I've read a lot on this subject and as usual, I found about as many different
opinions as I did experts. This is how I do it with great success.
First of all you need to get a proper microphone. Most people just use the
voice mic that's provided where you're playing and that will work, but not give
you the fidelity you need to really get all the sound your acoustic guitar has
to offer. Condenser cardioid unidirectional mics with a small diaphragm
& flat frequency response are best for close miking of your guitar because they
have less bass boost than other directional types when placed close to the
guitar. If you have the bucks, the AKG C480B, DPA 4011, and the Neumann KM184,
are considered to be about the best. These will run you from maybe 800 -
2200 USD. The more reasonable for most budgets and stage use are the Shure SM81,
AKG C1000S, and Audio-Technica AT3528. These will run from maybe 250 to
550 USD. The recording/sound engineer I work
with advised me to get the AKG C1000S. I paid about 250 USD for it and I am very satisfied with it.
Positioning:
If you are only going to use one mic (and most sound dudes will only offer one)
position it as follows...
I position the mic between the sound hole and the edge of
the guitar body approximately 3 inches away to start off with. This
reproduces fingerstyle and quiet playing great. You can hear all the
harmonics and nuances that make acoustic guitar what it is. If I need to
play louder or adjust volume, I back off to about 6 to 8 inches. You can experiment to see
what you like personally. To get more bass, bring the sound hole a little
closer to the mic. Depending on the set up, you may experience feed back
when you do this so be careful with the sound hole thing.
If you have the pleasure of using two hopefully identical mics, place one at the
12th fret and another by the bridge. There's a [ 3 TO 1 Rule Of
Thumb ] for distances. If you mic for instance 5 inches from the
guitar, the mics should be 15 inches apart.
Bob, Gman ( o )==#