Advice on the actual tracking of acoustic guitars

[Rizzo]

Hey everyone.
So, this question is stupid but I'd like to hear your approach. How do you go about tracking strummed acoustics, and specifically doubling them?

I'm at my 2nd ever home studio production and I'm just getting my feet wet with some ballad covers (also easier to mix and master) but I'm never satisfied with tracking acoustics. I always miss attacks by some ms or slow the strumming pattern just a little bit and then always get phasing effects, even if I reverse phase. I mean, I can't get good double trackings.

How do you go about it?
Do you always track on the original (assuming a cover) or do you track just on your previous take?
Metronome in 8ths more than straight 4ths, maybe?
Or do I just need more practice?

Dunno, just brainstorming.

 

[shnizzle]

i think it´s a practice thing. the performance needs to be as tight as possible. editing doesn´t work well on acoustic guitar, and it´s lazy! XP
when you lay both tracks on top of each other center position, then i think you can´t avoid that phasing sound. you basically have two very clean and very similar signals. but the slight unavoidable differences is what makes that phase, and even the bestest of performance won´t really help that. so either pan them or go with it. in my mind it would be a pleasent sounding effect, like a chorus. but that´s up to taste.

 

[TedEH]

I can't get good double trackings.

Do you mean you're layering takes on top of each other with the same panning, etc?

Acoustic is not the same as electric rhythms, in the sense that you don't need to thicken/double everything. You CAN do separate wide panned takes if you want. Or you can do a single take with multiple mics to get your stereo separation. Or you can leave it mono if you're getting that stereo separation from other instruments.

What I've been doing lately is sitting down at a computer chair and putting two mics close to the floor, angling them up at a 45-degree-ish angle upwards. One points to the body, a little past the bridge, and the other points at the neck, a little past the 12th.

 

[Rizzo]

Hey Johnny,wasn't expecting a reply from you haha. Love your work, your YT channel is a constant goldmine for us home recorders.

Yup I don't care much for the recording procedure, I have plenty on material on that. I liked to discuss mere tracking.
Last tracking I did was 4 guitars, two hard panned and two 75% panned. The result was kind of a mess...so I guess I just need more practice to be tight
Just two takes hard panned was better, but still just a little offset in the strum gives that warbly chorusing effect.

 

[KingAenarion]

Yea, after many years of experience I've found that unlike Electric guitar, the gains you get from Double tracking Acoustic guitar are negligible.

Good microphone choice and technique are far more useful without any hassles.

The biggest variable is the position of the player to the microphones, unlike electric where the cab doesn't move and the guitar itself uses a cable. So you're always likely to find phase variance unless you put the instrument on some sort of stand.