Acoustic...please help

[Fpstudios]

OK everyone I see this has been discussed before but I really need some more in depth help if possible. I am trying to do an acoustic demo and I am just stuck for a sound. I am trying to acheive that nice thick sound that dashboard gets on his older stuff. He is what I am doing now:

Takamine EG530 (elixer 12s) > Shure KSM27 (also have tried cheap nady cm-88s) > Aardvark Q10 > Sonic Foundry Vegas > Fostex PM1 Monitors

I was looking at that matched pair of rode nt5s, but then again i have heard using small diaphrams on solo acoustic wouldnt be the best thing for a nice thick sound. So what do you guys think, im willing to dish out like $400 right now, but if necessary i will save more. Thanks in advance guys,

-John

 

[adam_in_audio]

hi,

I'm not really familiar with dashboard's music, but I seem to get a good sound by using a large diaphragm dynamic microphone. The sennheiser 421 seems to work extremely well for me, I place it just to the left of the soundhole on an old ovation for my "sweet spot" ...Condensor's are OK but normally to bright for me. Borrow a 421 or an SM7 if you can, you won't be dissapointed! just make sure you 'try before you buy'.

Adam

 

[mshilarious]

My KSM27 is only OK on guitar. I certainly wouldn't describe it as thick. It's more bright, but in a soft way. Kind of like resting your head on a sunny pillow. Maybe a good sound for a John Denver record.

Anyway, what is your mic placement? You could try a little closer to the soundboard vs. 12th fret, plus move in for some proximity effect. One thing that comes to mind that I haven't tried, but I can tonight, would be to close-mic with the bass rolloff switch full on. That might be interesting, or it might sound like crap. I'll let you know.

 

[mshilarious]

I guess I ignored the obvious use of a dynamic . . . if you have an SM57, definitely try that, or the MD421. If you don't, either of those mics are good for a lot of other things too. The SM7, I don't know, that would be kind of quiet for me.

I have all of these mics (although the SM7 is out on loan), so lemme know if you'd like a more detailed comparison. Unfortunately the PC is not up so I can't post mp3s.

 

[pdadda]

You might want to get an idea of what you like by going to "thelisteningsessions.com." Out of all of them, the TLM103 sounded best to me (obviously a bit pricey) on acoustic. They test a bunch of mics and pre-amps on several sources.

 

[cracked lid]

I'm using Rode-nt5s on a Taylor 710. They do the job pretty well. They could be a little brighter, but that's just me.

You can hear some stuff recorded with them at
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/5/warrenjohnmusic.htm
The mp3 conversions kind of screws up the sound but you'll get the idea.