How To Record Acoustic Guitar At Home

Let's record acoustic guitar! Hi, I am Brian from LEWITT, an audio company from Austria, and this video will show you my secrets to achieving great-sounding acoustic guitar recordings at home.
Microphones used:
www.lewitt-aud...
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▶︎Chapters◀︎
00:00 - Intro
00:29 - Environmental noise
02:32 - Microphone choice
03:21 - Microphone placement
03:22 - Small diaphragm vs. Large diaphragm
04:45 - Spaced stereo pair setup
05:41 - XY stereo setup
06:37 - Modified XY stereo setup
07:22 - Recording levels
▶︎About us◀︎
We're LEWITT, a microphone manufacturer based in Vienna, Austria. We believe that great sound is for everyone, whether you're recording at home, on stage, or in the studio as a beginner or professional. To make sure that nothing limits your performance on the technical side, we're here to push microphone technology forward. Our microphones can help you accomplish your ambitions easily and with better sound than ever before. You can get to know us better on our website: www.lewitt-aud...

[@LEWITT-audio]

What do you struggle with most when recording acoustic guitar at home? Let us know in the comments below! We'll be glad to help.

[@BierMeister360]

Not having a lewitt ribbon mic 😂😂, I'd buy like 20 of a lewitt made ribbon mic if there was one

[@mssailingstones]

String resonance, the creak of the wood in the guitar and the sound of my arms and fingers moving! Appreciate this might be my playing though and need to practise more! 😅

[@1Steve]

playing soft delicate fingerstyle music the 2 mics (neumann k184) record my breathing as well, how can i get rid of that ? a mask ? motorcycle cask?

[@LEWITT-audio]

@@1Steve That's a tough one. Every inch of distance you can get from the mic away from your face helps, so make sure you aren't hunched over your guitar. Also the closer your mic is to the guitar the quieter other noises will be in the environment (relative), so you can play with how close you mic the guitar as well.

[@LEWITT-audio]

@@1Steve Or just breath in time with the song! haha

[@doublepedaler]

The Lewitt LCT 140-Air is a great small diaphragm microphone 🎤 for 150 dollars. if I didn't own any mics this would probably be the first small diaphragm condenser mic I would buy.

[@BierMeister360]

You gotta get the pair, they're my first mics, and I've been blown away with the results every time. If lewitt made ribbon mics, I'd only use lewitt mics on any recording, besides a home made subkick, and low fidelity mic for a bit of a trashed drum sound. I've used my lct 140's on everything, from guitar cabs, on the darkest point, air switch on. One of my favourites on a Fender twin amp. To vocals, I just like how crisp they sound on a warm female vocal, paired with a tube mic, or ribbon. Drum Overheads, amazing, drum room, amazing, cymbals, amazing, snare, incredible. Bass, great highs and mids, great pairing with a more low end focused mic. I use it as my mic when gaming too, I'd rather use the 040 for that due to the smaller size but the 140 is still a good size

[@doublepedaler]

@@BierMeister360 I've been wanting to try it on my Snare. I really think having the Air Switch On sounds the best, especially on Acoustic Guitars. I have a Pair of Shure SM81s as overheads. I did a 🎤🎙🎤 comparison video on my channel on Acoustic Guitars. The Shure-PG81vs. Shure-SM81 vs. The Lewitt LCT-140-Air.

[@Nicblas]

Wow the modified XY sounds incredible! Perfect sound for what I'm looking for in a song I'm tracking. Perfect as I just got both the 140 and the 440 air. Can't wait to try it!

[@LEWITT-audio]

Hey thanks. Have fun with your new LEWITT mics!

[@Seitan-enjoyer]

Hey, it's izotope guy 😮 cool video!

[@LEWITT-audio]

Haha, not anymore.

[@Glenn_T]

My favourite is the blend of the 140 air and the 440 pure. Great vid

[@LEWITT-audio]

Thank you!

[@PooNinja]

My room is right by the laundry and the HVAC system 😖. Lucky me I have a lil closet that’s just big enough to be a pseudo iso room. I’ve got weighed blankets to use as added dampening. Now if only I had another decent mic. I got several karaoke quality mics and a nice pair of test mics but nothing as beautiful as a LCT 1040… or 440 pure for that matter. Love these helpful tips and techniques.

[@TheOnlineBusker]

Great video, and I have both of those mics, love them both. Position starts to get a tad more difficult when recording vox at same time... I like to capture the performance.... cheers for the cool vid!

[@LEWITT-audio]

We'll have another video in the making for an incredible singer-songwriter setup in the making...stay tuned

[@BierMeister360]

Try using figure 8 mics, I.e. ribbons (lewitt, please make one) or multipattern condensers, place the guitar mic angling slightly downwards, but pointed at around the 12 fret, try keep it a bit central and inline with the mouth. And for the vocal, parallel with the mouth. That way the dead spots in the polar pattern with align with the other source. I'd use a 640ts on the guitar, and run it with both outputs, and if the position is good you should be able to get a decent mid side style stereo recording. And a 441 flex on the vocal, or if you got money to splurge, the 1040

[@TheOnlineBusker]

@@BierMeister360 Hey thanks I hadn't seen this reply! Yeah have seen people use 2 figure eights, and I don't get it at all, wouldn't the back of each mic pick up the room, the other source etc?? Seems weird to me! Surely cardioid is for this exact purpose? Right? Haha I can't get my head round it!

[@monteduma]

This is so to the point and practical! Thank you very much

[@LEWITT-audio]

Thanks for watching! 😀

[@Borod1n]

Thank you so much!!!

[@LEWITT-audio]

Thanks for watching!

[@thiagocursinomusic]

The XY setup is my favorite.

[@musiicxlover93]

Simple and to the point. Thanks

[@LEWITT-audio]

Thanks for watching!

[@Kineticartist]

brilliant tutorial thank you so much

[@jasper_north]

Check this out: I also bought myself a $100 Gazebo / Pergola (200cm x 200cm) and placed it in my basement on a noise absorbing rug. I left the outside "walls" off and placed moving blankets on all five sides. Got myself a 10M led strip for the inside and some bass traps in the corners and foam on the inside off the blankets. Super easy set-up for recording with my D18 and singing at the same time straight into my iPhone using the Roland Go Pro mix. Call me cheap but I just love my little "tent" inside my basement. Nice and cozy. Love your channel man!!

[@LEWITT-audio]

It sounds super cozy! Awesome!

[@schlep4730]

Nicely done demo...

[@LEWITT-audio]

Thanks!

[@projecte]

Great tips, thank you for the video :)

[@LEWITT-audio]

Thanks for watching! Glad it was helpful

[@tanixxmusic]

this is way too helpful for me, thank you sir!

[@LEWITT-audio]

So glad! Thanks for watching 😁

[@RyvenProductions]

Good stuff. Thanks, Lewitt.

[@LEWITT-audio]

Our pleasure!

[@albtas9990]

Great tips! thank you Brian!

[@jeffburnham4582]

Well done on this video!!

[@LEWITT-audio]

Thank you!

[@sainigaurav11]

Awesome. On Point. Thanks

[@LEWITT-audio]

LCT 240 PRO is a great mic for acoustic guitar, vocals and pretty much anything you throw at it. Great allrounder

[@davecalder2688]

excellent video. thanks

[@evanseymour4172]

Really solid tutorial 👏

[@LEWITT-audio]

Glad you liked it! 😁

[@crea1337]

Thank you, very helpful video. How would you record classical guitar though?

[@LEWITT-audio]

The same techniques still apply. But often with classical guitar, the room sound is very important and so the mics are placed further from the instrument.

[@bnsrks3326]

2 questions: 1-Would you record with a large-diaphragm condenser and a dynamic and if so how would you configure the mics? 2-when I record finger style I tend to hear a lot of string squeak from my picking hand. Any suggestions on mic placement/recording practices to reduce this? Thanks for the video.

[@LEWITT-audio]

Great questions! Sometimes people will use a dynamic mic as a "character" mic in addition to a condenser. I've also seen engineers use a dynamic with a condenser in a spaced pair. Just experiment to see what you like! To reduce string squeak, try using a single mic in cardioid placed at the 12th fret and angling the mic more towards the body to dampen the string squeak sounds.

[@BierMeister360]

What lewitt said. But I like to use a ribbon in a similar way, and tilted at an angle slightly so the null on the fig 8 polar pattern is pointed towards the mouth, as I've had breathing come up on my recordings before. There's also a slight tonal shift, which in find pleasant

[@ben-jammin2284]

Awesome tips! How would I take what I recorded in GarageBand and put it in a video of me playing the song?

[@LEWITT-audio]

You'll need some video editing software for that. iMovie should do the trick

[@kintubeats]

Great tutorial!

[@LEWITT-audio]

Thx for the feedback!

[@kapitbanda]

i need these thanks !

[@dta1954]

Very helpful video. Thanks. I struggle with hiss when I connect my amp to the laptop when using GarageBand. Totally confused!!

[@1shannonleggette]

Great video.

[@TheOnlineBusker]

Hi Brian, I like to come back to this video as a refresher! Looks like you are recording to iPad there? What's the DAW? I'd love to be able to record to iPad and export to Pro Tools :(

[@LEWITT-audio]

Hey! I'm glad it's helpful for you. I'm recording to a Macbook pro actually, using Logic Pro X. But Logic has an application for iPad as well as a remote app to control Logic on a computer from your phone or tablet. From there you can export all tracks and midi and import to Protools

[@Rod-Wheeler]

Great content!

[@LEWITT-audio]

Thanks!

[@bertHarbinson]

Nice!

[@adamblock1]

What on earth are you doing to the sibilance freq’s on your vocal chain?

[@LEWITT-audio]

What do you mean?

[@mssailingstones]

Amazing, practical advice! Wish all tutorial videos could be like this. Any advice on compression/ eq on the way in? Using a UAudio Apollo interface.

[@LEWITT-audio]

We do have a video on mixing acoustic guitar. Check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6nTdJR7r7iVrNU

[@uptownphotography]

Nice video...

[@CarterStraub-rk7po]

what do the mics plug into directly to record the sound?

[@LEWITT-audio]

An audio interface. In this case, I'm using LEWITT's CONNECT 6 interface.

[@ankithraaman7835]

i always struggle with white noise when trying to boost volume on my playing

[@LEWITT-audio]

Sounds like some noisey equipment

[@danserogermusic104]

Very good video! Any thoughts on why I tend to hear too much of the pick "noise" in my recordings of the acoustic guitar? The sound of the guitar pick striking the strings seems very prominent... And I tested with a condenser mic and also with a SM-57, at 12 inches from the 12th fret, etc... For some songs and some mixes it can blend well, but most of the time I need to surgically tame this noise by a lot with the EQ... Maybe my guitar strings need to be changed? Or I need to use another gauge or type of pick (I use a plastic one of 0.76mm)? What pick gauge & type are you using in this video? Or maybe I just need more strumming practice with a pick (for many years I didn't use a pick with my acoustic guitar)... Any recommendations will be welcome!!

[@LEWITT-audio]

You are on the right track! Definitely experiment with different types of guitar picks. That can make a huge difference--more than mic choice or placement. Also, you can try moving the mic closer to the sound hole and so angling towards the 12th fret so you have the mic pointed away from your picking hand. This will be a subtle change but can help de-emphasize pick attack.

[@danserogermusic104]

@@LEWITT-audio thanks for your reply and I will try your suggestion!

[@thiagocursinomusic]

I recorded with zoom h4n pro then I recorded with At2020, and the audio from H4n is much louder. Now I'm wondering what mic to use 🤦 Any suggestions

[@LEWITT-audio]

The LCT 040 Match and LCT 440 PURE are great affordable mics for nylon string acoustic. For higher end options, the LCT 540 S and LCT 640 TS are also hard to beat.

[@thiagocursinomusic]

@@LEWITT-audio Hey, Bryan, I'm so pissed off! 😤 I made a lot of tests with my AT2020 and the sound is very far from acceptable, it's very different from the recordings people make on KZbin. The sound is dull, has no brightness, and it's pretty low, even though my acoustic guitar is really loud and bright, and my sound card is pretty good too, it's a Tascam US-1X2HR. I then started to suspect that my AT2020 is counterfeit. And guess what? I was flipping right! And to make things worse, I have no idea of where to buy an original AT2020, because there is no official store here. I was unaware, but there is a flood of counterfeit AT2020 microphones. They are sold as AT2020 replicas, but also with other names, like U87.

[@LEWITT-audio]

Sorry to hear that! That is a major bummer.

[@thiagocursinomusic]

@@LEWITT-audio I bought an original AT2020 now. Back to the video 😁

[@jasoncabral8732]

Pick and string thoughts?

[@LEWITT-audio]

I'm a big fan of D'Addario phosphor bronze strings and Dunlop nylon picks, but this is definitely up to your preference! Sometimes I'll used tortex picks for a more percussive sound

[@Ste-nc5qf]

Hi, i just bought large condenser mic Lewitt 440 pure and i own two small condenser mic(Rode NT5), how would you place them in order to make a "three mics" placement in order to record acoustic guitar? (or three mics setup is not a good idea?) Thanks in advance

[@LEWITT-audio]

First, try to go with two mics and use the "modified XY setup" in the video and check if it already delivers the fullness you want 😉

[@Ste-nc5qf]

@@LEWITT-audio thanks! I'll try!

[@musicvideos1846]

Great video - question please. How do I record an acoustic guitar that can plug into an amp? How do I get a nice stereo sound on my Pro tools. Do I double the track? what do I do please? Thank you. John

[@LEWITT-audio]

We actually have a video about using DI vs. using a mic for acoustic guitar. We recommend avoiding recording your guitar with the built-in pickup since it create a very unnatural sound. We cover some stereo techniques in this video that will provide some nice stereo width, but double-tracking and hard-panning is also a good method for a nice wide stereo image.

[@musicvideos1846]

Thank you for answering me. So I should mic my my acoustic guitar instead of going into an amp? After I double the track and pan it, how do I get it to be true stereo? Do I use a plugin or nudge one recording a dot or use two mics when I record the guitar?@@LEWITT-audio

[@LEWITT-audio]

@@musicvideos1846 Yes, that would be the best way to get a natural sound. To clarify, doubling means doing a second take of the performance so there will be natural timing differences between the two takes, and that will provide stereo width that is still mono compatible.

[@musicvideos1846]

Ok so do two separate recordings and turn it into a stereo track - one panned left and one panned right. Right? Is using two mics at the same time as good as this? Thanks for helping me out so much.@@LEWITT-audio

[@myattaykhaing-official]

Needed the cloudburst pedal effect??

[@LEWITT-audio]

On acoustic guitar?

[@myattaykhaing-official]

Yes

[@LEWITT-audio]

Nice, sounds like a cool idea

[@dreamyguitars]

Thanks...great video ! Any tips / thoughts on recording fingerstyle ?

[@LEWITT-audio]

Thanks! These mic positions should all work very well for fingerstyle playing too, you'll just need to dial in a bit more gain.

[@dreamyguitars]

@@LEWITT-audio Thanks Brian !

[@CalvinOngStudio]

Thank you so much for the video. Is there a difference between paired stereo and same model but non-paired mic?

[@LEWITT-audio]

There could theoretically be a difference, if they aren't manufactured to be a matched pair. This is never the case with LEWITT microphones because our manufacturing process ensures each mic is matched.

[@CalvinOngStudio]

@@LEWITT-audio Thanks.

[@thiagocursinomusic]

What plugin do you recomend to compress the sound?

[@LEWITT-audio]

We have some info on that in our other video on mixing acoustic guitar. In the video we use iZotope plug-ins, but you can also get great results with the compressor in your DAW. Check it out! kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6nTdJR7r7iVrNU

[@thiagocursinomusic]

​​@@LEWITT-audio'm using plugins from waves, they are really cool But I don't get why my recording is so low. I have a tascam us with am AT2020, I'm recording nylon strings acoustic guitar.

[@Chantur]

Was just about to track guitar and saw this lol

[@LEWITT-audio]

Perfect timing!

[@ugenegood6475]

Actually LCT 140 Air sounds a lot better on ac. guitar than LCT 440 Pure.

[@LEWITT-audio]

Great to hear that you like it, which one is "better" also heavily depends on the context. How do you like the combination of the two?

[@ugenegood6475]

@@LEWITT-audio Of course better is subjective but combination of these two mics sounds very decent. Their frequencies seems to complement each other.

[@BierMeister360]

The 440 pure sounded a bit darker and fuller sounding. I love both, I'd use the 140's on a dark track to add a bit of brightness. Or a mixture of both, or a ribbon if lewitt made one 😂😂 (atm i use an se electronics VR1) with the lct 140 pair in an ORTF placement where the xlr ports are roughly at the 15th fret, and I use the ribbon in between. I pan the lewitts left and right, and the ribbon I keep centred, brightness in the sides, warmth in the middle. Sometimes I just use 1 lct 140 with a ribbon, ribbon on body side, lct 140 on the neck side

[@contrast-recordings]

What model of Guild guitar is that ?

[@LEWITT-audio]

It's a 1973 D40 😁

[@aidenbengston2883]

We’re would I buy the mics from or what website?

[@LEWITT-audio]

You can find your nearest dealer on our website -> www.lewitt-audio.com/where-to-buy

[@kpaxx8882]

It doesn't get that strong when recording raw with my microphone. The sound seems to be turned down, I can't hear the sound I hear with the headphones from the laptop, what could be the reason??

[@LEWITT-audio]

Are you using an interface?

[@kpaxx8882]

​@@LEWITT-audio I'm using Cubase daw

[@LEWITT-audio]

Yes, but I was wondering if you are using a USB mic or an XLR mic with an interface. If the signal isn't loud enough, turn up the preamp. If it's a USB mic, you might not have that control

[@kpaxx8882]

@@LEWITT-audio I'm using a condenser microphone connected to a behringer sound card with xlr input When I increase the gain of the sound card, there is distortion in the sound, there is no room when mixing, I set the sample to 256 when recording sound.

[@LEWITT-audio]

Sorry you are having issues! Is this a LEWITT microphone? If so, you can reach out to our support team at [e-mail] and they would be happy to help

[@wileu]

7:20 - You forgot the mid-side method.

[@LEWITT-audio]

Had to keep it to 5 tips! No time for mid side in this one 😁

[@aidenbengston2883]

Also do u have one that costs a little less than $200-$1000 dollars 😅😢

[@LEWITT-audio]

Hi Aiden, we'd recommend the LCT 140 AIR or the LCT 640 TS for acoustic guitar. You can also find a LEWITT mic that meets your needs on our product finder! Let me know if you have any questions! www.lewitt-audio.com/product-finder

[@javierpacheco4566]

It's Nerf or nothing, but in this case, get heard or nothing.