marshal MXL 603s on acoustic guitar?

F

frequency_

New member
I ve been using the x/y technique on acoustic guitar using a pair of c1000s, placed 2-3 feet away from the guitar and pointing the guitar. and i ve had some good results. Ive not tried it with other mics and i think its time to replace my c1000's with another pair. I m thinking to go for a pair of marshal MXL 603S. has anyone had any experience recording acoustic guitar with those mics? i ll also be using them on overheads. thx
 
I've had some good experiences with mine. I find them to be VERY sensitive, so it really helps i fyou have a good room, and can set up some treatment in the space around the mic, or you will get a lot of the room in there.

These are pretty bright, and i like to add a LDC (in my case an Oktava 319) that is off the body of the guitar a bit, and if placement is good, i find that belnded witht he 603s gives a bit more depth and body to the tracks.

I've used them as overheads as well, and the birghtness and sensitivity are the things to work with, cymbals can be over powering if you can't get the placement jsut right, but they sounds pretty good for the price.

If you already have a SDC option though, 603s are not going to be a huge step up the way a really nice pair would be (the oktavas or shures for instance might be a much bigger jump, but I don't have hands on experience there). I think both the c1000's and 603s would be considered bargain mics, althought he 603s might be a good bit better than the c1000 (I don't actually know that at all myself). The next level of mic would probabaly be a better overall investment.

Dave
 
frequency_ said:
I m thinking to go for a pair of marshal MXL 603S. has anyone had any experience recording acoustic guitar with those mics?
Click to expand...

I've used both the C1000 and MXL603's for acoustic gtr and drum overheads. I prefer the MXL603's for both applications.

The 603's are a bit crispy but not as much as the brittle/crispiness of the C1000's.
 
On the right guitar the 603's can work well, on the wrong guitar they are a little crisp. It also depends on your taste, and how much string vs wood you like to capture. If you want a more organic sound, and need to stay in budget, consider getting a pair of Oktava Mk-012's. Someone posted a comparison of them and the 603's a while back, so search for it. Both mics are good for overheads also, though again I prefer the 012's, where the 603's can sound strident on the cymbols. Either way you'll be better off than with those C-1000's. Think of it as the 603's are a step away from what annoys most folks about the C-1000's, and the 012's are two steps away.
 
I'm one who's had really great results with the 603s. Things got even better when I picked up a pair of Omni capsules for them.
 
punkin said:
....had really great results with 603s... even better (with) Omni capsules.
Click to expand...

I'd like to "second" that thought. I bought
a 604 pair, which come with the omni caps.
Great results X/Y (135 degrees) and over
the shoulder. This also tamed all phase
issues and removed "crisp" from my take
on their sound.
 
Over the shoulder

Hi,

I like a 603 over the shoulder on acoustic guitar. I'll use it with a pair of omnis in real close. No proximity effect with omnis.

I also like the AT Pro37 or Pro37r. Sometimes as much as the 603. Sometimes more. The Pro37 certainly has that high end detail down if that's what you're looking for.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
I often use the MXL 603s and the MK 012 as a stereo pair on acou guit. The 603s is a little brighter but they sound very similar to me. Both are excellent mics for acou guit IMO. Mic placement (and a decent room) is key IMO.
 
on the right guitar, the 603's are quite nice. the omni capsules are definitely not as sizzly as the cardioid caps. the omnis also pick up more of the room, obviously.

if the acoustic guitar is a "focal point" of the track, i'll usually do one mic around 12/14th fret, out about 6 inches. then i'll do the other one over the player's strumming shoulder pointing down towards the floor and back towards the lower bout. this spaced pair almost always gives me great results.

if the acoustic isn't a focal point of the track, it's just strumming, etc., i'll typically go for something else.


cheers,
wade
 
Wow, thanks Julian! I’m glad you like it. I’ll take credit for writing the song but not for the playing and singing, John Foster, a guy that lives here in Nashville played and sang the tune. I agree with you, he did awesome!

I recorded the acoustics with my 603s in X-Y (about 90 degrees) on the 12th fret into my Apogee Mini Me with the compressor/soft limiter engaged on the softer curve (preset 1, for those who have the Mini Me). The song has 3 acoustic tracks and the reason why it sounds so big is because he doubled the rhythm part playing it higher on the neck with a capo. That part is panned hard left and right and is louder on the choruses than in the verses.

Vocals were recorded with a Shure KSM27 inside of a sE Electronics Reflection Filter (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Reflexion/) that works great, by the way, into my Mini Me with the compressor and soft limiter engaged on preset 1.

For the mix, I used the URS Classic Console Strip (the $199 one, not the newer $600 one) plug in on every track and added IK Multimedia CSR for reverb (classic plate factory preset) through a bus. I also added analog distortion/warmth to every track using a bus with the freebie Modern Plugins Analoger and added a compressor and Ozone (maximizer and stereo enhancer engaged only) on the master bus. Oh, I almost forgot, my favorite trick for vocals is inserting an stereo bus on the mono lead vocal and have both the mono and stereo tracks mixed. The vocal bus had a very soft and short delay and the same reverb than the rest of tracks.

I use Sonar 6 Studio and John played a $1500 Taylor acoustic that sounded like a million dollars and he obviously can sing, which helps A LOT. Haha!

Sorry for the long post but I don’t think I left anything out ;-)
 
603s every time

I have had great results using my 603s for acoustic guitars and ukelele. The best part is that the 603s was a freebee that came bundled with my 2001 . Way better than my akg mic, which is too "clinical" sounding.(cold)
 
What this proves is that if you have a couple nice mics, a decent room, and a nice guitar being played by a good guitar player, and you work with various mic placements until you find one you like, and your recording setup is good, then it will sound good.

Chinese, German, dynamic, condensor, large, small, engineer, player -- all minor details. (Really expensive set up by someone who knows how to do it; that I concede is a big deal.)
 
I'm pretty impressed with the 603s personally. However for the same pricish - I actually prefer the Joe Meek JM27s. I've had oddly good luck with them. I've tried them on hihats and acoustic.

Check out myspace.com/wearechasingghosts and listen to till they're not seen. The acoustic was recorded with a pair of those.

If you can put a bit more dough into it. Look at the oktava mk012's. Me likes a lot and wish I never sold them.
 
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