instrument mic?

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rpc9943

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Whats a great instrument mic for acoustic guitars etc, around $99?

I heard a recording with an mxl1000 and was blown away! I was thinking of picking up 2 sm57's... but what is the "best" etc?

RonC
 
cold hard bitch....

I just recorded a demo for a guy. I had him use an acoustic pickup and ran that through an amp and jammed a sm57 into the speaker and it turned out great! Go with the sm57s and make sure you point them in the right direction and run them through a pre amp so you can get the tone you want
 
uhh....i think he wants the acoustic guitar sound so unless you are going for a wierd acoustic sound, i would just mic the guitar. i would sujest either a mxl603($99) or a studio project b1 ($80). the 603 is a small diaphram condenser and the b1 is large. the large diaphram is going to get more bottem end of sound. depends on what you are going for. but, dynamics are hardly ever very good for micing an acoustic guitar, amp yes, but not acoustic.
 
rpc9943 said:
Whats a great instrument mic for acoustic guitars etc, around $99?

I heard a recording with an mxl1000 and was blown away! I was thinking of picking up 2 sm57's... but what is the "best" etc?

RonC
Click to expand...


Yea not a bad idea set em up in stero and get some really good depth.
 
cough up a little more jing and get a 3035. You will use it on tons of stuff
 
an sm57 is a fine tool for recording acoustic instruments. a more standard tool would be an SD condenser like the mxl 603 or an oktava 012. as someone mentioned LD condensers can give you a cool sound as well, and the AT 3035 someone mentioned above is a safe bet.

but where to start? sounds to me like you are pretty new to game, and as such my advice would be to start with a single sm57 ($79 new, $50 used) if you record to digital or an oktava 012 if you record to tape ($99 new). also you should get a pair of isolation headphones ($79).

both the mics are pretty much standards, so you will be getting off on a good foot. what you learn from using the mics will take you far.

use the isolation headphones to learn mic positioning. which is about 90% of the game when you are dealing with an acoustic instrument. train your ears and eyes...

good luck.
 
I disagree with the suggestions of an SM-57 for acoustic guitar. A condenser mic will give you better high frequency detail and transient response.
 
Wide Awake said:
I disagree with the suggestions of an SM-57 for acoustic guitar. A condenser mic will give you better high frequency detail and transient response.
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which is why the sm-57 is a great tool for recording acoustic guitar. what if you dont like the transients on the guitar? what if the strings are too bright?

plenty of great sounding records out there with sm-57s on the acoustic guitar (elliot smith for example). but wide awake is essentially right, a most condensers will give you MORE hi frequency detail and MORE transient response.
 
" the large diaphram is going to get more bottem end"

That's just wrong... Large diaphragms don't have inherently better bass response than small do.
 
). the 603 is a small diaphram condenser and the b1 is large. the large diaphram is going to get more bottem end of sound. depends on what you are going for. but, dynamics are hardly ever very good for micing an acoustic guitar, amp yes, but not acoustic.
Click to expand...

I was just thinking the same thing. But I used to think that...then I read Harvey's big mic thread and I actually tried a bunch of mics out on acoustic. That day, the KM184 SDC had the best bottom end, against a bunch of LDCs (4050, 414, U195, Rode K2)
 
Depending on your platform I wouldn't bother with SM57s ... they can sound great with a tape portastudio but then they don't excel on anything (LEAST of all acoustic guitars) until (apparently) you get some really high-end preamps to bring out the best in them.

I'd be thinking about the B1 (I've heard some fab recordings made with just one around the 12th fret) or SDCs such as the Oktava and the SP C4 - the C4s come in pair in a case with shockmounts and omni heads so they're a good package, but a little more expensive than we started at.

The AT is very well-liked too.

Don't but an AKG C1000S. And don't get one just to try and prove me wrong, either :);):p
 
your mic choice for acoustic guitar is going to be the second greatest contributer to the tone of your recorded track after, of course, the sound of the actual guitar.

here are some big BIG huge generalizations:

if you want your acoustic guitar to sound like the acoustic guitar on the intro of i dont want no scrubs--- you might want to look at an SP C1. that ultra crisp big bottom sound.

if you want that, i dunno, sort of modern pop jack johnson sound, the B1 might get you close.

if you want to try to sound like elliot smith. sm57.

rolling stones exile on main street. maybe an ev 635a.

nick drake, an RCA ribbon? something you cant afford. maybe a beyer m260.
 
For under $99 I'd highly recommend a Studio Projects B1 for acoustic and other instruments. Even over a 57. I wouldn't recommend an SP C1 for acoustic.
 
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