Is 1 AT4051a or 2 mics best?

[kenoflife]

Greetings Mic Pros!

For recording acoustic guitar (a fantastic old Gibson w/ great high, low,
and overtone resonance) - steel string or classical....
I have an Audiotechnica 4051a, an Oktava MK012 (Russian), and a
AT 4040, (and a SM57, of course)....Safesound P1 (if single), DMP3 (if
stereo) are the pres I have.

Haven't really played with it yet - figure its best with one of the following:

1. Use just the 4051a, or maybe AT4040
2. Use 2 mics (neck and second at bridge, or away from guitar in
another position - experimenting in various angles). I would follow
the protocol in the recording books I have.
a. Using 2 different mics (SDC and LDC?)
b. Stereo micing 2 SDCs (2 MK012s, or 2 AT 4051a)
Stero micing seems to bring up the issue of phase resonance, etc....and
its a little tough re-positioning as I'm recording myself and the recorder
may be in another room (with headphone access).

Of course, experimentation will be best - but I need to decide TODAY if
I want to get a second Oktava....I would rather save money toward a better pre - , or perhaps find another 4051a on eBay sometime for a reasonable cost....how good is that 4051a by itself?

 

[chessrock]

The Oktavas are so cheap, that you might as well just have two.

From there, why don't you just experiment and figure out what gives you the kind of sound you want / need? All of the options you've presented are totally viable, and worthy of consideration.

.

 

[tdukex]

For solo acoustic or sparse mixes, stereo mics sound best to me. Denser mixes I use a single mic. I will use any combination of mics as a stereo pair, but my favorite is a MXL603s at the neck and an MC012 at the bridge. Sometimes I do spaced pairs, sometimes XY, sometimes ORTF, sometimes one omni over the right shoulder.

If you listen to each mic alone and move it around on the guit, you can determine if that particular mic sounds better on the neck or the bridge, so when you do a stereo pair you'll know which direction you want each mic pointing.

Like Chess said, experiment with different mics and positioning. That is the only real way to find out what sounds good to you for a particular song.