I need a GOOD acoustic guitar Mic

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LocusLarsen

LocusLarsen

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Here's my deal...I am using a 1680 to lay my tracks...In my bedroom...I do have access to a very nice wooden shed which I have used and has an interesting sound, anyhow...I have been trying to locate some info on a good mic for acoustic guitar (maybe vocal too, but guitar!) I am mic-ing a Martin D41 and would like too get the sound that it makes, ya know, that god-like tone...So if anyone has any Ideas, especially if you have experience mic-ing top of the line Martins and you know how to reproduce that sound, and you know the difference between a good Gibson and a good Martin interms of the tone they make and which mic for which guitar...PLEASE let me know what you think. I am looking to spend about a grand a piece for a studio pair. ...I know, I need to spend 2500 for so and so, lets try and keep it around a grand - fifteen okay.
 
it's a workhorse, but...

i've gotten great acoustic guitar sounds with a AT 4033. a pair would be less than $800. then again, i have a gibson, and i don't know if there is a better mic (well, i'm sure there's a "better" mic for more dinero) suited to the martin.

lots of folks around here love the mc012's for acoustic, i haven't used them.

what you'll really want to do is get a nice mic pre so as not to have to use the ones in the 1680 (i've got a 1680; outboard pres make all the difference!).

good luck!
 
AKG C414 B-TLII make great overheads, great on guitar, very useable on vocals. In your price range.-Richie
 
I guess I was kind of confusing....I wanted to spend about a grand on 1 mic...I'll buy 2. Thanks
 
Actually for $2000 you have a lot of cool possibilites that could cover a lot of bases:

A matched pair of Earthworks QTC's + a Neumann TLM103

-or-

A pair of MC012's, a pair of SM57's, and a Soundelux U195

-or-

One Lawson L47mp


or a couple of hundred other permutations from Shure KSM's, Studio Projects, Audio Technica, AKG, Marshalls etc.

If you're not in a rush, you might want to wait and see what Stephen Paul's new offering looks like.
 
how about a pair of km84:s? theyll sound great on most anything.
/Jonas
 
I think its cool that someone finally asked about the best mic (not) under 50 bucks for a change.

However.....Locus, my man......

If I were you, Id be seriously looking into not just blowing the wad on a mic but a mic/pre combo. I'm sure the pres you are using are serviceable but I dont see the sense in spending 15 c's on the best mic you can afford only to run it through a so so pre. There isnt much sense in that, IMO.

Many mid quality mics can be transformed by a good pre...ask Harvey!

I guess the other option if you are serious would be to buy the nice mic now and buy a good pre later...it all depends how much you are willing to put into this in the long run.

Tell you what, based on my experience: I just got a Davisound TB-6 custom model with 2 added instrument pres....thats 4 mic pres and 2 instruments. The non custom is just 4 mic pres and goes for about 800 bucks. I am in love with this thing!! Something like this coupled with, say....a pair of decent small condensers like the MXL 603 or the ATpro37R's and large condenser like the NTK or Blue Baby Bottle would be a nice thing...enough pres for stereo or stereo plus room recording and can be kept inside your budget if you look around for the best prices. The 4033's are nice as well...I have 2 I would not part with!

Not based on my experience: FMR is coming out with what should be a great 2 channel pre for around 500 bucks. Again....couple this with a small array of mics and you got bang for that buck, baby!!

I guess I'm thinking more "big picture" here.....especially if we are talking about a delicate signal like an acoustic guitar!!



heylow
 
forget the mc012s, get a schoeps small diaphram condenser and never look back.
 
For recording Martin dreadnaught guitars, my first choice is a pair of KM84s. A mic I just aquired works quite nice as well, the Shure KSM44. A few Nashville people use them an accoustic instruments. I also recommend for accoustic music a John Hardy pre. Great.

Pete
 
Like I said in my post in the other thread, Neumann KM-184's. They can be had for around $400 a piece. I have a D-41 and for god like tone, the KM-184's do the trick. The Octava does a good job too. Watch how you mic that Martin, no matter what mic you go with, they're notoriously boomy and will woof out a mic if you get near the sound hole.
 
A pair of Shure SM81's would work nicely too.
They have a bass roll off and -10db pad, if the Martin gets too boomy.
A pair of those can be had for around $700.

Spend the other $800 on a decent preamp, get some good cables, and you are set-up!
 
I've got an AKG C3000B and an Audio Technical ripoff of a 58. I use the AKG for my guitar and use the effects processor for stereo (a little delay, mic modulators) its sounds good. But I wanted that open sound of two awsome mics not distorting my jewel of a guitar, not haveing to drown the signal in EQs and effects. I think I will pickup a preamp sometime (sounds like 500 will do the trick). I understand that a lot of PREs make mad noise though.
 
Its sounds like Neumann KM84's are a favorite...how do they handle fairly low vocals (not Barry White low, just a lot of Gut)
 
KM84/KM184- Great choice for guitar. One of my last choices for vocals. That's why I suggested the AKG414- it's a standard of the industry for acoustic guitar, and a good vocal mic as well. In general, it's easier to use a good large diaphragm condenser for a guitar than it is to use a small diaphragm condenser for vocals.-Richie
 
Has anyone used one of those dbx 576 tube preamps/compressors....and what about these Davisound TB-6 and John Hardy Preamp? Any websites for them? I'm gonna check out the AKG 414, the website has a gold one too (updated or something). Is there any difference between Multi-channel pres and a couple single channel ones.
 
Endless Options

I'm with heylow on investing in mics and a good preamp. In fact, I'll even go further than that and include an A/D converter!

I propose a DaviSound TB-6 for $995 (4-ch.), a Lucid A/D 9624 (2-ch.) for $750, and that only leaves you with $250 for a pair of mics if the max. is $2k. So, I'd get a pair of Marshall Electronics MXL-603s AND a pair of Behringer ECM8000s, and use those with much great success until I can afford a pair of something else.

If the max. is $2.5k in the first place, then that leaves you $750 for a pair of mics! The possibilities open-up quite a bit at that point. You could go with a pair of Shure SM-81s or a pair of Crown CM-700s. Or nearly a pair matched-pair of AKG 451Bs or nearly a matched-pair of DaviSound DS-1950s (not a bad idea as they'll work great on vocals too). Then there's large diaphragm possibilities too. A pair of Studio Projects C3 or a pair of Audio-Technica 4033s are very nice. A few other possibilities too.

If you got the preamp, A/D converter, and you decided to go a tiny bit up to spending $1k for a pair of mics, your possibilities sore even more! Could give some examples if you care for me to.

By the way, I could have suggested the John Hardy M1 2-ch., Great River MP-2MH, Earthworks LAB 102, and many other "transparent-type" preamps that'll very much do a superb job for your needs, but they are significantly higher priced than the DaviSound TB-6 and the TB-6 certainly is just as great sounding as any of those others. Actually, the LAB 102 is only about $300 more, but I feel that extra $300 would be better spent elsewhere in this case.

Multi-channel pres and a couple single channel ones?

Simply just referring to how many channels are in a single unit. Can be anywhere from 1-to-8 (possibly 12 or 16?). Most commonly, they are 1-4.

Websites For Reference:

DaviSound: http://www.davisound.com
Lucid Audio http://www.lucidaudio.com
Marshall Electronics MXL Microphones: http://www.mxlmics.com
Behringer: http://www.behringer.com
Shure: http://www.shure.com
Crown Audio: http://www.crownaudio.com
AKG Acoustics: http://www.akg-acoustics.com
Studio Projects: http://www.studioprojects.net
Audio-Technica: http://www.audio-technica.com
The John Hardy Company: http://www.imjohn.com/JohnHardy
Great River Electronics: http://www.greatriverelectronics.com
Earthworks Audio Products: http://www.earthwks.com
 
I second the idea of going for a really good pre along with some close to GOOD mics.

For acoustic guitar, i've had great results with a mxl603/ecm8000 combo. The 603 on the 12th fret and the ecm8000 over the right shoulder. Combined, these two will cost you $100.

consider a sytek pre also. 4 channels (2 with burr brown IC's) for $800. Same price you'd pay any of the common pres on the market per channel. i.e. VTB-1, RNP.

Hope this helps,
Brandon
 
I now what a multichannel is, I wanted to know if 2 single preamps are better than their multichannel counterpart? (peanut butter and jelly is better in 2 seperate cans, not that half and half stuff) Also, I was interested in the dbx 786 acually, thats the 2 channel. A grand is a lot and I know about loyalty....Ford -VS- Chevy....I know these custom built things like Davisound and John Hardy might be the most true uncoloring Pres, but A/D converters. I've got a A/D converter in my 1680. Last time I checked....24 bit digital is 24 bit digital. But thanks. Seriously.
 
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