budget acoustic mics

H

hotel2tango

New member
could anyone tell some good sounding acoustic gtr mics? i'm on a pretty tight budget. any help would be..errr a big help.
 
I have a pair of MXL 603s. They are about $90 each (less if you buy used). Nice clear sound. Sometimes a little bright. I also have a Shure SM81. They are about $350 new, but you can get used ones on e-bay for around $150. Fairly neutral sounding mic and a classic for miking acoustic.
 
I would reccomend the mxl 1006 ...sound really great.

similar freq. response as schoeps...super super mics...

the sleepers of the mic world.

about the same price as the mics above, but not as bright
 
I have seen the 603's for $45 each at GC. I could kick my self in the ass for not getting them when I saw that price. I have a pair of Joe Meek JM27's that I like on accoustic guitar....I gave $130 for the pair brand new....
 
I've never owned the Marshall or the other mic's that people recommend. But I like the Octava MC012 for acoustic. I find that it has a unique "woody" sound on acoustic. I don't like it on drums, nor much else (except electric guitar).

Normally on these kinds of threads, people recommend the Marshall or the Octava as the best value mic's for acoustic. Studio Projects has one too, but there's not as much talk about those - this forum is funny about the SP stuff.

If you use a pick and hit the strings fairly hard, I'd recommend the Octava style mic. If you are a finger picker, then I'd recommend a side-address mic. That's just my opinion.

And Chessrock (?) once said that if you are doing primary acoustic tracks, use one condensor and one dynamic. Not surprisingly, considering the source, there is much wisdom in this statement....
 
how does your acoustic sound? is it bright or mellow? is it bold and loud, or kinda mousy and weak? is it solid wood or plywood? how does it sound in the room that you're going to record in?

these things will greatly determine which mics will be best suited for your guitar.


cheers,
wade
 
BigRay said:
I would reccomend the mxl 1006 ...sound really great.

similar freq. response as schoeps...super super mics...

the sleepers of the mic world.

about the same price as the mics above, but not as bright
Click to expand...

About 2 years ago Brent Casey, (formerly of MXL, now with Studio Projects) posted that the MXL V63, V57, and 1006, were all the same mic repackaged with different numbers for different retailers.

I have a V57. It does well on acoustic guitar. But when I saw you mention fingerpicking I had to respond. I think that fingerpicked steel string guitar is this mic's strongest application. These mics are usually under $75 here in the USA. I've never been in the same room with a Schoeps, but I'm guessing that comparison may be pushing it. But the MXL's a pretty good mic for your application.
 
I'm personally not a big fan of the 603 on acoustic, as it is more than a touch too harsh, IMO. But I love the Oktavas, and the CAD M179 is good as well. Here's a song I recorded where the acoustic guitar was recorded with a pair of MC012s.

 
I've got most of the "popular" budget mics (603S, MC012, B1, M179, AT3035) and I'd say they're all equally capable of getting a good sound out of and all different sounding. A used M179 would be pretty cool. They are really quiet and the multipattern gives you a lot of versatility. Throw another mic with it and you can do a M/S setup. And it works pretty well on vocals too.
 
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