Which Mic for Acoustic/Classical?

[Inspired]

I'm pretty sure I need a good condensor mic. But which one? I need something that will produce good results in front of a classical or steel-string acoustic. I have an SM-57, but I've always heard that a good condensor will produce better results. Seems like the SM-57 sounded a little too boomy for acoustic anyway. Maybe a Sennheiser?...

[trenttati]

I'm not an expert, but I'll add what I can.

Yes, a good condensor will give you a much fuller, more realistic sound than an sm57. I record a lot of acoustic guitars from classical to flamenco to american folk and rock. I most often use a Sennheiser MD421-II at the 12th fret pointed at the sound hole and about 4-5" from the neck for my primary sound. I'll throw an AT 4040 (there's your LD condensor) a few feet back for more room sound. If you don't have a nice room, you may wish to not use the condensor or put it closer up on the guitar.

For added versatility at mix-down (lots of multitracking in my studio) I'll put a sm57, a beta58 or an E609 on the lower body, pointed towards the sound hole. Be sure to pull it back enough to avoid a boomy proximity effect.

If you use more than one mic, also be sure to avoid phase issues; if something sounds funny or frequencies are missing, hit the phase reverse switch on your pre-amp for one or the other mic.

The md421-II is well worth the money. I use this mic for everything and want a few more! The multi-stage low-cut makes it friendly for everything from boomy toms to bright mandolins.

Oh yeah, a lot of pro's use two small diaphram condensors a few feet back (in a nice room) instead of the setup I just described. I'll let someone else cover this...

[EddieRay]

I need to experiement more with my nylon string, but so far an SDC (AT4041) over my right shoulder and an LDC (MK219) out front about 3-4 feet works pretty good. Last time I tried an XY pair of MK012's about 2 feet out front and I liked it too.

[punkin]

I used to do mostly close (4 to 5 inches) xy micing on acoustic guitars but I sure had a heck of a time dealing with breathing and other body sounds not to mention emphasized finger sounds. Now that I've got a nice place to work, I like to get back several feet 4 to 8 feet. Things seem to get a little more natural sounding at that distance when working on classical stuff. For a more less polished sound more imtimacy as in folk, jazz, easy what ever....I like to get in at 1 to 2 feet. Still find xy very nice but with a quiet room I can experiment a little more.

I still favor my mxl603's and the dragon fly's.

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by Inspired

I'm pretty sure I need a good condensor mic. But which one? I need something that will produce good results in front of a classical or steel-string acoustic. I have an SM-57, but I've always heard that a good condensor will produce better results. Seems like the SM-57 sounded a little too boomy for acoustic anyway. Maybe a Sennheiser?...

Help us out a bit. What's your budget and recording signal chain?

[Richard Monroe]

I can only talk in general terms, because every situation is different. I've had my best luck with steel string acoustic using one large diaphragm mic somewhere near the 12th fret, maybe 8" out. I've had my best luck on nylon strings with a small diaphragm pair X-Y, backed off 4 feet or so. I really don't know what it is sonically that makes those setups so different, but the setup for nylon just isn't the same as the one for steel, for me. The general rules are: 1. Almost any combination of 2 mics can work. 2 SD, 2 LD, one of each, or even a dynamic and a condenser. Ribbons can be very good, but....
My guess is that a man with one SM57 probably isn't planning on spending $2000 or so on a mic at the current time. The guys have mentioned a few cheap standards that work. MXL603, MXLV67 (yes, on acoustic), Studio Projects B-1, CAD M179 all come to mind.
But this brings you to rule #2- All other things being equal, the more you spend on mics and preamps, the better it will sound, and as the price goes up, you will get less and less improvement per dollar. Diminishing returns, so 65% of the money is spent on the last 10% of performance. You have to decide what you're willing and able to spend on sound, and then live with it.
I think it's interesting that some folks like the Dragonfly on acoustic. I wish I owned one, but I'm not very fond of the Kiwi, which I do own, on acoustic (it's a pretty good vocal mic for the right voice). I've gotten more usable acoustic tracks with a C414. But here we're talking $600-$800 mics. In the budget world, here's my rule #3- Use small diaphragm mics on good guitars and large diaphragm or colored mics on cheap guitars. If you have a nice guitar, MXL603 is a good choice. If you play a beater, try AKG C2000B. Under $200 with the shock mount, it's a versatile little bugger. It's a side addressed small diaphragm mic in a larger housing than a pencil mic, which makes it a pretty useful vocal mic, as well as being good on guitars, especially cheap ones. It actually makes an Ovation sound pretty good, which means, to me, that it's not that accurate. That's why I like it. It's like makeup. Sometimes you'd rather hear a pleasing illusion.
Finally, you are stuck with rule #4- If the guitar and the song and the room and the player do not suck, your recording probably won't suck. The room is huge on effect. I don't like acoustic in dead rooms, and I don't own the high end FX boxes it would take to recreate a good sounding room. I also lack the expertise. I am lucky to have a pretty good live room, requiring minimal treatment to get good sound. The sound of the room is a key. Best of luck-Richie

[punkin]

hmmm...seems this dude knows what he's talkin' 'bout

[gomp]

I'll second that last post: had great results with two Studio Projects B1 in XY.
Especially on classical guitar.

[XLR]

Some that I've tried that can sound good in different situations (All around $100 or so I think)... B'er ECM8000, MXL990, MXL603s, MXLV67, EV635a. Whatever the mic or position, the room's high freq characteristics are always the make-it-or-break-it thing for me with nylon string sound. A couple current posts with different mic's:

603s:http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/sho...91#post1450991

Beyer M160 (but it's more $): http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/sho...34#post1448134

Tim