While the modern trend for recording music is to do it electronically (both in terms of the guitar and where it is recorded to) the love many people have for acoustic guitar music means that artists still need to find the best methods of recording acoustic guitar. Established musicians tend not to have a problem, as they can go to the studio and enjoy professional recording conditions, but what if you wanted to make an acoustic recording at home?

Electric Acoustic

Admittedly, this is cheating somewhat, but if you can get an acoustic guitar that you can plug into an amp or your computer, then you’re sorted.

This goes a long way to helping dealing with the issues we’re about to explore when it comes to recording acoustic guitar.

Housekeeping

As difficult as it may be, you need to try and give yourself as quiet a surrounding as possible. If this means recording at an odd time of day or bribing people to get out of the house, then you might have to do this. Soundproofing your room like a studio probably isn’t practical for you!

You should also be aware of any echo that may happen from your guitar. Know the difference between an awkward echo sound and the natural reverb that makes acoustic guitar playing what it is. Home recording is best done close to hard floors and walls so you get strong reverb without the sound echoing into nothingness and ruining your recording.

You also need to be mindful of anything that could interfere with the sound. Rough areas on jeans, belt buckles, your watch or any other jewellery are all included here, you need to take away anything that could hurt your recording.

Your Equipment

The mic is obviously the key to acoustic recording, so you should go for something that captures sound perfectly and will put a clear recording onto your computer system. The mic should sit as close to the guitar as possible (considering the room you need to play), but if you want to get the sound you hear you can always place the mic closer to your head. If you’re going to sing over the acoustic recording consider how your voice balances against the sound of the guitar.

A thinner pick is often best for live acoustic recordings; play around and see which one gives you the sound you like best.

Recording Acoustic Guitar

There’s no real exact science when it comes to recording acoustic guitar; play around and when you find a formula that gives you recordings you love and that sound great, stick with that set up. Once you’re happy with something, don’t keep playing around, as invariably you’ll find it hard to get back to the start. You can always add reverb or remove excessive echo if you haven’t been able to do this already by using mixing software on your computer later.

Have fun when recording acoustic guitar, and most of this will come to you naturally.