Anyone micing acoustic guitars from above?

[3Dfan]

Has anyone tried recording acoustic guitar by placing the mics above the guitar instead of in front of it?

I know some people will put one mic over their shoulder as part of a stereo techique but I'm wondering if using two mics above the guitar slightly above the players head would give a nice sound.

I'm thinking it would eliminate the boominess and give a nicer more even tone.

I've tried just about every other technique and I'm still now completely happy with the sound I get.

I'm also thinking of just putting a couple of omni's about three feet away from the front of the guitar and seeing how that sounds.

Any input??

[pollock]

I put a mic in front of the guitar, not too close of course. Never tried going above. Wouldn't you get monitor feedback from going over the shoulder? [For playing live - i just finished reading your post]

[fantasticsound]

Yep! I've done the over the shoulder method for decades, and not just as part of a stereo setup. The idea is, if it sounds good to my ear, find a mic that picks up the sound as close to what I hear as possible.

 

I can't see why placing the mics above would be an issue. But I wouldn't put them too far as you lose the intensity and increase background noise. (Not to mention self noise of the mic/preamp becomes more apparent.)

[3Dfan]

Thanks for your input. I'm only thinking of trying this method for studio work so I don't think noise would be any kind of problem. I'm just kind of thinking that this could eliminate some of the harsher frequencies coming from the front of the guitar.

Do you think two omni mics above the guitar with one basically in the bridge position and one above the neck would work? Basically like a normal spaced pair but having the mics above the guitar instead of in front?

[fantasticsound]

I don't see why not, but be aware that two omni's will pickup a preponderance of room sound, especially at a distance from the sound source.

 

Also, studio or not, noise is an issue. One need only step into a closet full of clothes, then step out into the bedroom to hear a substantial difference in noise level. I would tend to agree with your belief that noise isn't an issue in most cases, but an acoustic guitar with mics at a distance... noise may not be critical, but there's few things more annoying than noisy tracks of a beautiful performance. If you can record three inputs at once, perhaps you can put another mic in a more traditional position and compare the level, timbre and noise levels to decide if the omnis will do the job as you wish.

[3Dfan]

I tried so things out last night and found I'm even getting too much bass when micing from above and I think that what is wrong is that I need to reposition myself in the room.

My studio is basically 11x11'. I have always sat with my back to one corner facing the opposite corner.

I am thinking it might be best to sit with my back to one parallel wall facing the opposite parallel wall across the room. THis would give me pretty equal distance from both side walls also. What would you recommend about the guitar player's positioning in a room that is 11x11'?

Also, I found a DIY diffusor plan in Ethan Winer's acoustics forum. Would a good diffusor help the sound in a room of this size?? I really appreciate your help.

[Trucks]

Have you tried knocking the bass out of the mix slightly with an EQ? I do this to eliminate some of the 'boxy' sound.

[3Dfan]

I find that I have to use massive amounts of eq and then the track sounds unbalanced.

[fantasticsound]

Ok, first off, you've been recording in the worst possible situation other than the inside of a raquetball court.

 

11'x11' will create all kinds of standing waves and sitting in the corner put you directly inside a bass trap. It's no wonder you're having problems with too much bass and no amount of eq will help much.

 

As you can't change the size of the room without major changes, put your guitar off center from both walls. That is, about 4 ft off adjacent walls. Be certain your mics are not equidistant from parallel surfaces (opposite walls, floor & ceiling). I would advise against using omnis in this situation as they will pick up as much room sound (and it doesn't appear to be a fine sounding room) as guitar. But if you like the room sound, so be it.

 

Diffusion and absorption will help a lot in a small room, but mostly sporadic absorption to deaden the room somewhat. Unless you want to sound like an FM radio DJ, don't overdo the absorption, though. It would be hard to get decent diffusion in such a small space, but bits of diffusing objects will help somewhat.

 

If you're reading Ethan's forum already, you should be able to get more specific information there. Producing quality acoustic tracks in small rooms like that is difficult at best. But you can get usable tracks if you experiment.