Best plugins and plugin order to record electro acoustic guitar

Getting Stuff Done How do I .... ?
#1

Hello,
I am still a beginner with Ardour. I am trying to improve the recorded sound of my guitar EC Taylor 114ce (internal microphone). I added an EQ and then a compressor in the mixer of the track. Now I see that the compressor is higher in the list, does it mean that it comes first? How to change the order so that the EQ comes first?
(Am I doing it wrong: is there some kind pre-configured magic plugin for that kind of recording?)

Thanks

#2

Drag and drop the plugins in the list to change their order.

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#3

Hello!
To change the order you drag and drop (up or down) the plugin in the rack.
Yes, there are specialized plugins for the task on the market. I remember Acoustic Voice Guitar Preamp – Nembrini Audio and SSL Guitarstrip. They have some interesting presets.
But I think you can make it with regular stock plugins. Adjust the EQ and Compression to your taste. Add some chorus and delay and you’ll be fine (as long as you have a good performance capture).

#4

Also consider recording it using a “real” microphone rather than the internal one.

#5

Thanks for your answer!
Do you think that a more senseful way to do it would be to buy a microphone ‘condenser’ and not use the piezo that comes with the guitar?

OK I just saw slash answer. Thanks.

I also hear that some saturation could help but I could not see a saturation plugin in Ardour. I search with ‘saturation’ keyword

#6

Or use both. In separate channels. Then use the knobs until you get a good balance. Maybe you’ll have to put some artificial latency in one of the channels to resolve phase issues. But it is worth it.
But definitively using a condenser microphone is a very good choice.

#7

This saturation plugin is a very good one and it is free. Saturation Knob | Softube

#8

Acoustic guitar pickups and internal mics are mainly for amplification in live performance situations. If you are looking for a pure Acoustic tone and capturing the true essence of what the guitar sounds like then you definitely want a decent quality condenser microphone. Now on the other hand if you want some kind of Indie lofi or hybrid Acoustic/Electric sound then you can mix and match between mic’d and pickup sounds.

For pure Acoustic tone a good mic positioned well will eliminate the need for too many Plugins.

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#9

But then also consider the room you are recording in. If the room doesn’t sound great, try putting up absorbers in-front and around you (e.g., if you go for a DIY approach, duvets on clothing racks), use a close microphone position and add the ambience and room reverb via plugins, e.g. the LSP Impulse Reverb with a nice IR file, or Elephant Room Reverb.

#10

Thanks to all of you for the great answers. For now, I am just prototyping some ideas and/or having some basis for improvisation. So, I resolved to use EQ, compressor, and reverb plugins, which for now are good enough. In the future, I will try to get a condenser microphone.
The fact is that I am not very good with equipment, which tends to act as a barrier for me to start creating, so I try to keep it to a minimum.