miking acoustic guitar

[aine_canby]

Hi everyone,
Im trying to decide on a mike for recording my acoustic guitar. I have a Delta 44 and a Mackie 1202. I had heard that the Node NT2 was good for acoustic but then I read that the NTK was a better mic and definety worth the extra 100 bucks or so. Now ive just read that the AT4041 is better again, but that a pair is recommended. I cant find many sites in Britain selling the 4041 - while the other two are much easier to find - anyway the best deal ive found, for a pair is 600 pounds, which is too expensive for me. My recordings will consist of a number of tracks -> all acoustic guitar, played by myself, so I need a mike with a wide freq. range because I wont have accompanyment.
What do you recommend?, and have you any of your own recordings with these mikes in action, that I could listen to.
Thanks,
Áine.

[sjjohnston]

The "standard" advice is to use a small diaphragm condensor mic for micing acoustics. Of course the standard advice isn't right in every instance ... and many people have done quite well for themselves by ignoring the standard advice. I have found that using two mics on an acoustic produces noticeable better results than one. They don't need to match, though that wouldn't necessarily hurt.

If price is an object, one choice many people like is a Marshall MXL 603S. I don't know what the availablity or price of these is in Europe: various online retailers sell them, and I think they trade on eBay as well. Another similar, but more expensive, choice might be an Oktava Mk012. An advantage of the Oktava is that it has interchangeable capsules. The omni capsule is worth a try for acoustic micing, because it allows you to position the mic close the instrument without (or at least without much of) a proximity effect. Another option that I don't know personally, but has been favorably talked about, is the Behringer ECM8000 -- it's a very small diaphragm, and very cheap, omni condensor. A search here or on rec.audio.pro will get you more info.

[aine_canby]

THanks for the informative reply...the marshall and russian mic you mention are not easy to come across on british web sites. Rode, Shure, AKG, Sennheiser, Bayer, Neumann and AT are common - so I should get a good deal from these mic makers. Which models from these makers would make a good pair of small diaphragm condensors.
What about Studio Projects, and which model exactly?

[sjjohnston]

The Neumann KM184 would be a "standard" recommendation (see disclaimer above), if you're in the Neumann price neighborhood (which is a quite nice neighborhood). Beyond that, you start to exceed my scope of my knowledge.

I've seen ads for a new Rode small condensor that's sold in pairs (NT5? something like that). They're fairly pretty looking and Rode says they're good (as do the Rode blurbs that the retailers repeat), but beyond that I don't know too much.

A search on rec.audio.pro would bring up a lot of threads, I think. It might take some time to sort the wheat from the chaff.* Pay attention to opinions expressed by Harvey Gerst or Scott Dorsey.

* Here's the final answer to the question "What's the best small/large-diaphragm condensor mic under $500/$300/$200?": Whatever the person you're asking owns.

[Chris Shaeffer]

I'll strongly second the 2 mic suggestion. If your songs are based on the acoustic guitar, a pair of the same mic will give you the best results.

Just about ANY 2 decent mics in x/y stereo will give you a useable acoutic sound. I've use Shure SM57's, cheapo Nady scm900's, and AKG c1000s's (which many people don't seem to like) with decent results.

My favorites, though, for a good clean sound are the MXL 603's and the Studio Project C1's. Mic placement is more critical with the C1's but you can also get a wider variety of sounds out of them.

I wish I knew more about the mics available on that side of the pond, but I'm not familiar with anything other than what I just mentioned.

Good luck,
Chris

[Jonkan]

if youre looking for mics in britain. Yamaha are selling the Mxl mics over there.
/Jonas

[aine_canby]

What would make a good pair of small diaphragm condensers?? -and is $500 a realistic price range to be searching in.

[chessrock]

A couple Octava mc012's will set you back about $300.

Marshall mxl 603's about $160

(American Dollars)

You could do a lot worse than either of these options. For $500 range, you can't do much better, either.

[knownuttin]

aine, it is difficult for us foreigners to comment on pricing, because of such variables as exchange rates and import taxation. As such, I hesitate to tell you that, no, $500 is not unreasonable for a pair of quality small diaphram condensors, however true this generalization might be.

Of the brands you mentioned as accessible to you, check out the AKG C535, a highly versatile mic well suited to acoustic guitars and vocals. They retail in the US for around $230.
-kent

[octoruss]

I've said it befroe and I'll say it again--they're a bit pricey but by far the best mics I've ever used on acoustic guitar (steel string and classical) have been a stereo pair of Elation KM201s. They too are Russian, but oh so sweet sounding on the natural midrange heavy sound of a decent acoustic.