Week 4 Audio Arts - Acoustic Guitar Recording

Jamie and I recorded acoustic guitar in several different ways in the dead room. In all cases the microphone(s) were fed into the mackie desk preamps and then to protools. Levels were matched as best as possible using preamp gain on the way in, and then more accurately in logic for a fair comparison.

The microphones used were:

• Rode NT5 - small diaphragm condenser
  
• Shure SM57 - small diaphragm dynamic

Samples:
NT5 at 2 inches

Nice solo hi-fi sound with plenty of treble and bass. Perhaps too much bass due to proximity effect.

SM57 at 2 inches

More punchy but less detailed on the transients compared to NT5. Less treble and bass. Perhaps a solid sound to sit in a mix nicely without too much extraneous treble and bass information. More preamp gain needed.

NT5 1 metre back

A more natural sound focussed in the upper mids with less treble and bass. More lo-fi vibe that might be very nice in some production styles.

NT5 1 metre back and positioned sideways

Seems quite scooped in mids compared to above sample. Mainly included to demonstrate the differences with above sample.

2 NT5s in coincident stereo, approx 90˚ angle between mics and 30cm back

Stereo image seems very unstable. Perhaps the mics were too close or at too great an angle. Unwanted string/finger/fret noises seem to be exaggerated.