How to Mic and Record a Ukulele

The ukuelele is one of the happiest possible instruments, and it's pleasant to record, as well, if you can avoid a few key issues with the Hawaiin instrument.

Here's a guide to miking and mixing the ukulele for an authentic, fully realized sound.

1. Mic selection - In my opinion, you don't need extremely expensive or specific microphones to record the ukulele. It's such a small instrument with such a thin range of frequencies that a single dynamic mic like the Shure SM57 will do, or you could use a nice large diaphragm condenser microphone, especially one intended for vocals. Make sure to use a directional microphone, though, since you're going to want to avoid bleed as much as possible, a real problem with some ukulele recordings.

2. Miking technique - To mic the ukulele, position your microphone 6-12 inches away point at the sound hole or slightly above it. You'll need to adjust the distance to find the right placement for the player and the instrument you're recording, as different styles of playing will yield different results. Be aware of proximity effect--the closer that you get your microphone to a sound source, the more the low frequencies are represented unequally high in comparison to other frequencies. If you're recording the ukulele with other instruments, it's best to have the ukulele facing away from said instruments and ideally isolated in some way, as bleed from other instruments can render a signal unusable.

3. Mixing - The ukulele is a fragile-sounding instrument, so you may want to dip the lows and add a slight boost to the extreme highs of the uke in the EQ. Add a touch of reverb, and some medium-level compression focusing on the mid hi frequencies, if possible. Make sure to EQ other instruments to make a place in the song for the ukulele, or it will end up getting lost in the mix. I usually pan the ukulele to the left, only leaving it in the center of the stereo spectrum if it's particularly essential or featured .in a certain song.

Finally, remember that if it sounds good, you can ignore any of the advice above. The purpose is to get a sound out of the ukulele that you and the ukulele player is happy with, so experiment, have fun, and good luck!

Do you have any tips or questions on how to mic and record a ukulele? Post in our comments section below.