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

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nutdotnet
  • Start date Start date
N

Nutdotnet

New member
Just curious what you all would use.....looking to spend as little as possible. Probably a small-diaphragm condensor, and possibly two since I my mic pre is a stereo mic pre.

Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks!
 
I think everyone would probably agree that the cheapest way to get a decent acoustic recording would be with a pair of behringer ECM8000s. Look in the mic forum for a thread about an A/b with ECM8000 by guardian. It's really useful and will give you a good idea of what an acoustic would sound like miced with those mic ECM8000s.

good luck,
Brandon
 
Wow, those are cheap!

I will look into those.

Any else?
 
Keep in mind that the ecm8000s are omni's. If you've got a crappy sounding room, you won't want omni's. If your room is less than stellar go with the MXL 603's. They're supposedly cardiod, but a pretty wide cardiod. I've had decent results with them. And they are dirt cheap.
 
And if it is a really really crappy room try the Rode NT3s which are VERY directional.
 
Here's another vote for the 603's. I just started using mine and I'm fairly blown away by them. If you want to hear them, they are on this tune-



x/y mic'ed. I also did it kinda quick, so the micing job could have been better. There is also a guitar xt miced with C1's in the background to give it some deep body. The C1's by themselves, also thrown up pretty quickly, were too boomy.

Anyway, the 603's sound good, and can definately sound better then they do on that recording.

Chris
 
Chris....that sounds about ten thousand times better than what I have ever done with my setup.

Could you tell me what else you use? Mic Pre's? What guitar?
 
I'm using both the ECM 8000 (over the right shoulder) and the MXL 603s (near 9th fret). Nice setup for only $135. If I was only going to use one I'd use the 603.
 
Lessee here...

The 603's were x/y'ed about 2.5 feet in front of the guitar and centered on about the 12th fret. Guitar was angled away from the mics about 30 degrees cause that's where it sounded the best in the cans. Ended up being a bit too tinny in the monitors.

The guitar is a beat up old Appluase roundback with a deep bowl. The deep bowl makes all the difference. The poor thing is on its last legs, I'm afraid- the bracing is beginning to buckle just under the soundhole. If it sounds good then you're hearing the love. ;) Its been my main guitar for 13 years.

I just went in through the pres on my Alesis Studio 24, with an RNC inserted with enough compression to catch the peaks of my percussive playing. I know you're not "supposed" to compress on the way in, but I hit the guitar hard when I'm into it- and being into it is the key to a good take for me. Besides, the RNC sounds much better than any of the software compressors that I have.

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. I brought them up just enough to fill in the low end and got that delightful lightly doubled sound. It was just my scratch track, really, to arrange the song, but I'm glad I kept it just in case.

I don't think I added any effects or EQ except for a tiny hint of the same reverb that's on the vocals- an attempt to bring them into the same room together. The whole deal was then brought up to -.2dB peaks with t-racks just becuase I like the way its gain staging thickens the sound. I didn't use any of its compression, limiting or EQ.

That should give you most of the variables without going into the weirdness of my room. I hope that wasn't too much information! ;)

Duh! Right! I almost forgot- the whole deal is converted to digital though a Tascam US-428 and run into Cubase 5.1 on my laptop. I've heard some people say the 428 has a dark color so that may be affecting the sound, too.

Chris
 
WOW, Chris! Great music and performing! Did you write the song? I'm impressed!

On my computer monitors (which came with the last box of Cracker Jacks the office bought) the mid-range of the guitar is WAY too loud and suggests either the 603s or the pre were over-driven? I'm learning here, asking, not telling. Is the mid-range bloom from your room?

Given that this was a scratch take, you've got some real talent.

Have you recorded anything else with the 603s that you could put up? I think it's great that you share your sound files with us. Worth more than a thousand words.

Many thanks,

Mark H.
 
Last edited:
THANKS CHRIS!

That was a bunch of great information, I really, really, appreciate it.

Now I just need to save up some money and get a couple 603's.....and eventually I want to pick up at least one C1 just because everybody has been saying great things about them.

Thanks again!
 
Mark and Nut.net: Thanks, and you're welcome.

I don't have any other tunes that have acoustics recorded with the "cheap" mics that are talked about here (except the widely despised Nady SCM-900's- and nobody wants to hear that mine work just fine for me. They are on this song: "The Dawn")

I'm hoping to lay the guitar for a song I'm redoing tonight- I was going to try the 603's and the C1's again to see if I can get them to work well. I'll pull out part of the guitar tracks and post them as mp3's for anyone who wants to hear them. Not a carefully set up comparision, by any means, but a chance to hear the mics on acoustic guitar none the less.

Nut.net: Just for the sake of arguement- what else will you be doing with those mics other than recording acoustic guitar? If you need them to do double duty there may be a better mic out there.

Take care,
Chris
 
AT Pro 37R's sound nice on acoustic. They are cheap too. Sometimes I use them in XY and add a distant mic.
 
From my experience shopping around for lower priced microphones (I'm actually currently deciding between a few mics in the $300 range for acoustic guitar and vocals) in very generalized terms, there aren't many mics out there for under $300 that would justify buying them instead of stocking up on SM-57's. So with that in mind here are a few of the better ones I've found to check out: one of the cheaper Audio Technica 40 series mics (the 4041 and 4033 are both around $300), Shure SM-81 (this is a classic small diaphragm that's often used for stereo drum overheads and also sounds amazing on acoustic guitar or for that matter any mid to upper range acoustic instrument) - it runs $329 at most places), Rode NT series (I've heard good and bad about these so you'll have to check them out yourself), oh and Shure now makes a series of large diaphragms called KSM (I tested out the KSM-27 and it sounded pretty good from what I could tell under not-so-ideal testing conditions). The only one I would warn you against is the AKG C1000S - after recording about 45 minutes of acoustic guitar using both the C1000s and an SM-57 in the same position at equal pre-amp gain, I determined that the C1000s is essentially a 57 with higher output and a SLIGHTLY fuller sound. So while you can get a pair of C1000s' for $299, you could also get 3 SM-57's for less than that and turn the gain up. Anyway this has been way too long so if anyone is still reading this, good luck with your search for mics.
 
I'd go for the Marshall 603s. I got a pair for about $160.00. Believe me, these sound a whole lot more realistic than my sm- 57's on acoustic.
 
Actually these mics will only be used from my Acoustic Guitar. I have a Rode NT1 that I will be using for vocals. Until at least I pick up another mic I like more.

Problem with living in Alaska, none of the stores around town have any of these mics. No Marshalls, no Studio Projects, etc....so there is really no way for me to A/B them.....
 
If its just for the acoustic, then 2 603's for $160 is the best deal that I know of. The ECM8000 (which I also have) gives a very nice realistic sound in mono if you use it right, but its more difficult to use 2 and get a good stereo acoustic sound. Omnis just don't have the right pattern to give you a wide stereo image.

I should say, though, that I haven't spent a whole lot of time trying. I'm concidering shoving the ECM's into a styrofoam ball and seeing if I can make a binaural mic. :D

Pasta luego,
Chris

PS: Thanks, Nut. I'm really proud of it. (Both of them- which ever one you are referring to. )
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top