I’m trying to get more volume from my acoustic guitar into Cubase. I have various pedals that don’t do what I require. What do you use to amplify your acoustic signal between the microphone and the audio interface? I’m using an AT 2031 Mike
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The pre-amp on the interface is what you commonly use. Putting pedals in the recording chain of a microphone seems really weird to me (unless it’s for novelty effect).
What @Sibben said.
What’s your audio interface? How low is the recorded signal?
If you use the acoustic guitar built in mic, then plug the cable into the soundcard, make sure it is set to the right input level, instrument, check the settings. Then it’s a matter of setting the input level accordingly, monitor the level in Cubase, leaving a little headroom so it does not peak.
After recording you can EQ out the low-end, compress, add a little saturation or even an amp sim like BIAS FX2 which has nice acoustic presets, add reverb or some Supermassive, etc…
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thanks all. “Putting pedals in the recording chain of a microphone seems really weird to me” What’s the difference recording an amplified guitar?
I’ve been using the Tascam US-4x4 HR and have to put the input volume well up. I just want to try get a better sound.
Well, an amped guitar is precisely set to distort/alter the sound a way or another. It’s usually not the effect wanted when recording an acoustic one and I wouldn’t use the same mic, whether in front of it or in front of an amp speaker.
I also have condenser mic in the same price range (an AKG P120) and I never have to boost its input gain to record an acoustic guitar at a decent/usable level. This said, I almost always put the mic rather close to the guitar to limit the effect of a horribly resonating room, but it’s another issue. If using a dynamic mic, things become different.
Could you define what you are actually expecting as a ‘better sound’ ?
Maybe you are referring to the sound of the recording which heavily relies on mic positioning.
If I had your mic I would preferably position it at the lower left quarter of your corpus facing the neck. Maybe at a distance of 10 cm away from the corpus.
Just asking, don’t take it the wrong way: phantom power is turned on, right?
Hi Reco29 yes phantom power on. It may be my instrument. Am using a Tanglewood 12-string. The sound I hear from it is fine but as soon as I record it seems raspy, not distorted but quite rough. I’ve tried various positions some better than others. I thought boosting the input signal might make for better results. Can you attach wav files or MP3 to this forum?
Hi cubic13 “Could you define what you are actually expecting as a ‘better sound’ ?” Just want a nice clean acoustic sound.
Yes, an example of your recording would be most helpful. Sounds like your issue has indeed something to do with mic positioning and dialing in the right amount of gain (no other hardware needed). Afterwards you want to do some basic things in Cubase to get where you want. However, a decent signal is the first step.
If it is not possible to load up an mp3/wav you can do it via Dropbox & Co or put it on YouTube, Soundcloud etc and link it here.
A couple of things to keep in mind, which might help set your expectations and deal with the frustration.
A) Getting a great acoustic guitar sound can be very tricky. It’s not the easiest instrument to record and is by many regarded as a bit of a dark art.
B) Twelve strings are trickier still. So tricky in fact that many commercial recordings you think are twelve strings are actually two differently tuned six strings on top of each other.
A couple of things that might help.
Get it right when playing. We might get away with sloppy playing electrics but acoustics have a tendency to call us out really hard. Play as tight as you can and really mind the dynamics. Acoustics are also really hard to edit with things like quantize or pitch editing. They start sounding phasey and fake really quick so make sure you need to edit as little as possible.
Use a reference recording of an acoustic you like on a track and try to match it. It’s super easy getting lost sonically when recording acoustics.
Play around with mic positions and distance. Your room, your mic and your guitar all affect the result. It’s tricky because it’s always going to sound much better when you record than when you listen back. Sometimes using very isolating headphones help so you’re not so fooled by the sound in the room.
If it’s a guitar in a busy mix the volume should almost always be much lower than you think. If it’s the main instrument it should almost always be more natural and unprocessed than you think. EQ is important but it can also totally kill an acoustic guitar tone. So many times I thought it sounds great when I work on it, but then when listening with fresh ears it sounds super anemic.
Good luck and don’t give up. This is one you might have to spend some time with.
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Excellent post Sibben and thank you that’s all great advice. This is just a clip of me faffing with something I’m developing but might give an idea of the sound. I think the guitar itself may be part of the problem but it sounds ok when i’m playing it but raspy when playing chords in recording. A lot of the things you mention might be the problem. Mike
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One problem is that when you are in position to play the guitar you’re not where the mic is listening from. So it’s hard to fine tune the position- and small changes can make a big difference.
Get a friend to play the guitar while you move the mic around. They don’t even need to really play it, just banging about in the same register & intensity you intend to use will work. Meanwhile you wear some closed back headphones so you only hear what the mic hears and reposition the mic until you find something suitable.
EDIT
Actually if you record the whole thing you can literally name each location and then listen back to compare positions.
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Looking at the spec sheet of the AT2031, I see that there is a rather large high-frequency bump. That would certainly make it sound a bit harsh, especially on a 12 string that produces more high end than a regular acoustic.
The best option would be to try a different mic. One with a flatter response would be better.
You can also try different mic positions. Maybe even point the mic a bit off axis as that may attenuate the high end a bit.
Lastly you might consider different strings. Something with a mellower tone might help.
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Another thing: the choice of plectrum has a huge impact. Unless you want to have this scratchy sound that comes with it try one that is a bit thicker and less sharp. Sounds different and you will play differently.
Oh, and of course - so much cool stuff you can do with it once it is recorded. But first things first.
To come back to your initial post: Why do you want to increase your volume? Sounds fine to me. I think mic position and the room you are in are two major factors along the others that have been mentioned already. Have you tried tracking in a different room? There is a lot going on in your recording. And a 12 string does not make it easier.
It is a journey so have fun and be bold trying out all sorts of things. It is easier to get there if someone assists you as @raino pointed out as there are so many options and a couple of centimetres make all the difference (hold your horses… 
).
Also remember that if you change from picking to playing chords, usually the volume will change, which could possibly get the signal to clip. Always keep an eye on the input level in Cubase.
The little clip sounded fine in terms of volume. The mic position and playing style may all need minor adjustments to improve the sound. As well as a touch of EQ, compression, reverb.
I gave your recording a listen and to me it sounds like you can make some improvements by experimenting with mic positioning.
A common starting point is place the mic on axis, pointing roughly at the 12th fret about 6” away. In your case however I would try capturing a bit more body of the guitar. You can try pointing the mic to the other side of the sound hole towards the bridge for example. If that sounds too dark, angle it towards the sound hole.
Choice of pick also makes a great difference, as mentioned above, but what makes an even greater difference, is the guitar itself. A lesser instrument will never sound like a million bucks.
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Of the what?
Well, not “clip,” right? The internal project resolution in Cubase is 32 bit, so I don’t think actual clipping would occur unless/until he bounces the track to something 16bit (maybe 24, but probably not) right? Depending on the output hardware he may get “distortion,” but probably not “clipping” unless the input hardware only supported 16bit.