Hi and thanks for this. I’m using the same set up but a new and slightly higher-quality MP3 encoder, so I’m guessing thats’s the difference you’re hearing. I recorded the song with a single condenser mic (Samson C01) placed about six inches from my mouth, but as I was sitting hunched up, the acoustic guitar was more than adequately picked up—I guess the downside is that both voice and guitar are on the same track, but I just wanted to demo the song. I can give out the chords if necessary. Thanks again for taking time to review—much appreciated!

Do you often record the guitar through a pickup? It wa your guitaro that sounded so different. Yours vocals always sound perfectly suited :-) Either way you have produced a great body of work and I’m always glad to hear additions :-)
Cheers!

Hi there and thanks for this. I’ve tried a few different methods for recording acoustic guitar over the months, including:

- Condenser mic on soundhole
- condenser mics on soundhole and neck (where my fingers will fret the chords)
- Seymour Duncan “Woody” pickup clipped to soundhole and plugged into external soundcard
- Inbuilt transducer mic (on a Washbrun electro-acoustic) plugged into soundcard
- Inbuilt transducer pickup plugged into volume pedal and then into soundcard
- Transducer pickup and condenser mic to create a “wider” sound and sometimes with one “dry” and one “wet” channel.

Regardless of how the audio is captured, I usually add a slight touch of high-pass filter to cut down on “booming” bass frequencies. I often add the “acoustic guitar” EQ presets that come with iZotope “Alloy” or “Trash” or “Ozone”.

I often use a capo on the guitar—mainly because I’ve got small hands and it’s easier to play a shorter scale.

I often use alternative tunings, partly because I’m a John Martyn fan, and sometimes to try to create “happy accidents”—i.e. force myself into unfamiliar territory.

I was never taught guitar and I can barely read music. I can’t afford really good guitars (although the Washburn is OK) and so try to create/inject tone via my fingers (i.e. “attack”).

My two favourite guitarists are John Martyn and Jan Akkerman (I guess showing my age).

I started recording songs (voice and guitar) with a single condenser mic just because it’s simple to set up, and it allows me to “perform” the song naturally as a singer/guitarist.

I know I’ve uploaded a ridiculous amount of stuff to this site over the months, but at least I’ve learned a bit more about what’s possible with my limited setup.