Large Condenser For This Style Of Acoustic Guitar Recording? Wav/MP3

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Vikki

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Microphones For This Style Of Acoustic Guitar Recording? Wav/MP3

I recorded this clip using the pickups in my acoustic guitar, on one channel there's a Sunrise magnetic soundhole pickup and on the other a DTAR Wavelength undersaddle pickup. So it doesn't sound like a mic, what mic(s) would you use to record something like this, i have an AKG C451b at the moment but i think it may be a bit bright on its own, so what mic would you add? Would a large condensor compliment the 451 or would a matched pair be a better bet? Perhaps even ribbons?

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vikki.2205b/vikki tester.wav

Regards
Vikki(uk)
 
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It is worth getting a matched pair of whatever your choice might be. If you record acoustic instruments, the stereo pair gives you too many options to not be able to do it.

What is your budget?

My favorite for acoustics lately is an XY stereo pair of SDC (MXL 603s for now for me) that is about 70% of the sound of the instrument in the mix. Then i blend an LCD (oktava 319 for me), properly placed (generally about 2-3 feet away, i just move it around until i like it) and blended to taste to give some depth. If you place the third mic properly you can get a very nice, big sound with some natural (pleasant) delay (if you can avoid early refections).

daav
 
Great info as usual.....thanks for the comments.
I was wondering last night if i'd really given the AKG C451b a real chance, perhaps it would be best to buy another AKG C451b to make a stereo pair and experiment more with room and position of the mics. The Shure SM 81 always seem to get some good press for acoustic guitar although they are moving up in price here in the u.k. To be honest i've never heard of the Naiants, they are pretty inexpensive price wise, they seem to be built with acoustic instruments in mind? I notice Schoeps are popular for acoustic guitar recording too, so many different choices. The instrument i.m trying to record is a small body Lakewood acoustic that does produce quite a bright sound, the pickup recording doesn't really give a true representation of the guitar as its been eq and played around with to try a make it sound more acoustic.
Once again great info , keep it coming...
Vikki(Uk)
 
The Schoeps CMC6/41's are probably the very top of the food chain when recording acoustic guitar. From there, you have the original Neumann KM84's, the T.H.E. small cardioid's, and then you get into the lower end mics like the SM81's, etc.

Once you go above the SM81's, the price rises dramatically.

Those are some pretty amazing guitar licks on your page. I especially liked the Chet Atkins stuff and the "twang" licks. Looks like you're pretty damn good at almost any style.
 
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As I can only afford one at the moment, I have been mic'ing my acoustic with an SM81 on the fingerboard and a Rode K2 on the body - excellent sound. Change angle and distance to taste :)
 
Looks as if the SDC.s are the way to go.
How does everyone rate the current production AKG c451b, thats the one i have at the moment, is it worth investing in a second c451b or should i change direction and push the boat out for the Schoeps? I realise this is only part of the equation.
So for best results in a small room is it best to try and make the room as dead as possible and use a good reverb unit to try and add the room effect? No doubt there could be a book written on this subject......
By the way thanks for the nice comments, i didn't realise you could see the other files but feel free to have a look around. I've been on a bit of an experiment to try and figure out how things sound and record, most of the clips on there are straight direct recording with no amps(telecaster), i was curious what could be achieved with relativly budget and home made gear and without making a lot of noise for the neighbours.
Thanks for your help and encouragement...
Kind Regards
Vikki(uk)
 
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Can you give me guitar lessons? You can have all my mics and gear. :D
 
Just wish i'd been born in the US, it must be a guitar pickers dream over there! So many guitarists of different styles and so much information available.
Vikki(uk)
 
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Vikki,

I use a matched pair of Gefell M300's. They also have the M294 and 295 which are really really nice. A good quality microphone needs a good quality mic preamp to compliment it. Again, there are many choices. John Hardy makes an awesome preamp! In the more affordable range for small condensers, there is the Peluso CEMC6, Josephson C42(brighter), and Neumann KM184.
 
A pair of SD condensors would be ideal for recording acoustic guitar. Here's an article comparing and contrasting some popular better SD mics:

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cach...ers&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a

Schoeps or the previously mentioned Gefell M300s would be wonderful if you can afford them (perhaps they are less expensive in the UK than the US given the current dollar exchange rates). The AKGs you have are also quite nice (although I've only used the older models). If you feel those are too bright, you would probably prefer the Gefell and Schoeps to the Neumann KM184 or the Josephson mics both of which also tend to be a bit bright. The AT 4051 or 4053 mics are very nice as well for acoustic guitar and are pretty even, but aren't quite at the level of the Schoeps or Gefell mics (close though). I have the Josephson and AT mics as well as some Beyer SD mics and a Neumann KM84i (which would also be wonderful if you could find a couple). I think the brighter mics often work well in a mix as they help the guitar cut through, but can be less desirable for solo recording.
 
Guys thanks for your input.....
I'm going to do some experimenting next day or so with the single AKG, i have a pretty reasonable set of preamps in the JLM audio JLM 99's which are a long the lines of the Jensen twin servo circuit, althought built from a kit they do seem to give very good results with little colouring to the sound, i also have a dual valve preamp in the Ridge Farms range which i can add to give some valve colouring if needed. I'm going to add one of the JLM Neve clones soon using the original transformers...
I'll post the results here of my AKG mic recording if i record anything that sounds reasonable, and you can give me some guidance on the mic recorded sounds......and we'll see where we go from there.
Regards
Vikki(uk)
 
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