How to Record Acoustic Guitar with TWO Mics

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[@briandavidofficial]

"But who cares, we're in home studios. We don't do things the ideal way." I felt that.

[@juanfranciscopololabrau7092]

Wayne Rooney turns into a musical producer? Im kidding. Great video! Thank you

[@YesRelax]

😂

[@gregjeanfreau8027]

I recently purchased an acoustic and wanted to try to record it on the fly. I took the two Se8s small diaphragm condensers from my overheads on the drums. I just lowered them spaced about 18 inches and threw on the recording gear. Added a little bit of processing and it sounded more amazing than I ever could have ever imagined.

[@willischirwa3992]

Phantastic. Esp that sound hole position little further away makes me feel like singing along. The most valid sign of a real good sound of an acoustic.

[@xHadesStamps]

SM57 and LDC! Made me chuckle. Reminds me something where I used a darker microphone in conjunction with a brighter microphone in stereo pointed as close to the same point as possible.

[@DylanFischerTX]

Here's how I was taught to record acoustics & still do to this day for most of the stuff I do: AKG 414 (or large diaphragm condenser) placed 2-3 (or more) feet away pointed at the sound hole or between the sound home & the neck paired with a Shure SM57 on the 12th fret maybe 6 inches away (or less). Play with the mix position & polarity to eliminate phase issues. Use the large diaphragm condenser for the meat of the sound & bring the 57 up to add sparkle & high end shimmer. Adding a compressor with a fast attack like a dbx 163 on the 57 can bring out the sparkle. I don't really know anyone else who records this way & it definitely isn't easier than XY but you can get some great results

[@HomeStudioCorner]

Neat!

[@andreweilermusic]

That mic situation is actually similar to what I'm trying for a current record! They're about 1-1.5 feet away equal distance, using an AKG 414 and an AT 4041over an sm57 (but almost the same!), was going to stereo pan but I may have to try the "sparkle" effect you mentioned here.

[@gingersongs]

Excellent. Of all the ‘how to record acoustic guitar’ vids on YTube, this one really stands out. Common sense and demystification, a good dash of ingenuity and inspiration. Thanks!

[@DelToroBeats]

Love those earthworks mics!!! Sound so clear and balanced❤️

[@michelemanfredi5866]

This video is GOLD. I want to thank you very much: I literally started from zero and you taught me a lot with your videos, using simple language and with practical examples. Thanks again!

[@ericstrauch3215]

Joe, thank you for this video.Im new to recording, a rookie. I watched your One Mic video and learned a lot. I tried recording with two mics, a small and large diaphragm mic, and got close. Watching this video has enlightened me and I'm gonna try two of the same mics. Thank you again, your videos are instructive and perfect for a rookie like me and others like me. Thanks brother! Liked and Subbed.

[@Smittefar1]

These are probably the best two videos, I have ever watched on recording acoustic guitar - And I have seen quite a few :) It is something that I have struggled with, and I probably tend to overdo things - set up a gazillion mics rather than just set up one and insist on making it work. I am kind of in a place, where I am happy with my one-mic recordings, but I have never been able to make a satisfying stereo recording. I tried X/Y before, but I always got the unbalanced sound you also got in the first demonstration. The idea of 'straddling' the soundhole makes perfect sense. I can't wait to try it out. Thanks

[@ksutton1207]

I still come back to your videos all the time on this topic, Joe. Thanks for all you do!

[@raymondspagnuolo8222]

I loved this method. I have followed you for years and somehow missed this one. Thanks!

[@naturesounds5376]

I bought a Rode NT4, and was getting pretty frustrated with it.. after watching this, I’m pretty excited to try it again with this approach. Thanks for the info!

[@bobjones3027]

I need close mic’ing because my room is untreated. After this video, I tried XY, placed ten inches from the soundhole. The problem I found is proximity effect, because the cardioid polar pattern only attenuated about 6 dB at 45°. I’ve moved to spaced pair, about three feet apart, aimed at the 14th fret and just outside the bridge. I have tried to make sure to keep the the same distance for mono compatibility. Finally, I have stopped recording onto two mono tracks. I find it’s twice the work with mixing. As I write this, I realize there are probably workarounds for all of these concerns! Next, I should try XY in front on the soundhole (welcome back, mic bar!) with hi-pass to tame the boom. Plus, maybe go back to two mono tracks for panning/balancing flexibility, and only use plug-ins on the buss. Thanks for letting me talk that out.

[@josiahcvar8719]

Thanks Joe! I always did spaced pair, because of the width. But it always sounded a little weird in mono and required a lot of eq. After watching, I decided to try xy, and it sounds great! It's not so wide, but tonally it sounds pretty much the same in stereo and mono. So far, it's the best tone I've gotten out of my acoustic. Thanks!

[@toddtyler]

Great info, gonna try it this weekend - thanks!

[@Danny2009ie]

Finally, somebody who has created a very good video on acoustic guitar XY stereo recording! Thanks a lot...

[@JiihaaS]

I encourage you to try the blumlein technique as well. With figure-8, what the mics are picking up won't overlap like it does with cardioid in the x/y technique. This results in more difference in the 2 signals, thus giving wider stereo image! It doesn't even necessarily mean more roomy sound, since figure-8 cancels from the sides just as well as cardioid cancels from behind.

[@borisvillar]

Awesome Video so well explained I finally get it thank you so much

[@ripw1]

excellent demo

[@mattmitchell6159]

You've saved my album sir thank you

[@uhulpires]

Nice video! Can you show examples of these phase problems that might occur and how to solve them in another video?

[@michaelyolch79]

I could not have found this video at a better time. THX, JOE! :)

[@Noone-of-your-Business]

You talk about an awful lot of interesting stuff, but I could make much more use of it for my recordings if you _showed_ just half of the alternatives that you are talking about. _Hearing_ the results that you describe in direct contrast *without interruption* , back and forth, would make a huge difference. Like the difference between a stereo mic setup and a single mic. Record the same sequence twice with the 2 different setups and switch between them in chunks of 5-10 seconds in the edit. _Several times_ . *That* would make the difference really tangible. That, of course, requires far more video editing than just setting up your camera and shooting 2 or 3 sequences. But it would greatly increase the quality of your videos.

[@spec1147]

I thought the same thing. You do talk about interesting stuff, but it's easier to hear it. This is the difference between a video someone like Paul Davids does and this ^ Paul's are 1-2min, sometimes no talking, just captions with describing mic choice/placement, and direct comparisons.

i agree soooo much! xy and blumlein all the way! i want to have fun and a good sound so i stay away from micing techniques that mess with the phase or do take to long to setup ... i got my favorite small diaphragms but then i got the rode nt4 and this is just perfect ...

[@DanieleGiannattasio]

2:53 "I take that back..." ahahah!!

[@robburgess4556]

Hey Joe, just a thought: there's no law that says the two mics have to be at a 90 degree angle. Yes, it's what we normally do, but who likes to be called normal? As long as they're coincident you can set whatever angle works best. So how does it sound if you take the mic that's pointing at the fretboard and narrow the angle in towards the body a little? This way you're not pointing quite so far away and might get some more presence from the strings. Just my 2¢ CDN :-)

[@HomeStudioCorner]

Totally.

[@jrholmes79]

Thanks Joe. I recently upgraded my mixer and mics, because I just couldn’t get my acoustic sound right. The better mics really drastically improved the source sound. My studios in a 7’x8’ shed, so space is limited. Looking forward to experimenting with mic placement to get it as right as I can.

[@DeerCreekAudio]

ms recording as I understand, collapses to mono, more faithfully than xy micing. ...only said because if I record in stereo, I rarely collapse to mono. Plus, without matched pairs on xy, the chances of phase cancellation becomes greater, due to the mis-match of frequencies being picked up....or more so, the stereo image moving around, as one frequency (side) becomes more dominant over the other. I tend to believe you are much better of with "spaced pair" if you have two different mics (and even same mic, but mis matched)...remembering the 3:1 ratio of placement to minimize the chance of phase cancellation. .

[@HomeStudioCorner]

All good points

[@DeerCreekAudio]

All my rubbish said... I think you said your mics aren't matched pair...but just the same model...and with your XY technique, I believe 99% of your viewers would love to get a sound as good as you do. Love the channel, Joe. I look forward to each video.

[@HomeStudioCorner]

Yeah they're not matched pair necessarily, but they did come in the same package of 3 mics.

[@Mike_FOH_Audio]

Joe, first off, your tutorials are great! You have a talent for talking naturally and keeping a flow that keeps me hooked on listening. One comment: as for 2:31; if you have never tried the Blumlein-setup you should give it a try. What it basically does, is, it gives you a stereophonic recording based on level diference instead of runtime difference. It is highly mono-compatible and was thus used for radio broadcasting. Also it projects the room very well and it gives you a very wide stereo field. On the Contrary with M/S Stereophony you can edit the (M) middle part signal versus the (S) side part signals or vice versa. You have the possibility of editing the width of you stereo field. Converting a regular stereo track of a finished recording into M/S stereo goes as far as to eliminate single instruments or voices, depending on how they are panned in the original stereo track. Beware though: heavy editing may result in phase issues. If one does not have any M/S converting plugin, look up the math at either de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid/Side-Stereofonie or www.sengpielaudio.com/Stereo-Matrix01.pdf and do it in any free audio tool like audacity or your favored DAW. As for getting a good visual idea about setting up dual microphone, I'd recommend www.sengpielaudio.com/Visualization-Blumlein-E.htm. As with any sound engineering topic, if you want to have an idea about the mathematics behind it, consult the website of this guy. Although deceased, his son still maintains the website. To give you an Idea about this man heres a quote from wikipedia: Eberhard Sengpiel Born Berlin, Germany Died 29 August 2014 Occupation(s) Sound engineer Website www.sengpielaudio.com Eberhard Sengpiel (* in Berlin, † 29.08.2014) was a multiple Grammy award-winning sound engineer. He was also a musician in his own right and a lecturer at the Berlin University of the Arts, (Universität der Künste, Berlin) UdK-Berlin.

[@HomeStudioCorner]

Yeah I just don't love messing with M/S. I like my XY. 😊

[@Mike_FOH_Audio]

@@HomeStudioCorner same here.....

[@menamaged_]

Wow great information!! Thank you 🙏🏻

[@MeynbergMusic]

Thank you for the great insight! Helped me a lot!

[@Bigwoody95826]

Awesome man, I always enjoy and learn stuff from you. Thanks

[@herrunsinn774]

Your video was informative as always, Joe. I wonder if you might consider doing a small video on identifying "phase problems" when recording with two mics (specifically on acoustic guitar)? I certainly understand the concept as you explained it... but have no idea what out-of-phase mics might actually sound like. Thanks!

[@228ANDY]

Yes!! I will try with my 2 large diaphragm condenser mics. Thanks!!

[@dannylharper6889]

Thank you Joe, always love your videos!

[@Sullivanok]

Nice video, loads of ideas to experiment with..

[@davedwyer5188]

XY at the Soundhole.......that's GOLD Joe ! Hadn't thought of that. Off to try it now. Thanks Brother 😬

[@endoffate5475]

Boomy as hell...He might get away with it because of his mics...

[@tilenious]

Thanks for the advice! I’ve started using the stereo setup directly at the sound hole and it sounds amazing! Thanks!🙏

[@Olli3_Morris]

Different Mic positions: 9:17 11:38 12:12

[@iamantoniofernandez]

Very helpful! Thank you

[@jwp2460]

Great video! I'd been shying away from using stereo mic'ing techniques on my acoustic guitars since I didn't have a matched pair to use. I'll try this X-Y setup as you suggested, even with an unmatched pair and see how it sounds. Thanks for the tips in this video!

[@faithalityblog]

Do you think I could use two cardioid condenser mics in a space pair setup? (The only to mics I’m planing to have). Or should I stick with a single mic with one cardioid condenser?

[@richardroskell3452]

Awesome tips Joe. Keep ‘em coming!

[@PeteMartinMandolin]

Good stuff Joe thanks!

[@TheBinaryWolf]

Would placing two microphones very close together damage them as the magnets therein may repel each other?

[@ankituniyal]

The little hammer on & pull off on guitar at 9:22 😍❤️ Awesome❤️

[@EnricoMeloni]

That's a goooood video man, thanks a loto, I will try and I'll be back to you as soon as possible. I don't have a studio like yours, just an home recording little setup...have a nice day, cheers!

[@altravolta]

Thanks!

[@seancharteris]

Great video Joe you gem! Thank you.

[@DJRICKYG]

is there any difference if you just record with 1 mic, duplicate the track and pan them left & right?

[@jimblackmann1671]

Thanks Joe. All good stuff. I'm now a fan.

[@Olbuddypal]

Hey Joe, would it make more sense to record each mic on 2 different channels then throw them on a bus in S1? (newby here!)

[@angelikamariae]

Question: You will need another condenser mic for the vocals right? means that your audio interface must have at least 3 preamp inputs correct?

[@Kwaician]

This was helpful. Maybe try stereo recording vertically to get a more symmetrical sound in guitar instead of horizontally. Might yield surprising results 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@TheOnlineBusker]

Good video as always Joe! That's exactly what I've got...SM57 & a LDC!! Gonna have some fun with those now :)

[@AnkitSaiyan]

I want a cheapest alternative... I dont have budget to buy lots of stuff. I have boya mm1 mic that works with mobile. I will be recording with mobile... And i want to record stereo. How can i do that?

[@sergiomachuca9029]

Great video! I needed so bad, thanks!

[@b1j]

That’s the recording part. When you mix the stereo track, do you pan L and R 100% or blend then at all?

[@BertrandLaurenceMusic]

THX! Great clean mice those Earth works. Amazing that yo can get them so close. For most mics, Mic placement is key so the space-bar is kind of crucial. Yes there are a million space bars but it seems that they are not created equal, from $13 to $400. What space bar do you use? looks pretty sturdy. The most expensive ones are very precise, allow all kinds of rotations, and include markings for a variety of configurations needing precise angles. I am looking for a space bar for 2 WA -14 s . I might splurge for the Grace Design Spacebar SB-30 Thx again

[@soliano1604]

Hi Joe, 1 question.. If for outdoor acoustic recording, what mic would you recommend? Condenser mic? Dynamic mic? Thank q.

[@seanbierman1212]

Great video man! Thanks for sharing this all! Peace

[@CarterStraub-rk7po]

how do both mics go into the preamp. a splitter or does the pre amp need a slot for each mic?

[@1rcproductions]

I'm going to record two acoustic guitar tracks for a song that contains vocals, piano, two electric guitar tracks, strings, French horn, etc. I will end up panning one acoustic part left, and the other right. If I record using the x-y pattern, would I be better off recording each acoustic guitar track as a stereo track, or as two mono tracks? Thanks.

[@HomeStudioCorner]

Stereo track

[@1rcproductions]

@@HomeStudioCorner Is that mainly because they are easier to pan as a stereo track rather than panning two mono tracks to each side? Less hassle? Thanks.

[@michaelrasbury]

What space bar are you using in this video? I can’t find one like it anywhere!

[@KenGlasser]

Any thoughts on advantages and disadvantages of recording these two mics as one stereo track or two mono tracks?

[@PetraKann]

Explained very well

[@feldhaus5000]

your videos are absolutely awesome! thanks for sharing.

[@HomeStudioCorner]

Thanks!

[@theresaschauer.gitarre]

Hi everyone, does somebody know how the microphone clamps on the stereo bar Joe is using are called? I‘m desperately searching for clamps like that on the internet, but I haven’t found anything useful yet... the only thing showing up all the time is the stereo bar itself. Please help me if you know where I can get them!

[@theresaschauer.gitarre]

In fact it’s not the clamps, it’s the thing in between the clamps and the stereo bar that I‘m searching for haha

[@mariobecerra6251]

Hi bro, one cuestion !!!! you have to rreverse the phase when record like that ????

[@merchantaudioproductions]

mixing or just listening on headphones you aren't used to, I know that feeling. Things just sound different.

[@danielharbison5831]

Trying your method and I love the way it sounds, except I am getting a weird filter sound on the frequencies for some reason. What would be possibly causing that? I notice during my chorus parts especially it is like a weird whistling sound that seems to sound like it is sweeping around almost as if I was doing it with an EQ.

[@HomeStudioCorner]

Hard to say. Are you moving around while playing guitar?

[@danielharbison5831]

@@HomeStudioCorner Not a whole lot, but possibly a little. I'm sitting down so I'm not standing up and flailing around or anything. I have tried a few different stereo mic set ups and even went as far as to swap guitars, but I'm still getting that weird almost like a sweeping frequency kind of behind the chords being played. A resonant frequency of the room building up, maybe?

[@danielharbison5831]

@@HomeStudioCorner Seems to be hovering in and around 1k. Sounds like a sweeping whistling sound when I play the recording together. I notice I slightly hear it in each as well though, but it seems to be magnified when the mics are combined.

[@buggzo]

I have 3 small diaphragm pencil condensers with switchable patterns of cardioid and omni. Recording subject is singer songwriter on guitar with vocals. Any tips?

[@HomeStudioCorner]

I don't love SDC's on vocals.

[@buggzo]

@@HomeStudioCorner picked up a large diaphragm dynamic because I knew better than to think I should do vocals with a 3 mic sdc set up. Which definitely makes it simpler. Dynamic as a spot mic on vocals and a x-y or stereo sdc on the guitar. So if I'm singing into the dynamic, how would you recommend placement of two sdc?

[@buggzo]

@@HomeStudioCorner I'm just now starting my own playing and writing and singing. I've recorded many other artists singer songwriters. But my goto was a large diaphragm condenser on the guitar body and a sm57 on the frets, sm7b vocals. However, I dont have access to that mic closet anymore and I'm just now building my own. So I'll have the dynamic mic and then 3 sdc's available for me to use.

[@craigaber6]

Great vid man

[@MarkusJohannesHeger]

Absolutely informative! Thank you :)

[@michaelashe5265]

How many inches away in that final sweet spot arrangement? Seems relevant

[@zhongxun2005]

Great video! I know not a lot people use Blue Yeti for instrumental recording, just wondering how well stereo mode on it will be

[@dannylharper6889]

Large diaphram or small? which you like better?

[@SamA-ll2dt]

Thanks Joe, great video! :)

[@SAZIZMUSIC]

How can i connect 4 to 6 mics simultaneously so that the audio from all those mics get recorded in seperate channels in the DAW so that i can mix those 4 to 6 individual channels seperately ? What type of audio interface will i need for this ? Do i need an Audio interface with 6 mic preamps ? Or there are other ways to do it ?

[@coreyklotz6565]

Yah, I believe the only way is with an interface with at least 6 mic pres, then inside of the DAW, you should be able to choose which input each channel is accepting. I don't believe there is any other way of going about it but I could be wrong. Basically something like the Focusrite Scarlett 18i20

[@SAZIZMUSIC]

@@coreyklotz6565 I see ... thanks for the answer 😊✌

[@Slimjimb]

Add www. to your cheat sheet URL to make the link to work. :-)

[@DMACK1981]

Can you do XY with two SM57s?

[@gross8901]

Great info thanks

[@billhallsongs]

Joe, have you tried recoridng your vocals and acoustic guitar all in one shot in XY. I am interested in what your opinion woiuld be of recording both together in true stereo like that. Thanks and great tutorial!

[@bcain5823]

Joe, some good videos. Looking further down, do you split the mics to individual recording tracks or record both mics into one track?

[@kieronconcannon]

Nice.

[@mattcampbellmusicco.8532]

SM7 and an LDC isn't that crazy.. I just watched a video Universal Audio did with a Jacquire King, and they used that technique (amongst others). If it's good enough for UA and Jacquire King, it's probably worth a try!

[@ThalamusGhipopotamus]

Sounds good because of mono recording

[@ninowilson]

I have a question. Im searching for a long time, for a tutorial that explanes how to record and mixdown fingerstyle guitar. I want to know how to get a clean and bright mixdown. I really also like to know how you would use reverb on the fingertstyle mixdown. Because when i slap on the guitar i always get a to much reverb sound. I slap soft enough but it strange that others do not have that. I put an eq on the guitar track it self (Low cut 18db at 82.407 Hz E2 / high cut 18db at 15804 Hz B9) And on a send track i put first a Reverb (EOS2) 30% input with a decay off 1/1 division value off the BPM (musiccalculator.com/#bpm-delay-timing its use always this site to meassure it) and then after the Reverb on the send tracks it put an EQ (Low cut 18db 659.26 Hz E5 and high cut 18db 10548 Hz E9) What would you do, if you have some advise could you make a tutorial about it?

[@HomeStudioCorner]

Perhaps you just don't need any reverb? I almost never put reverb on acoustic guitar.

[@frodev728]

if you do want reverb on the guitar, make it a tiny amount and not too long. You should put your reverb on an AUX/BUS track and set the mix to 100% wet, and use a send on your guitar track to send to the reverb (if you’re not doing that already. if you are, apologies) Also if you’re EQing the reverb, put the EQ first, then reverb after, maybe cut some of the higher frequencies that the slap on the guitar produces. that should help a bit.

[@dreamer69694]

same issue with me.. did u figured out??

[@darrylweller6143]

Would you do xy with Omni? Would you record using Omni?

[@jawsxx8683]

Never watched a video talking about sound holes so much before. I need a shower.

[@trewgodell]

Hi Joe. What kind of stereo bar are you using? Thanks

[@alexgordonepic]

it does sound good

[@alwaysforget911]

this was helpful, thanks.

[@HomeStudioCorner]

Thanks John

[@MikeG-js1jt]

how about two mics with one input using a combiner..... can you get the same effects?

[@chipahoy3530]

Not quite. You're not recording in stereo this way, unless you're using a stereo input and a combiner (y-adapter) that converts 2 mono signals (your microphones) to 1 stereo L/R output (what you plug into the input). Most likely, you're combining the two mics at the mono input (using a Y adapter, combining two mono signals to one mono output). You'll get the mixed characteristics of both mics, but you won't get any stereo spread at all, the two will just blend together on a mono track.

[@MikeG-js1jt]

@@chipahoy3530 I wouldn't want to get stereo, I was actually thinking audiobook recording, would recording "in mono" using 2 mics into a single input produce better or different results than a single mic?..... I just wonder this, because there are mics they sell that have 2 capsules in them.... so I was just figuring if you had 2 capsules (using separate mics) you might be able to get unique results because not only would you now have the 2 capsules, but you could now move them around in relation to each other... maybe adding more "depth" (in mono) to the spoken word?

[@daleturner]

12:05 NICE!!

[@AidenBradley95]

I sure wish this was up her two months ago when I was making my first EP.

[@soulofash2112]

Mid-Side is actually well worth the effort when you hear just how big your mix can become. But eh, who cares, right? Why bother? (I'm the guy that totally bothers--that's literally about the best way to record an acoustic guitar)

[@KingsDenStudios]

Awesome video brother! 🍻

[@NeerajDas]

What's the name of the Mic?