Best "cheap" mic(s) for recording Acoustic Guitar?

[TexRoadkill]

Chris, I'm glad you said that about the ECM's but I thought maybe it was just me. I tried stereo micing my guitar at different positions with them and wasnt impressed. It was too boomy and just not enough stereo to be worth the extra room noise.

When I only used one as a close mic it was very usable and blends great with a condensor. I still use a bit of low cut around 150hz. I guess I'll save the other one for drum overheads or something.

I would say for the money the ECM8000 is a very safe bet as an acoustic guitar mic. It has a nice realistic sound.

 

[Nutdotnet]

Ooops....hehe.

Was refering to "The Dawn", I thought I had already commented on "The Mouse and the Eagle".

How about this, both of the songs are GREAT!! Really enjoyed both of them!

 

[alanhyatt]

Part of the neat sound you are hearing is that there is a doubled guitar mixed in much lower- C1's x/y'd in about the same postition and run fairly hot through an Art Dual MP. Unfortunately, the C1's were a bit too boomy there and were a tad too compressed on the way in. Chris

Chris,

The C1 at the F-hole can be a bit boomy. You need to go off axis a couple of inches, and ride the input gain. The C1 is better suited for vocals, and electric instruments...the C3 is better suited for acoustics, but if you take the time for placement on the C1, you will get better results.

I always mic from above on the C1. I hang the mic upside down in front of the guitar, then get the sweetspot and glue the artisit down in the chair...

Alan Hyatt
PMI Audio Group

 

[virtual.ray]

I'm not saying it's the best option,but it is one worth checking out:the Oktava MC012 with either cardioid or hypercardioid caps;got mine for $100,and it sounds good on my 12 string.

 

[Chris Shaeffer]

Alan,

Thanks for the tip- I was wondering about that. It seems (with all of my two evenings of playing with my C1's) that they are really sensative when right in front of the guitar. The fact that mine's a roundback probably doesn't help that. Next time I'll try micing it from above as you suggest. Its exciting because of the possibilities that I can see with such different reponses in different places, and a bit frustrating because it isn't like other mics I'm used to that only sound good in a few places.

OK, here are the clips I promised- and I'm only posting them because I said I would. Its pretty useless really- two clips of me trying to get a decent sound for *this song* with two pairs of mics. It was fun though, and only took 10 minutes or so extra to do the mp3 thing. The problem is that both of these models of mics can produce many different sounds (both better and worse) than the ones I ended up with depending on the song, the player, the instrument, the phase of the moon, etc. Add that I am purposely avoiding capturing a rich low end because I want to leave room for the bass on this song...oh, well. You'll hear.

The mics were literally in the same place- 2.5 feet from the guitar aimed this time at the body behind the bridge for the 603's and at the 12th fret with the guitar about 45 degrees off angle for the C1's- just moving the guitar back and forth trying to get the right mix of frequencies in the mics. (Then doing my best to hold still.)

The 603's

and the C1's

If the playing on the C1 clip sounds more inspired that's because it is. I had a nice email conversation with a lady I'm interested in between recording and was in quite a nice mood for the C1 experiments.

Beddy-bye time for this puppy,
Chris

 

[Chris Shaeffer]

I should also add that I am still just learning how to use these particular mics. Seems like each mic has a completely different character that takes some time to learn.

Chris

 

[Nutdotnet]

Hey Chris, I download the clips but there is no audio.......and it isn't my media player.

 

[AlexHerd]

For 35 bucks go with the ECM 8000's. They are a great deal.

 

[Chris Shaeffer]

Hey, Nut. Bizarro! Oh, well. I'm not sure what slipped past me where, but even the mp3's on my hard drive are 1.5 meg of nothin'.

I hear tell the road to hell is paved with good intentions...

My intentions were good, at any rate. I hope that not too many folks went to the trouble of downloading that silence, though I probably won't bother trying to redo the clips. It really isn't a good comparison. The songs are much more realistic portrayals of the mics.

Pasta Lasagne,
Chris

 

[Nutdotnet]

No problem, that has happened to me before when I mixdown and I have everything on Bus 2 when it is supposed to be on Bus 1.

Thanks for trying though!

 

[chessrock]

I'm not saying it's the best option,but it is one worth checking out:the Oktava MC012 with either cardioid or hypercardioid caps;got mine for $100,and it sounds good on my 12 string.

I agree. MK-012s rock on accoustic guitar. MUCH QUIETER (better S/N ratio) than the ECM-8000, or any or the other ones mentioned. And they make great drum overheads.