Mic Choice for Acoustic Guitar (and some vocals) for under £700/$1000

[SevenHells]

I've recently bought a J-200 Standard and I'm looking for a quality mic to do this baby justice. It'd be mainly for recording acoustic but would also be recording (male)vocals

I use an ISA One Digital Pre.

Here are some of the mics I've been looking at, and the best prices I've been able to find. I'd like some help in narrowing them down (of course, if there are some mics which I have overlooked please let me know)

Audio Technica AT4040 - £350 (US$543)
Audio Technica AT4047/SV/SC - £439 (US$682)
Neumann KM184 - £500 (US$776)
Audio Technica AT4050 SM - £510 (US$792)
Audio Technica AT4047 MP - £629 (US$977)
Audio Technica AT4047/SV/SM - £629 (US$977)
Shure KSM44A - £663 (US$1030)
AKG C414 XLS - £670 (US$1040)
AKG C414 XLII - £687 (US$1067)

I'd prefer not to spend over £600 (US$932) but will if it is worth it (tho I can't really go over the C414 XLII price listed).

Current mics I own:
Shure c606
Behringer C-3
Se1A

Thanks

 

[Justsomeguy]

hey man, with what you've got an what you're looking at i'd personally look more at the LDC route rather than an SDC as it would comfortably do both acoustic guitar and vocals justice. it also kinda depends on what kind of sound you're looking for and what kind of music you're making.

in terms of LDC's either the C414, Neumann TLM102 or Avantone CV12 would all do a really sterling job on both.

in terms of SDC's the KM184's are outstanding, but i'd also say have a look at the Oktava MK012

i'd also say maybe look at some ribbon mic's such as the Cascade Fathead II, or if just to play around with the ribbon sound the Apex 205 (in the UK sold as the Alctron HRM 8b) for £70 with postage. not as bright as condensers but soooooooo smooth and rich sounding.

 

[SevenHells]

hey man, with what you've got an what you're looking at i'd personally look more at the LDC route rather than an SDC as it would comfortably do both acoustic guitar and vocals justice. it also kinda depends on what kind of sound you're looking for and what kind of music you're making.

in terms of LDC's either the C414, Neumann TLM102 or Avantone CV12 would all do a really sterling job on both.

in terms of SDC's the KM184's are outstanding, but i'd also say have a look at the Oktava MK012

i'd also say maybe look at some ribbon mic's such as the Cascade Fathead II, or if just to play around with the ribbon sound the Apex 205 (in the UK sold as the Alctron HRM 8b for £70 with postage. not as bright as condensers but soooooooo smooth and rich sounding.

Hey, cheers for the quick reply.

I'm liking the sound (and the look!) of the Avantone, which I can find for £390 (US$600) at Thomanns Cyberstore rather than £450-£475 in the UK.

Might just grab an Alctron HRM 8b regardless of which LDC I get. Never owned a Ribbon and it'd be cool to have a play around with it.

 

[loveofjazz]

I like the 4040 with the ISA One. The other mic choices mentioned would be cool to have for sure.
If you can afford the C414, it couldn't hurt to try. So many people speak favorably about that mic.

 

[Justsomeguy]

I'm liking the sound (and the look!) of the Avantone, which I can find for £390 (US$600) at Thomanns Cyberstore rather than £450-£475 in the UK.

Might just grab an Alctron HRM 8b regardless of which LDC I get. Never owned a Ribbon and it'd be cool to have a play around with it.

yeah, it was on thomann i did most of my looking for prices etc on my last big gear buying run and then emailed some uk stores for price matching as we have some very nice links through work who have always helped us out (it's one of the main perks of working in education ). i actually ended up with CK7 because it suited my voice perfectly and was a bit cheaper (it left me with more money in my budget for other bits i needed) but if i had had a bigger budget the CV12 would've been mine and it's still very high on my "next lot of mic's to buy" list.

and i was the same with ribbon mics; i kept seeing and hearing stuff about ribbons, fell in love with the idea, but my budget was super tight, but came across the alctron after loads of people going on about the Apex 205's so thought "meh, it's £70. if i don't like it i'll sell it on" and have been very impressed. there are some super simple mods for it that really open up the sound a bit but i've not done them yet as i'm more than happy with it. i use it alot on either M/S recording for acoustic guitars or just as a one mic pointed at the neck join on an acoustic guitar. it does need some EQ (normally a gentle cut in the low mids and about a +6dB shelf at about 12kHz) on vocals and acoustic guitars but it takes so well to EQ that even with massive boosts and cuts it just sounds so smooth.

 

[kip4]

I can vouch for the Apex 205 too.
I have the stock version and for mid/side recordings i really like it and many other things too. Not all voices. Still well worth the money though.
and if you bust the ribbon a replacement motor is only 20 quid.
All the other mics are way out of my price range and i have no experience of them so i can offer opinions on those.
I hope you find what you want.

 

[dustywake]

Check out some of the smaller companies that are making really great mics that are affordable; Mojave, Miktek, Lauton,Peluso, Perlman. Much better sounding mics and better values than the Neumann,AKG and ATs listed above.

 

[kip4]

If you have a few dollars left over check out niaint mics the omnis are amazing on acoustics. (not affiliated)

 

[SevenHells]

After looking around alot I am thinking about going for a KSM184 and an AKG C414.

As it stands, what I plan on doing is getting a 2nd ISA One Digital (since it's a great deal atm) and getting a KM184 (used or B-stock)

I can then save up again for a C414 to act as my Vocal mic and a 2nd Acoustic mic. Whilst I save up I can make do with the 184 for vocals and I can use my Se1a for a 2nd Acc mic. Plus, I will get one of those cheap ribbons to play with.

The vocal mic isn't quite as important as I don't have all the lyrics written for the EP I plan on creating anyway (and lyrics take me ages )

Once I can get my hands on a C414 I should have learnt the characteristics of the 184.


Now, someone can come along and burst my moment of clarity and drag me back down into the lost wilderness of a billion mics I've spent far too much time getting stressed about sodding mics!!!

 

[moresound]

The AKG C414 is a great vocal microphone for some and simply the worst for others - If I were you I would try one out before you make the purchase.

What part of the world are you from?

 

[moresound]

Ooops! Looks like your from the UK?

 

[SevenHells]

Yep. Manchester, UK

 

[moresound]

For I was going to say here in the States - Stores here like GC has them on display and lets you try before you purchase.

 

[Justsomeguy]

The AKG C414 is a great vocal microphone for some and simply the worst for others - If I were you I would try one out before you make the purchase.

i am one of the people in the "don't like" pile, i can't stand the thing on vocals but that is purely my personal taste and i've worked with loads of vocal tracks captured with a C414 that have been great. i'd still recommend it for acoustic guitar as it's great and, as moresound said and as i've found, it works great on some voices, but some people hate it

 

[SevenHells]

Hmmm, well I'll see about trying one out (tho I'm not much of a singer!). From what I've listened to online it sounds decent enough for me. Either way, I've got time to check out other LDCs for vocals/acoustic. Still might go for a CV12 yet.

In other news, whilst looking around for good deals, I came across a listing of "Oktava MC012 condenser mic kit (3 capsules omni,cardioid and hypercardioid) silver (used)" at StudioCare for £0.00 lol. I've ordered it. Let's see if they send them or not

 

[Justsomeguy]

I came across a listing of "Oktava MC012 condenser mic kit (3 capsules omni,cardioid and hypercardioid) silver (used)" at StudioCare for £0.00 lol. I've ordered it. Let's see if they send them or not

that.....is......AMAZING! if it works let us know

 

[moresound]

(used)" at StudioCare for £0.00 lol. - ????

 

[Justsomeguy]

it's more free stuff moresound! you can add that to your headphones and popcorn

 

[moresound]

Studiocare is a free give-a-way site in the UK

 

[Justsomeguy]

Apparently, although they seem to have made a mistake and priced everything else up properly