Remove all jewellery, zip-up clothes and hard-soled shoes. Due to the sensitivity of the microphone, any jangling or rattling from your bracelets, chains and rings can ruin an otherwise perfect take. A well-positioned condenser microphone will have no trouble capturing the sound of your zipper scraping down the back of the guitar as you move. If you're a foot-tapper, take your shoes off and put a thick rug under your stool if necessary.
Adjust the microphone stand so that the collar sits approximately 15 inches from the guitar). Positioned any closer and the sensitive condenser will be overloaded.
Slot the condenser microphone into the collar of the microphone stand and adjust the collar so that the top of the microphone points toward the joint between the neck of the guitar and the body. Pointing the microphone directly at the guitar's sound hole will result in "booming" sound. Temper this and capture some of the wood's resonance by aiming for the neck joint.
Connect the female end of an XLR cable to the bottom of the condenser microphone. Connect the other end of the XLR cable to the XLR input on your mixing desk.
Open your preferred audio production program, such as Logic or Pro Tools. Double-click the desktop icon.
Click "File" and select "New Session" if starting from scratch, or "Open Recent" if recording onto an existing track. Select the track from the drop-down menu, if applicable.
Click "File" again and select "New Audio Track." This opens a new channel and designates the mixer as the input device, as distinct from any MIDI controllers that may also be connected.
Turn down the speakers and audition the guitar. Play at the loudest volume you intend to record at and monitor the gain meter on your mixer. If it is flashing red, or "peaking," turn the "Gain" dial down. Continue adjusting the gain until you reach the loudest possible volume level before peaking. It's important to audition without the speakers turned up, to avoid feedback. But you can use the speakers to check out how the guitar is sounding, before turning them down for recording.
Connect a pair of headphones to the relevant jack on the mixer. The name of the jack varies according to which mixer you are using, but it is typically either "Output" or "Headphones Out." It's essential to use headphones, rather than speakers so that the backing track mix doesn't spill onto the condenser microphone.
Hit "Record" and play the take.