Mic for Recording Guitar and the Cajon

M

Marcell Simó

New member
Hey guys,

I am about to record an acoustic song where I would like to use a cajon drum and acoustic guitars. For the vocals I've been using the Rode NT1-A and it worked pretty well so I decided to stick with it however I cannot decide what mic to buy to be able to record both the cajon and the guitar in good quality.

For the cajon I would use both the NT1-A and a small condenser dynamic mic such as the Shure M57. The problem is that I am on a budget so I cannot afford to buy another mic for the guitars.

Now I've read that a large condenser mic is the best for recording guitars but I've also heard a coulpe of producions where the guitars were recorded by a small condenser dynamic mic.

I cehcked out a page I found : Cakewalk Support Knowledge Base - 10 Microphone Placement Techniques for Acoustic Guitar .
The guy records the same thing with a bunch of setups and I like these two the best:

https://soundcloud.com/cakewalksoftware/xy
https://soundcloud.com/cakewalksoftware/dual-dynamic

He used two dynamic mics for both of these recordings.

Considering all these informations (sorry for being a bit messy) what would you suggest?

Thank you guys in advance

Marcell
 
Hi Marcell
Do you have to record all instruments at once? (What interface are you using and do you have enough inputs to record more than 2 mic's at the same time?)
Now this part confuses me: "I've also heard a coulpe of producions where the guitars were recorded by a small condenser dynamic mic."
Mic can't be both dynamic and condenser at the same time. :P I bet you are talking about condensers and yes, you can get absolutely great sounds with them. Only thing is that cheaper ones often need much more work to get them sound good.

I'll let someone else suggest you some mics. However in my opinion they don't have to be small condensers, as you can get large ones for about the same price.
 
Some reading...
Recording Acoustic Guitar

Yes, we need the make and model of interface. Dynamic mics? Yes again, my son prefers the sound of an SM57 on his Turner acoustic over the AKG SDCs and the Sontronics STC-2 but he's weird!

You would need an AI with more gain and lower noise than most. My NI KA6 could do with 6dB more gain since I need it flat out for delicate guitar pickin' with a dymo but the noise level is very low so no matter. The combination of an Allen and Heath ZED10 feeding a 2496 sound card is actually no better noisewise but gives a wee bit of gain in hand.

I understand that both the Focusrite Scarlet series and Steinberg UR22 AIs have good enough pres for this task?

But quite honestly I would go for small D capacitors. I find the AKG P170 to be fine and I think you would have to pay a LOT more to get any real sonic benefit?

Dave.
 
Hey guys

Thank you for your replies. Sorry for confusing you :)

Answering your qeustion no, I don't need to record all instruments at the same time however my audio interface is the Alesis io2 Express which is a very basic interface and only has 2 mic inputs.

Please keep in mind that I would like to use the small condenser for recording the cajon drum as well.

So I found a few videos on youtube introducing the AKG P170. I liked the sound of it. But it is not as popular as the Shure M57. Would I be able to record a good quality sound with tha Cajon as well?

Thank you

Marcell
 
The 57 (as mentioned, a dynamic - not a condenser) is and has been a go-to mic for both guitar and cajon for decades. The 57 'in the hole' and the NT1 a couple feet away from the playing surface and you're done.
 
I have gotten good results with an Audix i5 on both a guitar amp and mic'ing near the sound hole of an acoustic. It's very similar to the 57. I have the NT1A as well, and it does a great job on acoustic. I point it towards the end of the fretboard. I did a soundtest once using my acoustic's internal pickup, the i5 at the soundhole, and the NT1A at the fretboard. I preferred the Rode by a longshot. The i5 sounded good, but the Rode had a nice depth to it.
 
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