One of the most persistent challenges in my journey as an “advanced beginner” has been the technical side of home recording. Specifically: How do you record a vocal and an acoustic guitar at the same time without one overpowering the other?
Note: This blog post is specifically for my Blue Yeti and Ibanez V70CE. But I think the logic would apply to any single microphone that you use for recording your singing and acoustic guitar playing at the same time.
Usually, my Ibanez V70CE is the star of the show—whether I want it to be or not. It often drowns out the vocals, leaving the recording feeling unbalanced. After a series of tests in my basement studio with the Blue Yeti, I’ve finally found a “sweet spot” that works.
The Breakthrough: Optimized Blue Yeti Settings
If you are struggling with a “muddy” mix where the guitar is too loud, try these two adjustments:
- The Pattern (Bi-Directional): Most people default to Cardioid, but I found that the Bi-directional setting provides much better separation. It captures the “front” (my voice) and the “back” (the guitar) while rejecting the noise from the sides.
- The Gain (The 10 O’Clock Rule): I discovered that keeping the physical gain knob on the back of the Yeti at the 10 o’clock position (roughly 30%) kept the vocals crisp and clear without clipping, even when the guitar got loud.
I recorded a series of tests moving through different gain levels—from 9 o’clock all the way to “maxed out”—so you can hear exactly how the sound balance shifts between singing and acoustic guitar. As you increase gain, voice begins to lose out to the acoustic guitar sounds.
Gear & Placement Used:
- Mic: Blue Yeti USB
- Guitar: Ibanez V70CE
- Position: Mic is 18 inches from my mouth and 2 feet from the guitar’s sound hole.
This was a great reminder to keep that Shoshin spirit—always be willing to twist the knobs and try something counter-intuitive to get a better result.
Blue Yeti “Magic Sauce” for Recording Singing with Acoustic Guitar
Don’t forget, my Blue Yeti “magic sauce” for recording singing plus acoustic guitar were these three variables.
- Bi-directional mode. This was a surprising winner. It was slightly, but significantly better than the Cardioid mode.
- Microphone Placement. I spent some time on this problem. Currently I do not have a mini-book or larger microphone boom. So I was adaptive and just placed the microphone on an amp. The Blue Yeti was 18 inches from my mouth and 2 feet or greater from the acoustic guitar soundhole.
- Gain. In my repeated testing, in my research, I came to learn the importance of Gain adjustments. I found that for the Blue Yeti, under these circumstances, Gain at 10 o’clock was the best gain setting.
Share Your Single Microphone Advice in the Comments
What are your “go-to” settings for a single-mic setup? Do you use a Blue Yeti? Or do you use another single microphone for singing and acoustic guitar? Let me know in the comments!
Thank you.