AKG c2000b and Behringer B-5

[haijdkropwe]

I have SM57 and SP B1 and I don`t like how they sound on my cheap acoustic guitar in untreated room. As I won`t change the room and guitar, I would like to know is AKG c2000b more suitable for acoustic guitar than SP B1 and is there a big difference between medium diaphragm AKG c2000b and small condensers like Oktava mc012 and Marshall mxl603s?

Also, I can`t find any elaborate opinion on the sound of Behringer B-5 in any of threads dealing with that product. Did anybody compared this microphone with above mentioned small condensers?

I probably won`t buy a (un)matched pair and I`m not asking which microphone is better, I know they`re all different etc. just post your subjective opinions. If I could try out these microphones myself I wouldn`t bother you with this post.

I recently borrowed some old microphone - PRETER UCM-1020 and I liked it better on acoustic guitar than SP B1. Does anybody know anything about this microphones? I can`t find any information.

 

[sile2001]

Several people here will be quick to bash the C2000, but really it can do quite well. If freaking NoWhereRadio will ever send me my activation e-mail, I'll put up a sample of a simple song that's just one vocal and fingerpicked guitar. The depth and clarity of the sound on the guitar is quite amazing.

 

[sile2001]

Ok, here it is.

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=4091&alid=-1

The guitar (a rosewood Taylor 410) was recorded with two C2000's in an X-Y setup about 1.5 feet away, slightly higher than the soundhole, and aimed down at the 12th fret. Only some reverb was added, no EQ or compression.

The vocal is a mix of a C2000 and a Beta 57A with some reverb and EQ. Most of what you hear is the C2000, as I left the Beta really low in the mix. Unfortunately, I didn't have a pop filter at the time, so the plosives are a little hot in a few spots.

This was recorded in my acoustically less-than-ideal bedroom, but I think it turned out half-way decent. Those C2000's are serving a tour of duty in India right now, so we'll see how they hold up.

 

[Richard Monroe]

I would likely choose C2000B over B-1 on a cheap guitar. The B-1 is a pretty good cheap mic that's transparent and neutral, as they go. The C2000B is a cheap mic that's more colored. In fact, it sounds surpriseingly like my NTK. I, for one, won't bash it. I've found it a useful mic on many occasions. All I know about the B-5 is that it's dirt cheap, and made to look like a Studio Projects C-4, coming from the same factory that builds the C-4. I have read no rigorous comparisons of the mics, only suppositions, allegations, and insinuation. Hopefully, somebody will eventually do a thorough comparison of the 2 mics.-Richie

 

[tradivoro]

Hi Richard, when you say more colored, does it accent the low mids more or it makes things brighter??

 

[Richard Monroe]

Neither one. Color is not a function of brightness or darkness, which is another matter altogether. What I mean is that the mic introduces subtle distortion, which we call "muddy" when we hate it, and "warmth" when we like it. As far as brightness, the mic has a slight high midrange boost which is particularly flattering to a lot of vocalists, and some acoustics. Think of "color" as a flattering lack of detail, like airbrushing a photo of an average looking model. That is what people pay the big bucks for high end tube mics and all-tube preamps to do. It is good for rock, blues, some jazz. All mics and all pres produce some color, some more than others, and that applies to cheap mics as well as expensive ones. The opposite is what they call "transparent". Whether you want one or the other depends on what you're recording, and what you want it to sound like. Think of color like makeup. Sometimes we would rather hear a pleasing illusion than the truth. If color were bad, we would only need one reference mic to record everything.
What I'm saying is- the better the source is, the more transparent the signal chain can be. If I'm recording Pablo Casals on a $200,000 cello in a perfect room, I'd choose Schoeps (the most transparent thing I can think of). If I'm recording a kid on a cheap guitar in somebody's bedroom, I'd choose more color. Most things are somewhere between the extremes, and a little color can be a very good thing at the right time.-Richie

 

[Milkbomb]

Very well explained