Mic for classical acoustic?

  • Thread starter Thread starter lkmuller
  • Start date Start date
L

lkmuller

New member
Can anyone recommend a microphone to record a classical guitar? I play jazz on my Takamine Hirade concert and although it sounds pretty good plugged direct into my Roland UA-100, I've heard that it would sound better if i miked it also. Any suggestions?
 
Two things will record your nylon-string with a better sound:

* An expensive mic. The more you pay for a mic, the more sensitive it is, more or less. A condenser sounds better than a dynamic. A ribbon sounds better than a condenser (or so I've heard, my budget not having extended to ribbons yet, but you should hear the old hands rave about them).

* Two mics. Two mics produce a clearly better sound than one mic.

Explore the Microphone Forum page to get ideas about brands.

BTW, how well does the Takamine keep in tune all the way up the fretboard?
 
Thanks Dobro, for the quick reply. My Takamine seems to stay in tune pretty much all the way up the neck. I use an Intellitouch tuner, which clips onto the head of the guitar and tunes by the vibrations in the neck when you pluck the string, so I can spot tune pretty easily just before I'm going to record or punch in a passage. Thanks again. This is good fun!
 
I'm just getting started with microphones. I'll get a Shure SM 57 just because, and which condenser for my Taylor and classical acoustics? Rode NT-1 and an Octava are both $199.95 here and would be options. Suggestions?
 
I don't hear much about rentals in these discussions--but lots of music stores rent great mics for reasonable prices. One idea is to try renting a few high quality mics--there's nothing like actually trying one out on your system and instrument so see how it shines (or fades).
 
you should try a ribbon mic, very delicate but wide open sound. Check this out, http://www.oktava.com/ml19.html , I would definetly check out the Oktava MC012 though. Very good mic, you should get it from www.oktava.com though, not guitar center, they dont test their mics like the sound room does.


ametth
 
Leotian - I like the Rode NT-1 a lot, as do many others on this page.

Recently I heard an MP3 comparison of the Oktava MC012 and a handful of similarly-priced mics, and I preferred the Oktava - made the steel-string sound warmer, less stark and jangly. I'd be happy to get one myself, not to mention a ribbon mic, as Ametth suggests.

Ametth - that's really cheap for a ribbon. Have you actually got one?



[This message has been edited by dobro (edited 03-15-2000).]
 
I talked to Taylor Johnson on the phone about this ribbon mic a few months ago. He said Oktava was going to start re-distributing this ribbon mic again because of popular demand; and he admitted they sound rather beautiful. But said he wasn't planning to sell these mics unless they were able to get the noise-floor down. Well. I guess they did? I don't know...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top