Recording Acoustic Guitar with 2 SM57s - Amazing Sound, Easy to do, and Cheap

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Recording Acoustic Guitar with 2 SM57s - Amazing Sound, Easy to do, and Cheap

Рет қаралды 100,315

Күн бұрын

I've had this one in the queue for a while, but using SM57s is actually a super easy way to use this technique and get (What I think) is an amazing sound, and easy to mix. Sure, it's not as crisp as condensers, but it's also not killing your ears with the brittle high end. This method of using two SM57s is a great method to try if you don't have any fancy gear, but need fancy sounds.
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@studiodebras 5 жыл бұрын

I would have been perfectly happy with just the over-the-shoulder mic, surprisingly nice tone. I suspect the room has something to do with that too.

@Kitzy 5 жыл бұрын

I was surprised by how much I liked the shoulder mic alone. I use a similar technique with a ribbon as a shoulder mic, and a LDC as the front mic. Panning them hard left and hard right sounds huge. Definitely great for a singer/songwriter vibe where the acoustic guitar is the instrumental focus. I’ll have to try this with 57s next time and see how they compare. Thanks for the great idea!

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

That’s a cool idea. I should try that.

@strongtowermuzik5440 4 жыл бұрын

Probably the best mic technique I've learned on KZfaq this far. Great job man!!

@TTH4245 2 жыл бұрын

Tried this tonight and it sounded really really good. Thank you for sharing

@0bjko0 5 жыл бұрын

Not a big fan of the placement of the frontal mic, but the overhead is incredible. I'll definitly try that. I think the front one may be slightly better off-axis. This is definitly worth trying. Great video!

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Yeah, this was my first and only placement. We filmed about 20 different things yesterday and I also want to stress that this technique doesn't suck with almost no effort.

@0bjko0 5 жыл бұрын

@@creativesoundlab Yeah it's still way better than what we can expect from an acoustic guitar recorded with only 57's. And that's a very good starting point to experience even more with this technic. I'm definitly going to consider trying that for my next recording gig.

@ardobkin 5 жыл бұрын

I appreciate all the hard work that went into editing this video together! all the different compression, takes, and mics all line up with the video effortlessly... and it certainly isn't effortless! Thanks for all these videos, they've expanded my knowledge exponentially.

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Adam. Yeah it takes around 2-8 hours to edit. This one was about 4 or 5.

@dawsonabel6068 5 жыл бұрын

I'm very impressed with this technique and will definitely be using it myself in the future. It's just more proof that you don't need expensive gear to have a good sounding recording, you just need to be a good engineer.

@soulslip 11 ай бұрын

That’s probably 90% of it. Like what Steve Albini says about using even cheap mic preamps is better than not using them etc.... if you know what you are doing can still make fantastic recordings on cheaper gear

@huncysound 3 жыл бұрын

I’ve been recording Acoustic guitars with a ribbon, mid side, and a small diaphragm. This SM57 technique is far better sounding. Nice and tight, even without the compressor. Thank you for putting together this great video. You Sir remind me of a professor I had in school, I think he invented sound, or had a close personal relationship with it. LoL

@Tarnith 5 жыл бұрын

I really like the sound of the stereo pan. It has a very balanced yet interesting spread that I really wasn't expecting. Almost sounds good enough to replace a double track!

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Yeah it’s a huge sound. Almost too big.

@donbmf7408 Жыл бұрын

That overhead mic is fantastic and the combination even better!!!

@elstevious 6 ай бұрын

I just did this with my old 78 taka 12 stringer and it sounded great. I’ll be using this technique all the time. Thank you

@SatanicJamnic 5 жыл бұрын

I have never touched guitar. I don't make music. And I like to watch your content, just because it's produced well, and I like how you explain things. Cheers.

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks man, glad to have you here!

@thecamocanoe 5 жыл бұрын

This shall be dubbed the “Ryan Method”. Sounded great.

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Haha thanks !

@adamkowalski6733 5 жыл бұрын

I'd never liked acoustic guitars miked with SM57. You've just changed my mind, this technique is awesome. I'll definitely remember it! ;) Good job and keep up the good work!

@resslerartstudios 4 жыл бұрын

Dude, I tried it. totally awesome! didn't have 2 57's so I subbed one with a beta57a - The beta57a up top, and the sm57 front. same as you did in the vid. still tweekin with positions but like the whole sound I am getting. Thanks!

@earlgmusic 5 жыл бұрын

Of course, this is about recording 'rhythm' acoustic guitar. To me, instruments and vocals are equally specific. Here, it depends on the guitar, technique, method of playing (picks, fingerpicks, nails, flesh), and musical context. But your approach is certainly relevant. Thanks for the video!

@PEPPERMINT606 3 жыл бұрын

Makes a lot of sense. Kinda gives you the perspective (acoustically) of what the player hears vs the listener.

@amgauctions29musicgearandm31 5 ай бұрын

Wow !!! Technically excellent guitarist, dynamically adept.

@CaptJackAubreyOfTheRoyalNavy 3 жыл бұрын

Really nice video. I'm gonna try this when I get better at guitar (just starting; played piano for years though). I already have one SM57, so half way there on the gear! Cheap and great results!

@wasabifox 5 жыл бұрын

The ‘CSL’ micing for acoustic guitars... this will my recording method for acoustic guitars from now on. Thank you VERY much!

@catface101 5 жыл бұрын

Would love to hear how this compares to using LDCs or pencil condensers in the same configuration.

@tommyflowers7098 Жыл бұрын

Clearly presented and a great technique. You have an approachable personality for these demonstrations and explainations. Well done!

@AdamRainStopper 5 жыл бұрын

A new video? A new video! This is exactly what I need right now.

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks man, glad to hear that.

@merenco 5 жыл бұрын

This is definately worth a shot. Been experimenting with shoulder mics the last few days. Now I will try it with the 57's as well as with a few cheapo condenser pencils. Thanks!

@joshjenkinson1929 Жыл бұрын

Amazing mics. Sound great on loads of things without any EQ or messing about as long as you place them correctly.

@Petterballs 5 жыл бұрын

This might work on a Classical/Spanish guitar. I record a lot of classical music in my school and some rooms are really shitty. This might give that big guitar sound without a lot of room sound. After that, slap a nice reverb and you're good to go. Nice vid as always!

@rothconrad5428 4 жыл бұрын

I think this is really. Just got my first to sm57s and I can't wait to try it!

@CamiloVelandia 4 жыл бұрын

Wow really digging that top mic position!

@J-DUB-F1 5 жыл бұрын

Sounds really nice!. Very natural with no hype in the low or highs. A couple questions. 1- is your recording space really dry? 2-What pre were you using, and did you have to really gain it up? Having a dynamic that far away I've never been able to capture an acoustic, not without cranking the pre up and if there's a comp making up gain there. This of course will raise the noise floor, and if you don't have aq reasonably sound proofed room, it's a big problem.

@loudtim265 5 жыл бұрын

This is a solid question. I think a lot of newer ppl have trouble getting this kind of clarity in general without a good bit of hiss. Get rid of the noise and the source starts to sound a little distant or even grainy (?). The room is certainly a big factor here along with proper gain staging, but it might be worth a walk-thru vid of micing and recording an acoustic instrument from step 0 to hitting the rec button.

@chadnathanbenson 5 жыл бұрын

John Wells +1 to John’s question!! I deal with a similar issue regarding noise floor and micing from those distances.

@benoittissier58 3 жыл бұрын

Get a Fethead or equivalent and you'll be surprised how much a 57 can achieve ! It is powered by phantom power and brings 27 dB of clean gain.

@GarrettGardnermusic 5 жыл бұрын

The over the shoulder mic surprised me but makes sense. That’s the perspective I hear my acoustic when I’m playing, so it’s a familiar sound. Nice!

@garyshirinian 5 жыл бұрын

It really sounds good . Thx for sharing this technique on KZfaq.

@jamaisdirei 9 ай бұрын

Nebraska, de Bruce Springsteen foi todo gravado com 2 SM57 e uma Tascam Portastudio

@martinbergmartinberg 5 жыл бұрын

Great method. Really helps with a natural recording. Used two small condensers and it worked really nice. I found it gave a lot of room to move for the player without affecting the sound badly.

@Not-Only-Reaper-Tutorials 5 жыл бұрын

you applied the “recordman” to a guitar☺️

@revoxjazz8317 5 жыл бұрын

I like things explained in this way. I like the Shure SM57 and I like the sound of a perfectly audible acoustic guitar. I do not know in what other circumstances this setup would work well but from what I realized, this is a very reasonable way to get a decent sound from an acoustic guitar, so I just have to thank you for this suggestion.

@fishbake7 5 жыл бұрын

What is a huge factor is, how does it sound in a mix?

@yackohoopy 5 жыл бұрын

I did something similar to that years ago. I had an SM57 tilted up near the soundhole and a large diaphragm condenser about 4-5 feet away to capture the room. Together they sounded amazing. I kept both tracks. Downside was that the earphones bled like crazy and you could hear the click track.

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Ah, yeah that's a good point about the headphone bleed.

@davidmccune2632 2 жыл бұрын

Thank goodness.. I thought I was the only one with headphone bleed issues.. when I mention it at music stores and try to inquire about headphones that don't bleed out, they look at me like I'm crazy. I did my own research and Shure SRH1540 headphones come up.. They claim no bleed at all. Does anybody out there know this to be true?

@yackohoopy 2 жыл бұрын

@@davidmccune2632, I changed my headphones to the Vic Firth headphones and nothing gets through those.

@davidmccune2632 2 жыл бұрын

@@yackohoopy which model may I ask ?

@yackohoopy 2 жыл бұрын

@@davidmccune2632, the Vic Firth SIH2. They have a Bluetooth version of it too. They’re only about $90

@Bills_Place 5 жыл бұрын

Surprisingly good, I'm going to try this. I might try the same placement with Rode NT-5s (since that's the only other mic I happen to have 2 of in my "studio")

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Yeah, go for it. For the NT5, I would gently reduce the highs just so that the lows and mids are stronger. That's actually the mic I talk into.

@kimhansen6384 5 жыл бұрын

Very interesting experiment. I wouldn´t have thought that, but I actually liked the agressive compressed version quite much.

@dinoschachten 3 жыл бұрын

1:31 I see what you did there. :D Amazing, I never thought SM57s would sound this pleasing on detail-rich, organic instruments - well, let's be honest, individually they don't. All the more remarkable that they can be made to in this configuration.

@westchester1R 5 жыл бұрын

How do you record a song about an 8-ball? ...with a-cue-stick guitar. Ahhh...4:42

@RedHeadGuitar 5 жыл бұрын

Sounds amazing. The over the-the-shoulder mic sounds a lot like what you hear as a player, that's really neat combined with the traditional mic up front. I've got one SM57 and a AKG P420 (2nd gen, not one of the horrible blue ones). I wonder how this works together. I'm thinking of putting the P420 condenser over the shoulder for some crisp high end and the SM57 up front for it delivers some smooth mid range.

@catsven1973 5 жыл бұрын

I use three cheap great mics no place for excuses... 1- AkG P170 above the guitar as OH 2- SM 57... 45° near the neck 3- Audio technica AT2020 3 feet in front of the hole of the guitar Than i pan the 2 condenser.. L&R while I keep the Sm57 in the center and i blend with faders and EQ the part which need to forge the needed sound.

@esongsore 5 жыл бұрын

That sounds like quite a bit of work.. I will experiment with your technique though.

@kapitbanda Жыл бұрын

this is a very good demonstration, thank you !

@JesseWitneyMusic 3 жыл бұрын

I'm looking forward to giving this a go. Thanks very much!

@mikeberk3214 5 жыл бұрын

Cool! I tried this before I ever saw this video but I placed 1 mic about 12 inches in front of the sound hole (for bass) and 1 mic the same distance in front of the 12th fret (for treble). also came out great!

@SuperCullen69 5 жыл бұрын

The player looks at the camera as soon as the mics are together like “yeah listen to that shit” lol

@tedroberts4540 3 жыл бұрын

Great job on the technique and the video presentation

@TruffulaTreeGTR 2 жыл бұрын

Good work!! Definitely going to test this.

@sfn4702 5 жыл бұрын

Your videos are so good, I always learn something! Thanks man.

@aSpeaker2BlocksAway 5 жыл бұрын

Saved my life. Thank you. Worked so great yesterday.

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Nice! Great to hear!

@skipper6528 5 жыл бұрын

Love this channel

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@daleonov 3 жыл бұрын

Cool! Really liked it both in mono and in stereo

@TheSimonarne 5 жыл бұрын

i did a technique you showed but i addded a room mic and i kept the di aswell so. so what i did was i put one mic to the body from the left side when looking at the guitarist and from the 12 fret towards the sound hole and i panned those hard left right and i put the di in until i liked the ratio and did the same with the room mic. i placed the room mic at about the same height as the head of the player behind him and i was pleased with that sound

@adozensparrows 5 жыл бұрын

That's the next method I'll be trying. Very nice stereo.

@willsmithers3172 3 жыл бұрын

Best channel

@violaobrasileiro 3 жыл бұрын

Great technique and amazing video. Cheers!

@mattuskamusic 6 ай бұрын

Listening to you switching them between the two it might be effective to use one mic position for the verse and the other from the chorus. Or even change the pan between the two.

@peterjackson9529 Жыл бұрын

Great video!

@JBrm 2 жыл бұрын

"Cheap" is relative if you factor in a couple thousand bucks of room acoustics ;) Anyways, love the sound, thanks for the video!

@johnstitt2615 5 жыл бұрын

Think I will try this

@reneliebregt6319 5 жыл бұрын

Nice video and yes sm57 are cheap mics but it is nice to have a tegeler audio preamp that cost around ten times more than 2 sm57 🤓

@ytb917 5 жыл бұрын

interesting mic placement with a nice result. instead of both mics in front, you went with an overhead! very innovative, because an acoustic guitar is not thought of typically as an overhead mic concept.

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Yeah it’s not my idea but I’ve just figured out that a sm57 can work well with this.

@Passenger-hn5fb 3 жыл бұрын

Cool technique! There's some other helpful gems in here too:) cheers!

@steveapplegate322 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for that demonstration but if I put my 57s that far away they would not pick up. I’m not sure why but I have to raise my record level to the highest point to get sound. I’ve even tried a different interface with same result. Do I need some sort of a preamp? Thanks again, Steve

@reinaldolopezh 5 жыл бұрын

Man! Great tip for recording acoustic guitar... Thanks for sharing

@djentlover 5 жыл бұрын

10:45 oh I see what you did there

@terrydoylemusic 5 жыл бұрын

Great video. I have been doing this with two Cascade ribbons and I call it Glyn Johns guitar :-)

@truckerkevthepaidtourist 5 жыл бұрын

find out who the hell knows who Glynn or his late brother Andy even our will be amazing lol

@thomas.cloutier-guay 5 жыл бұрын

i would try a ribbon for the top mic, i usualy mic violin with a nice condenser on front and a ribbon on equal distance on top.

@martint444 5 жыл бұрын

Should not it be the other way round by an acoustic guitar then? It plays or is oriented to the front where the violin upwards.

@alanshewitt 4 жыл бұрын

Except most of the high-end detail information is coming from the top mic, which would be pretty much negated with the use of a ribbon, no?

@ezrashanti 3 жыл бұрын

@@alanshewitt Ribbons are not always as rolled off as people seem to think. An r44 yes, but there are a lot of beautiful open sounding ribbons.

@joelolofsson3604 5 жыл бұрын

really cool! gonna try this sometime

@jackbrown3270 3 жыл бұрын

holy fuck i had my mic about 5 inches away from the guitar. lol oooops and i never thought to put a mic up high above the guitar like that. THANKS FOR THE HELP!

@lamusicamerodea 5 жыл бұрын

Great data as allways. Thanks man!

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@zacgrubble9824 5 жыл бұрын

Well done and thanks for sharing!

@paulstefanowicz4236 5 жыл бұрын

Great tip; great technique. Thank you

@wilo1463 2 жыл бұрын

VERY VERY GOOD

@kepriworks Жыл бұрын

Pretty Cool

@patrickfouhy9102 5 жыл бұрын

only person I've ever hear saying that putting a mic on the sound hole is good. I guess at that distance, the low end has time to spread out a bit. Cool trick, I think I'll give it a shot!

@peddlebreaker 3 жыл бұрын

Amazing technique and video Ryan, thank you! How did you get 2 57's to sound that good without any noise? What pre's were you using?

@kniferideaudio Жыл бұрын

we have always referred to this placement as "Top/Side". Not to different than how an overhead placement on a Glenn Johns drum placement works. It's great with violin from about 3' high/away

@AnshYadav-ki9ph Ай бұрын

Really nice video.. Which audio interface should I buy, and does it will affect the tone or audio quality of the Mics ? Should I go for Audient id4 or Volt 276 ? Thanks for the informative video it really helps.

@sebastiancuthbertmusic 5 жыл бұрын

Great idea!

@saam6768 5 жыл бұрын

This was one of the best videos you've done in a while. Not that there are any bad ones, but this was just awesome. Do you happen to recall what pre-amps were used with the respective microphones?

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Yeah WA-412 at 600 ohmns.

@arifreeman 5 жыл бұрын

I like the over shoulder mic more.

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Yeah me too. Should have did some thing different with the front mic.

@kyleexten9998 5 жыл бұрын

@@creativesoundlab The front mic is definitely "duller", but it needs to be. I personally think the mixture between the two sounds fantastic, a very realistic sound! Almost like I've got the guitar in my lap

@RoyBattyLives 3 ай бұрын

Won’t you need a couple of cloud lifters for that distance from the guitar, especially when finger picking?

@maldonadocorrea 2 жыл бұрын

excelente, como siempre se aprende mucho

@Rondozza 5 жыл бұрын

funny...your dreadlocks geting longer and longer over the years :) reminds me of my dreads. i had mine for 17 years. great video as ever by the way. thank you. greetings from germany

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Ron! Yeah, I'm at 7 years I think. Jan 20, 2012.

@truckerkevthepaidtourist 5 жыл бұрын

@@creativesoundlab probably make it Adam duritz jealous 🤣😂

@robertoj.fernandez2189 5 жыл бұрын

I had used this techinc recording Mariachi Nylon string guitar to mono tracks and doubled it.

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Wow that sounds like it would be great.

@joshuagutierrez8407 2 жыл бұрын

Great video! Wow, you made this sound like a million bucks! At the beginning you said you had been double-mic’ing for other things. Now I’m curious what “Top-End” mics sound like using this technique.

@johnnyguitwithit2614 3 жыл бұрын

Well done sir

@justiceforall6412 3 жыл бұрын

Really nice tutorial, thx.

@yfz450rider39 5 жыл бұрын

A cue stick. Haha that got me good.

@matthewholme297 Жыл бұрын

Can I ask the sm57 is just laying on edge of desk and it picks up that sound I want to record my acoustic so hence why I'm asking

@Elixirmusiques 4 жыл бұрын

Amazing stuff! Thanks a bunch

@ChristianIce 5 жыл бұрын

There was a huge ring around 600 Hz on the front mic alone. Did you notch it out or it disappeared by phase cancellation?

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Um, yeah I noticed that too. I think there was a boost that came naturally at 680. I meant to talk about this, but forgot. I don't think I did any EQ in that frequency range.

@MeTuLHeD 5 жыл бұрын

Comb filtering...?

@goldensleeves 5 жыл бұрын

What would you call this stereo micing technique? Also, how far are the mics from the guitar? Also, why does the mic from above sound so good? I would expect that it would not have much detail but it sound clearer than the mic actually facing the guitar. Thanks in advance. Great video. Subscribed.

@noseconeprophets 2 жыл бұрын

Ive found using a track with "Nashville Tuning" is a cheap way to add some brightness to the track.

@pfkmsandiego 3 жыл бұрын

i have the mic close to the acoustic and the knob for the channel input CRANKED and i can barely get my clarett 8pre to register the sound... wtf am i missing? u have the mics really far away compared to how i see most acoustic guitar recorded. seems really cool but i can't get my sm57 to register much sound... help?

@luisadolforoblestorres1552 9 ай бұрын

Great!

@africanviolet4773 5 жыл бұрын

Hey! Thank you for all the effort you put into your videos. It really helps to those of us that try to learn intricate details online, and you make it so easy for us :) Quick question; I’ve seen you use Warm Audio outboard gear in your previous videos. What is your general opinion on WA compressors and preamps and how do WA-76 and WA-2A compare to the Klark Teknik (?) 1176 and LA-2A clones? Will you recommend other inexpensive stuff like Golden Age Project etc?

@viveka2211 5 жыл бұрын

Great suggestions.... Keep it up

@creativesoundlab 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@HorrorCue 5 жыл бұрын

Man my SM57 has to be inches from the guitar and cranked up all the way on my Focusrite Clarett interface. I don’t know if it’s my mic or the interface preamps

@waldemarpierzchalski 5 жыл бұрын

Did you inspect it inside? Once bought sm57 which inside turned out to be karaoke mic.

@taha_mirza 4 жыл бұрын

Check impedance

@benoittissier58 3 жыл бұрын

Try a Fethead.