small condensors for acoustic guitar

LI_Slim

LI_Slim

voice in the wilderness
I ordered a couple Marshall MXL 603s a few months ago, based on all the raves here about what a great value they are, to do some acoustic guitar micing in an xy pattern. They did sound pretty good, very good for the money in fact. However, someone bumped into one of them and it broke. (So much for how tough they are.) The other thing is that I guess that although I want value, I also want more than just pretty good considering...

I like Audio Technica mics (I have an AT4047 which I use for vocals as well as acoustic guitar -- I intend to use the small condensor along with it on the guitar) and I see that there is a thread here comparing the AT4041 and similarly priced mics to the 603s. AT4041s of course cost about $279. I see that AT is now (I'm not sure how new or old there are) making a cardiod small condensor called the ATM33A and also the AT3031, both of which cost less than $200. Any thoughts on these or other $100-$200 small condensor mics that would be good for recording acoustic guitar?
 
I've never used the 603's so I don't have a point of reference but around that price range the Octava MC-012 is a dandy and flexible with the optional caps. The cardiod I'd imagine is pretty simular to the 603 from what I've read. The omni cap sounds best to me. Another mic that would be around that if you can find one is the AT-4033. A pair of these can be a beautiful thing. At about twice your budget a KM-184 ain't half bad either.:D
 
For small condensers (with battery, doesn't work with phantom) in the low-price range use the shure 16a's. I use them for overheads and ac. guit on stage, not in the studio though.
 
If you got the ears and the patience, go to guitar center and start listening to MC012's. If you have just a little more patience (yeah, and a little more money), wait, and see what the boards feelings are on the Studio Projects C-4 pair. They're talking street price for the pair less than $400 with extra capsules, matched, at least to some degree. Hot puppies. I own a Sound Room matched pair of 012's, and I like them a lot, but I can tell you if I was buying a brand new pair of small diaphragms right now, I'd wait to hear user reviews on C-4 or hopefully, audition it. Yep, Brent Casey says it sounds good- Duh! If it passes a bunch of critical ears, the C-4 could become the prosumer standard for SD's for overheads and acoustic instruments. Or maybe not, we'll see soon.-Richie
 
I agree about the Octavas and wanted to point out my Octavas are SoundRoom variety.
 
LI_Slim said:
I ordered a couple Marshall MXL 603s a few months ago, based on all the raves here about what a great value they are, to do some acoustic guitar micing in an xy pattern. They did sound pretty good, very good for the money in fact. However, someone bumped into one of them and it broke. (So much for how tough they are.) The other thing is that I guess that although I want value, I also want more than just pretty good considering...
Click to expand...
What do you mean by "it broke"? If someone "bumped it", and it just stopped working, I'm sure MXL would fix it for free. If it dropped four feet onto a concrete floor, that's a little more than "somebody bumped it and it broke".

As far as your comment about "very good for the money", what mics have you used that you like better? T.H.E. also makes a very nice small diaphragm condenser mic that is "very good for the money", although I don't know if you'd consider it's $750 price tag a bargain.
 
Re: Re: small condensors for acoustic guitar

Harvey Gerst said:
What do you mean by "it broke"? If someone "bumped it", and it just stopped working, I'm sure MXL would fix it for free. If it dropped four feet onto a concrete floor, that's a little more than "somebody bumped it and it broke".

As far as your comment about "very good for the money", what mics have you used that you like better? T.H.E. also makes a very nice small diaphragm condenser mic that is "very good for the money", although I don't know if you'd consider it's $750 price tag a bargain.
Click to expand...

I don't know exactly what happened to it. I had it attached to a mic stand and one of the kids bumped into it not it my presence. It did not fall to the floor (which, in any event, is a wood floor with a rug on it). You think that MXL will fix it for free? I will give that a try.

It is true that I do not have a large base of experience with small condensor mics. The only direct comparison that I have is when I used one of the 603s (the one that did not stop working) at the same time as my AT 4047 (large condensor) in various positions recording an acoustic guitar. The AT4047 track, wherever I positioned the mics, was superior. Fuller, more detailed, it just captured more sound and captured it better. Now I do want the precision of a small condensor (or two) to go along with the large condensor track, hence this thread....

Others, in this thread and elsewhere on this BBS and elsewhere, have great things to say about the AT4041. It costs about $270, not $750. These people think it's better than the MXL603. And I'm asking about a couple other Audio Technica mics as well, which cost between $150-200, but which noone here seems to know about as yet.
 
Track Rat said:
I agree about the Octavas and wanted to point out my Octavas are SoundRoom variety.
Click to expand...

Track Rat, you have 5124 posts?????!!!!!!!!! You are a total gear slut;)
 
As far as Shure goes, I use a Shure SM-81 for acoustic guitar. Very nice, clear and accurate sound. Has pad and roll-off switches. About $329 most places. The new KSM Shure mics are getting nice reviews, but I haven't tried any of them yet.
 
Slim, you asked about The Sound Room. Basically, Taylor Johnson there does meticulous evaluation, matching, and quality control on Oktava mics, and handles several other lines as well. He definitely charges for his value added, and a pair of his MC012's with just cardioid capsules cost me $424. I think the current market situation will put pressure on The Sound Room. For a matched stereo pair, the low budget people are using a pair of B-1's or MXL 603's, and the higher budget people are praying C-4 will be good, considering Rode NT5, and dreaming of KM184's. I must say that the 012's I got from the Sound Room have got no problems, and they have been consistently very good workhorse mics.-Richie
 
Stefan Elmblad said:
I swear by my SM81's for acoustic guitar.
Click to expand...

Ditto..SM 81's work well for dense tracks where the guit has to cut..For solo acoustic they work well adding a large D at the endpin area..YMMV


Don
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top