Suitable Mics for acoustic guitar

[Johnny Mac]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on a nice mics for acoustic guitar. At the moment I tend to use either and sm57 or my LD condensor (se electronics 2200) and am getting pretty good results. Just wondered if there is a standard out there, I read the akg c1000 is supposed to be good?

Cheers
J mac

[johneeeveee]

... akg c1000 ain't bad, but i think they sound a little thin and harsh on some sources. the oktava mk012's are great for the money, but oktava quality control is a little sketchy. if you find a good one, they are great. the audix scx25 as been excellent in my experience, but not really cheap.
i'm assuming you are talking about recording, and not live use... where the c1000 wouldn't actually be a terrible choice. i toured with one for a while, and it did a pretty good job.
hope that helps a bit - jv

[Armistice]

See those two posts called "sticky" at the top of the list? Read them - you'll then have a good understanding of some of the options for miking an acoustic, and why an SM57 isn't normally a first choice for the task.

[Johnny Mac]

Hi,

Thanks I have read them. And a stereo pair seems to be the preferred choice, costs as always is the factor, I read the c1000 was pretty good and as this wasn't mentioned in the stickys thought i'd ask.

thanks
j mac

[JohnnyMan]

Johnny Mac,


To make things easier I edited “The Big Thread” into (hopefully) a more readable paper. I am also very much interested in achieving a delightful recording of my acoustic guitars so I compiled and highlighted The Big Thread’s contents focusing on acoustic guitar recording (you’ll see what I mean once you start reading it). Read it. You will definitely learn from the Big Thread as I did.

The links to my Big Thread compilations are
Part 1: http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/sho...&postcount=713

And

Part 2: http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/sho...&postcount=714

Good luck and have fun learning!!

John

[Track Rat]

For acoustic guitar C-1000's are a pretty poor choice. Damn near anything is better. I like C-1000's, just not for acoustics. At the low end of the scale, Octava MK-012's are nice.

[StevenLindsey]

Try an AT4040

[Track Rat]

Never used a 4040 but a pair of 4033's definately works for me.

[philboyd studge]

Most of what I record are acoustic instruments and I tend weigh mic choice equally with a number of other choices depending on the instrument and playing style for the song at hand.

First there's the choice of a SD or LD mic....for me for instance it's usually an SD for strumming and LD for fingerstyle. Then there's mic location, and again it will vary greatly with the instrument and song. Then there's preamp and compression settings.

I agree a C1000 isn't a very good choice, although it's been effective for me a few times with banjos.

[Big Kenny]

Oktava MK012's
Marshall 603's
Josephson c42's
SP c4's
Rode nt 4 or nt 5's
shure 81's (couple others I haven't tried)
akg 451's
and the list goes on and on and on.......

[Toy Room]

One of the best acoustic recordings I have gotten was acheived with an APEX 460 on the sound hole and a NUEMANN KM184 on the twelve fret.

Worked beutifully!!

The combonation can be heard here:

http://www.solomonstanding.com/music.asp

Track 4: Dyin to Get Out Of Here

Cheers!

[tkingen]

I have a pair of Microtech Gefell M300's through a Toft ATC-2 and feel very happy with the setup. Of course, it depends on your budget. I've also used a combination of Neumann KM184 and Shure KSM44 and was pleased with the results.
The mics are important, but so is the preamp, mic positioning, room sound and the talent holding onto the guitar. All of those pieces fit into the puzzle of near equal importance, with the talent being highest.

Good luck and have fun
Terry

[sickstring69]

Rode nt3 @ 12th fret and at4040 @ soundhole through dmp3 pre. Sweet...

[omtayslick]

Shure SM81 is a solid choice.

[tdukex]

On a budget the Oktava MC012 and Marshall MXL603s are great. The C1000 is harsh--at least with a Mackie or Meek preamp. The Neuman KM-184 is very good, but not $500 better than the Oktava or Marshall.

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mac

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on a nice mics for acoustic guitar. At the moment I tend to use either and sm57 or my LD condensor (se electronics 2200) and am getting pretty good results. Just wondered if there is a standard out there, I read the akg c1000 is supposed to be good?

Cheers
J mac

Although there have been many suggestions, I'm wondering the following:

1) Are you recording a strummed acoustic guitar, aflatpicked single string lead style or fingerstyle?

2) Is it a solo performance, an accompaniment of a vocalist or is it part of a much larger mix?

3) Describe the instrument. Brand, body shape, back and side woods, topwood?

I believe the answers to these questions have quite a bit to do with microphone selection. Since you did not provide this information, it's difficult to provide any recommendations or opinions on what mics might work best.

[pdlstl]

Originally Posted by Track Rat

Never used a 4040 but a pair of 4033's definately works for me.

Big ol' amen on that!

[chrisharris]

I use 2 pairs of "MoreMe" headphones to record killer acoustic tracks in stereo. They're a bit bright, but for $20, you really can't beat them. Also, if you buy 4, you get a 5th one for free, so I'm considering using them to record in 5.1 surround this weekend.

[Johnny Mac]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

Although there have been many suggestions, I'm wondering the following:

1) Are you recording a strummed acoustic guitar, aflatpicked single string lead style or fingerstyle?

2) Is it a solo performance, an accompaniment of a vocalist or is it part of a much larger mix?

3) Describe the instrument. Brand, body shape, back and side woods, topwood?

1 - mainly strummed, some Plectrum picked lead lines, some slide work and occaisional finger picking.

2 - Part of a much larger mix in most cases.

3- Yamaha Electro acoustic six string similar to this http://www.guitarvillage.co.uk/Acous...aha/cpx8yn.jpg

and

Fender Twelve string pretty much exactly like this http://www.fender.com.au/acoustics/a...s/jg12ce12.gif

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions, Food for thought, I guess i'd like a mic that is a good all rounder for acoustic.

[EleKtriKaz]

Originally Posted by Track Rat

Never used a 4040 but a pair of 4033's definately works for me.

Interesting...what setup are you using with your pair? I have one 4033, just wondering if it might be worth it to me to grab another.

While I'm here I'll put my two cents in: Lately I've really been loving my 4033 backed off a few feet, positioned in the neighborhood of the 12th fret, with a Shure SM81 a couple inches away at the 12th, off-axis, pointing in toward the body. This technique has worked much better since I got my RNP, as the 4033 backed off that far needs some gain.

[Track Rat]

I don't use JUST 4033's on guitar or even two mics everytime. In a denser mix I stick with one mic. And which mic kinda depends on the guitar, the player and whazt kind of tune it sits in. But as far as that goes, I like the 4033's through an HHB Radius 10 pre right to the recorder. I LOVE the detail.
If you want, I could post a sample.

[EleKtriKaz]

Originally Posted by Track Rat

I don't use JUST 4033's on guitar or even two mics everytime. In a denser mix I stick with one mic. And which mic kinda depends on the guitar, the player and whazt kind of tune it sits in. But as far as that goes, I like the 4033's through an HHB Radius 10 pre right to the recorder. I LOVE the detail.
If you want, I could post a sample.

Oh, when you said you favored a pair of 4033s I thought you meant you sometimes used them together. I love my 4033 on acoustic though.

[earworm]

i love an AKG c414 b-uls on accoustic guitars,
connected to a joemeek preamp,

gives me great results,and i heard a few other people say the same kida thing

its a pretty 'expensive' mic, but for me its worth every cent i payd for it !

for the rest i used an NT3 - stereo pair, nice results but didn't really impress me, an NT1 is clean, but once again didn't impress me alot

if you record guitar, and you are willing to spend some money,
then i'd go for two mics, and a dual channel preamp (like the Joemeek twinQ for example (around $700 i think).
this way you can try to record in stereo, and might come in handy if you want to record overheads for drums or no matter what other thing that needs a natural sound.

so in short, my choice would be:
1 (or two if you can afford it) akg c414 (around $800 a piece) + joemeek twinq (around $800) http://i21.ebayimg.com/02/i/02/ad/33/3d_1.JPG

or if you want it alot cheaper,
2 rode NT3's ($170 a piece), as a preamp, once again, i'd go look around in the (cheaper) joemeek stuff (cause i love that sound)

cheers
two ro

[ozraves]

On acoustic, I like...

The Blue Dragonfly!!! Yes, it is a weird top to bottom if you look at the frequency plot but it does that shimmery acoustic guitar thing very well. One of my buds was in from Nashville. He's a session guy. We were talking acoustic guitar mics. I brought up the Dragonfly. He said, "Oh yeah," nodding his head in strong approval.

Shure KSM141. You want your acoustic guitar up front and in your face then go with the KSM141 or even a pair. These mics have such high SPL that you get probably mic a 12-gauge shotgun with one.

Groove Tubes GT33. Meaty, and yet meaty. Hit the pad and stick one up by the soundhole. On small condensers, I prefer one up by the 12th fret and one down by the bridge.

Audio-Technica AT4040. It puts across a balanced, yet musical sound.

Oktava MK012. These are good balanced mics. In certain placements, they can make the source seem a little flabby. But, when correctly placed, they put across a balanced, musical sound as well.

[Richard Monroe]

You have opened yourself up to a lot of wasted time, by not stating the budget. Yep- I can recommend a pair of DPA or Schoeps mics that will do your job for oh, say $5,000 to $9,000 for the pair. Creating even more confusion is the fact that an acoustic guitar can be effectively recorded using one or two mics, sometimes three, and small diaphragm and large diaphragm mics can be mixed and matched in any combination. There are a lot of ways to skin the cat.
It boils down to most people prefer 1 or 2 SD mics, but a significant percentage minority, like me, often use 1 LD. Tell me what you want to spend on the mics, and I can list candidates in that price range-Richie