newland's lengthy discography includes engineering, mixing, mastering, and production credits for a who's who of jazz music. Newland has worked with Milt Jackson, Pat Metheny, Dave Brubeck, Charlie Haden, Michael Brecker, Jaco Pastorius, Etta James, and Keith Jarrett, to name but a few. His work also includes forays into the pop world, collaborating with such artists as newcomer Missy Higgins and the late Harry Nilsson. Newland has won eight Grammy Awards, including three for Norah Jones's 18-million-selling debut album, Come Away with Me (Blue Note, 2002), on which he served as producer, engineer, and mixer.

Dave Way has lent his magic touch to many a Top Ten single and album, in a dizzying variety of musical genres. He has engineered tracks for Michael Jackson, Dixie Chicks, Sheryl Crow, and, perhaps most notably, Macy Gray, on her Grammy-nominated, triple-Platinum album On How Life Is (Epic, 1999). Way has also mixed big-selling tracks for Pink, Christina Aguilera, Fiona Apple, Babyface, Savage Garden, Spice Girls, and Taylor Hicks (including Hicks's 2006 single “Do I Make You Proud,” which Way also coproduced for BMG).