LDC or Dynamic for Acoustic Guitar

aaronmcoleman

aaronmcoleman

The truth is out there!
I have tried all of the mics I have on my acoustic guitar (NT5s, NTK, SM57, FatHeads, MK319). I really like the LDCs on the acoustic, but the NTK is sorta missing something.

Any suggestions for an LDC for acoustic guitar, I'm also open to a dynamic?

I want something for solo acoustic, with a nice low end and a top that is clear but not harsh. One option is getting OktavaMod for my MK319...it sounds fine stock, but it's a little muffled.

Thanks.
 
Just to completely ignore your suggestions, my favourites for acoustic guitar are small diaphragm condensers--I like the detail they provide over even most LDCs.

In the fairly cheap range, I often recommend SE1As--or, if you have a bit more to spend, AKG 451 or 391 mics.

LDCs are very nice if you're in a really good acoustic space--old church or something--and you mic from farther away but in a typical home studio set up where close miking is needed the SDCs give me a bit more "edge" to the sound.

Bob
 
Thanks. I think that edge is what I love in a mix but don't like in a solo folky guitar. SDCs are great but the nt5s I have too much going on in the high end. I want something mellow. I use neve style pres, so something along those lines.

Ill check out your recommendations and maybe look into some better SDCs for guitar.
 
Yeah. The NT5 has a bit of a funny frequency response--it rolls off a bit below about 250Hz and has a boost above about 5K, making it a bit bright for my taste as well. At the risk of stating the obvious, have you played with EQ on the NT5? You can tame it quite nicely with a bit of subtle boost below about 250Hz and some cut starting to roll off at about 4K, to about 3dB down for everything about 5K.

However, the mics I mentioned tend to have the same edge/clarity of the NT5 but a smoother top end.

Bob
 
Thanks for the EQ tips. I've messed with it a lot. I'll see if those tips work.

I really like and SDC on the bridge and LDC on the neck. Lately I've been using an NTK on the neck and a Fathead on the bridge. Very warm sound, but I'd like a better big mic for the neck, the NTK is a bit bright there and picks up some weird highs.
 
I hit upon this set up last night

IMAG0022.jpg

I had been doing SDC around 12" off the 12th fret and LDC 36" off the body but it wasn't getting me what I wanted

I did this set up about 18" off the neck/body joint
Now I can do a kind of EQ, blending the two with the faders, when I want a more full sound when the acoustic needs to be prominent, I bring up the LDC a little, when I want it to sit back in th mix and just have little sparkle and pick attack, back off the LDC and use more of the SDC

YMMV
 
Bristol Posse said:
I hit upon this set up last night

View attachment 66766

I had been doing SDC around 12" off the 12th fret and LDC 36" off the body but it wasn't getting me what I wanted

I did this set up about 18" off the neck/body joint
Now I can do a kind of EQ, blending the two with the faders, when I want a more full sound when the acoustic needs to be prominent, I bring up the LDC a little, when I want it to sit back in th mix and just have little sparkle and pick attack, back off the LDC and use more of the SDC

YMMV
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've done that to, but it gets really thin if I bring both mics up a lot. I think it's the phase canceling each other out.

After a bunch of experimenting, my favorite sound so far is one LDC 18" off the 12th fret. The simplest sounds the best so far!
 
Can a room cause phase problems? Ive had nothing but problems using more than one mic in this new room. I moved a few months ago and this is the first serious project since then.
 
A room can give you some comb filtering sometimes. And just to stay off topic, my fav on steel string acoustics would be an AT4033.
 
How would you characterize the AT 4033 on steel string? I'm looking for something for solo guitar, in a mix my NT5s are fine. I want something that is not bright, kinda mellow. My other mics are mostly pretty bright.

Well I wanted to blame the room (which does suck and is on my summer list of things to fix), but today I was able to get some decent sounds, close to what I want with the NTK 8" at 12th fret, MK319 at bridge 8" away and both 24" apart. Close micing seemed to eliminate the phase issues or comb filtering, distant is what I'm shooting for, but in this untreated room distance really kills the sound.
 
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I've been doing some research and stumbled across the Kel HM-1. What do you guys think about a pair of them for acoustic. I've heard they are dark and don't have a lot of high end, but that's kinda what I'm looking for.
 
I'd say I'm unqualified to say what meets your needs on your material in your space

Given that you're in LGB you probably aren't too far away from someone who can rent gear for a fraction of what it would cost to buy and try. your ears will be the best judge of what is going to give you the results you want.
 
I record a number of guitars: Taylor 512, Martin d18 and d28, rosewood recording king dreadnaught. The Martins are my main solo guitars because they're so warm, the Taylor is pretty bright so it cuts through a mix, and the recording king is in the middle mellow with a biting high end.

I know you can't tell me what will work for me, I'm just looking for a place to start since there are so many mics around now.
 
aaronmcoleman said:
I record a number of guitars: Taylor 512, Martin d18 and d28, rosewood recording king dreadnaught. The Martins are my main solo guitars because they're so warm, the Taylor is pretty bright so it cuts through a mix, and the recording king is in the middle mellow with a biting high end.

I know you can't tell me what will work for me, I'm just looking for a place to start since there are so many mics around now.
Click to expand...

I'm kinda starting to like you. You have good taste in acoustic guitars.
 
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