Another mic to record acoustic guitar (nylon or steel strings)

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maxime1122

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Hello,

I'm planning in recording acoustic guitar (nylon or steel strings) and I would use two mics.

I currently own Royer R-121 and two SM-57 mics. I don't think that the SM-57s were designed for that, but I did tried the R-121 and I liked the sound.

Which mic do you guys recommends to use with the R-121? Condenser mic, I guess?

I'm using the dBx 386 tube preamp.

It would be a + if this other mic would be great on vocal too. Budget... ideally around 400$-600$.

Thanks,
Maxime
 
Have you tried the 57's as your second mic? You should always experiment before dismissing a component. you might be surprised.
 
There's plenty out there so it really comes down to personal preference really and how you want to use it in conjunction with the R121. However, my personal preferences in that price range for an acoustic guitar mic and vocals would be;

Avantone CV-12 (i'm a big fan of the Avantone stuff in general)
AKG C214 (i love it on acoustic guitar but not so much on vocals)
Rode NTK (It's never "wowed" me but it's also never done a bad job on anything i've thrown it at)

I'd also be tempted to look at the Neumann TLM102 which, second hand, should be within that price bracket
 
Maxime,

The Line Audio CM3 is a surprisingly good sounding microphone and costs about €100. It needs to be used in a shock mount.

Although currently out of stock, you can buy them from here: Line Audio - Swedish Made High Quality Audio Products - Available at NoHype Audio

The CM3 is a wide cardioid condenser microphone which is fairly quiet and has a neutral frequency response.

There are some good sound samples of acoustic recordings over at Gearslutz in the "Remote Possibilities" discussion area.
 
Thanks guys !

Maybe I'll give the SM-57 a try. I was thinking about the Rode NTK, but since it's a tube mic and I'm using a tube preamp, is it too much tubes?
 
Now, I was using the built in pickup in the guitar and the Royer pointing around 12-15th fret, a feet or two from the guitar.

What positioning do you recommend?
 
maxime1122 said:
Now, I was using the built in pickup in the guitar and the Royer pointing around 12-15th fret, a feet or two from the guitar.

What positioning do you recommend?
Click to expand...

Not to be coy but it's the position that produces what you're after. Experiment with mic, room and instrument position.
 
Yea, I will experiment. But, what position do you recommend for the r121 and sm57?

Should I pan one left and one right for a stereo sound?
 
maxime1122 said:
Yea, I will experiment. But, what position do you recommend for the r121 and sm57?

Should I pan one left and one right for a stereo sound?
Click to expand...

You can experiment in soooooooooooooo many ways. Try aiming the Royer at approx. the 12th fret and position the 57 a bit farther back pointed at the soundhole/bridge, then reverse. Try panning with different EQ settings for each mic. Perhaps emphasize the lowers around the sound hole while bringing up the highs at the 12th fret. This is where YOU make YOUR sound. Hard for other folks to tell you how to do that. Also what tone your guitar naturally produces will have an outcome on your process. If it were as easy as "Do A-B-C", there would be no demand for elite engineers.
 
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