Acoustic guitar is all about the mic and where you point it. Get placement and room right and the tone takes care of itself.
Acoustic guitar is one of the most satisfying and one of the trickiest instruments to record well at home, because its rich, detailed sound depends heavily on the microphone, exactly where you place it, and how your room behaves. Unlike an electric guitar you cannot reshape the tone much after recording, so getting it right at the source is everything. The good news is that a single well-chosen, well-placed microphone in a reasonably controlled room can capture a beautiful, natural acoustic tone with modest gear. This guide covers choosing a mic, the all-important question of placement, taming the room, and setting clean levels for a recording that sounds as good as the guitar itself.
Acoustic guitar rewards a microphone that captures detail. A large-diaphragm condenser is a versatile, popular choice that gives a full, present sound, while a small-diaphragm condenser (often called a pencil mic) tends to capture the string detail and transients of an acoustic especially accurately. Either can produce excellent results; condensers in general suit the instrument because they capture the high-frequency sparkle.
Condenser mics need phantom power (the +48V button on your interface), so switch it on. A dynamic mic can work in a noisy or untreated room because it picks up less of the surroundings, though it captures less detail. For most home setups, one good condenser mic, used carefully, is the sensible starting point for recording acoustic guitar.
Where you point the microphone matters more than almost anything else, because different parts of the guitar produce very different sounds. A common, reliable starting position is aiming the mic at roughly the twelfth fret (where the neck meets the body), a short distance away — this gives a balanced, natural tone with clarity and body.
Avoid pointing the mic straight into the soundhole: it sounds boomy and bass-heavy because the soundhole pumps out low frequencies. Aiming toward the bridge gives a fuller, warmer sound, while moving toward the neck gives more string detail and brightness. Move the mic in small steps and listen back — a few centimetres dramatically changes the tone. Experiment until you find the balance you like before committing to a take.
Because a condenser mic captures plenty of room sound, the space matters a lot for acoustic guitar. A hard, echoey room makes recordings sound distant and washy. You do not need a soundproof booth — you need to reduce reflections near the mic and guitar so you capture mostly the direct, intimate sound of the instrument.
Record in a room with soft furnishings — carpet, curtains, a sofa — which absorb reflections naturally, or add some absorption around the recording position. Move away from bare parallel walls. Also kill background noise: turn off fans, fridges and anything that hums, since a sensitive mic close to a quiet instrument will pick all of it up. A controlled, quiet room is half the battle for a clean acoustic recording.
Set your input gain so the loudest strums peak comfortably below the maximum, leaving headroom — acoustic guitar has a wide dynamic range, and clipping on a loud strum ruins an otherwise good take. Monitor on closed-back headphones so you can hear the captured sound and any backing track without bleed.
Performance details show up clearly on a close-miked acoustic: fresh strings sound noticeably brighter and more alive, fret and finger noise is audible, and clean, even playing makes a huge difference. Tune carefully, consider new strings for an important recording, and play to a click for tight timing. Record several takes, and if you want a wider, fuller sound later you can explore recording with two microphones, but one well-placed mic is the place to start.
Pick a condenser mic for detail — a large-diaphragm for a full sound or a small-diaphragm pencil mic for accurate string detail. Switch on phantom power (+48V) on your interface, which condensers need.
Aim the mic at roughly the twelfth fret, a short distance from the guitar, as a balanced starting point. Avoid pointing straight at the soundhole, which sounds boomy and bass-heavy.
Move the mic in small steps — toward the bridge for warmth, toward the neck for brightness — and listen back. A few centimetres changes the tone a lot, so experiment until you like the balance.
Record in a soft-furnished space or add absorption near the mic to reduce reflections, and move away from bare parallel walls so you capture the direct sound of the guitar, not the room.
Turn off fans, fridges and anything humming, since a sensitive condenser close to a quiet guitar picks up all of it. Record when the space is as quiet as possible.
Set input gain so the loudest strums peak below the maximum with headroom, since acoustic guitar has a wide dynamic range and a clipped strum ruins the take. Monitor on closed-back headphones.
Tune carefully, consider fresh strings for an important recording, play to a click for timing, and record several takes. One well-placed mic is the place to start before trying two-mic setups.
A condenser microphone, because it captures the detail and high-frequency sparkle that make an acoustic sound alive. A large-diaphragm condenser gives a full, present tone, while a small-diaphragm pencil mic captures string detail and transients especially accurately. Condensers need phantom power. A dynamic mic can work in noisy rooms but captures less detail. One good condenser is the sensible home starting point.
A reliable starting point is aiming at roughly the twelfth fret, where the neck meets the body, a short distance away, which gives a balanced natural tone. Avoid pointing straight at the soundhole — it sounds boomy and bass-heavy. Move toward the bridge for a warmer, fuller sound or toward the neck for brightness, adjusting in small steps and listening back.
Most likely the mic is pointed too close to or directly at the soundhole, which pumps out low frequencies and makes the recording bass-heavy. Move the mic to aim more toward the twelfth fret or the bridge area instead. Excess room reflections can also muddy the sound, so recording in a softer-furnished space helps. Small changes in mic position make a big difference.
Far less than with electric guitar, which is why getting it right at the source matters so much. Acoustic guitar is recorded as a finished acoustic sound, so the microphone choice, placement and room largely determine the tone you are stuck with. You can EQ and process gently afterwards, but you cannot fix a poorly placed mic or a bad room in the mix — capture it well first.
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