D
darnold
New member
Just thought i would get off the subject and get more on the subject of what i like as a guitar mic.
I have not used too many mics for accoustic guitar. Like i said before, i have used the ECM8000 with decent results, but mic placement for omnis i found is a little different. With traditional accoustic guitar miking techniques with the ECM8000 i found the sound to be a bit tubby sounding compared to what i like. However ive heard alot about the over the shoulder technique that seems to work quite well with micing accoustics, but i have never tried this technique. The problem i see with miking this way, is first of all (here yah go bbZ) when you are miking over the shoulder it can add a bit of distance, which will make you need to turn the gain up a bit to make up the difference, thus giving more noise and probably a hissy noise. This is probably true unless im mistaken about the over the shoulder technique's distancing. Also, like what was mentioned before, the room is a big deal when miking with omnis. If again you are putting more distance with the over the shoulder technique you are also added more room sound to the source. This can have really undesirable effects if your room isnt that great. This is just some things to consider. But if $35 is what you have then i still believe this will be the best mic for your situation.
The mic that i mainly use for accoustic guitar is the AT4033. The AT4033 gives a very warm and full sound to the guitar, leaving the nice crisp top end that you need. Although not suitable for all genres of music, it is the mic that i use most for accoustic. Besides that, its a great mic to use on almost anything. Its a very versatile mic. Many will argue that it doesnt do a very good job on vocals compared to others, but i have found that for some people it has been the perfect mic. I consider it a warm mic for vocals, where i compare a mic like the C1 more of a smooth sounding mic. But some will argue that the C1 is warm and the AT4033 is smooth. Thats one of the problems you get when people explain things like warm, smooth, bright, cold, is everyone has their own opinion of what each of those actually mean. The AT4033 has also worked great for me as drum overheads. I remember reading a thread a while ago, probably about a year ago, saying that the AT4033 has a sound similiar to a AKG c414. No im not claiming that it sounds exactly like a c414 but has the same characteristics of sounds as a 414.
The C1 i have also found to be very useful color as a accoustic guitar mic. I rarely find types of music where i would use this in my area, but im sure alot of other areas where theres more of a pop scene, i think this mic has a pretty good color for this. Its almost completely opposite of a AT4033 in my opinion on guitar. Its a very rich and bright sound that i love to hear on alot of albums. Very smooth highs which gives the guitar a nice sparkle. This might be the sound your looking for and the price on these are very reasonable
. It would also serve as a great vocal mic for you. Im guessing however that other mics from studio projects, like the B series may have a similiar effect if you need a lower cost mic. However, this is a theory with no actual experience. Maybe someone here can help you out with that.
As far as other mics go, SM57s work ok. I think they are horrible when micing accoustics live but they can do a pretty good job. Ive used numerous small diaphragms with these, i believe one model is an AT835?? But its more of a lavelier mic that i used when i first got started. They were a bit noisy but they did the job quite well when i was starting out.
Ill probably have a Rode NT3 in the studio within the next couple of weeks. A friend of mine who owns one will be working in the studio soon and i was planning on trying one of these out for a couple of things. I wanted to try it on acoustic guitar as well as high hat and see how they are and if i should buy some myself (although i would probably get a matched NT5 set). Ill let everyone know what i find on these mics.
Hope this information was valuable for you. And i hope what i say doesnt start any arguments
. I still think one of your biggest problems is your room. Give it a try and tell me what you discover.
danny
I have not used too many mics for accoustic guitar. Like i said before, i have used the ECM8000 with decent results, but mic placement for omnis i found is a little different. With traditional accoustic guitar miking techniques with the ECM8000 i found the sound to be a bit tubby sounding compared to what i like. However ive heard alot about the over the shoulder technique that seems to work quite well with micing accoustics, but i have never tried this technique. The problem i see with miking this way, is first of all (here yah go bbZ) when you are miking over the shoulder it can add a bit of distance, which will make you need to turn the gain up a bit to make up the difference, thus giving more noise and probably a hissy noise. This is probably true unless im mistaken about the over the shoulder technique's distancing. Also, like what was mentioned before, the room is a big deal when miking with omnis. If again you are putting more distance with the over the shoulder technique you are also added more room sound to the source. This can have really undesirable effects if your room isnt that great. This is just some things to consider. But if $35 is what you have then i still believe this will be the best mic for your situation.
The mic that i mainly use for accoustic guitar is the AT4033. The AT4033 gives a very warm and full sound to the guitar, leaving the nice crisp top end that you need. Although not suitable for all genres of music, it is the mic that i use most for accoustic. Besides that, its a great mic to use on almost anything. Its a very versatile mic. Many will argue that it doesnt do a very good job on vocals compared to others, but i have found that for some people it has been the perfect mic. I consider it a warm mic for vocals, where i compare a mic like the C1 more of a smooth sounding mic. But some will argue that the C1 is warm and the AT4033 is smooth. Thats one of the problems you get when people explain things like warm, smooth, bright, cold, is everyone has their own opinion of what each of those actually mean. The AT4033 has also worked great for me as drum overheads. I remember reading a thread a while ago, probably about a year ago, saying that the AT4033 has a sound similiar to a AKG c414. No im not claiming that it sounds exactly like a c414 but has the same characteristics of sounds as a 414.
The C1 i have also found to be very useful color as a accoustic guitar mic. I rarely find types of music where i would use this in my area, but im sure alot of other areas where theres more of a pop scene, i think this mic has a pretty good color for this. Its almost completely opposite of a AT4033 in my opinion on guitar. Its a very rich and bright sound that i love to hear on alot of albums. Very smooth highs which gives the guitar a nice sparkle. This might be the sound your looking for and the price on these are very reasonable
. It would also serve as a great vocal mic for you. Im guessing however that other mics from studio projects, like the B series may have a similiar effect if you need a lower cost mic. However, this is a theory with no actual experience. Maybe someone here can help you out with that.As far as other mics go, SM57s work ok. I think they are horrible when micing accoustics live but they can do a pretty good job. Ive used numerous small diaphragms with these, i believe one model is an AT835?? But its more of a lavelier mic that i used when i first got started. They were a bit noisy but they did the job quite well when i was starting out.
Ill probably have a Rode NT3 in the studio within the next couple of weeks. A friend of mine who owns one will be working in the studio soon and i was planning on trying one of these out for a couple of things. I wanted to try it on acoustic guitar as well as high hat and see how they are and if i should buy some myself (although i would probably get a matched NT5 set). Ill let everyone know what i find on these mics.
Hope this information was valuable for you. And i hope what i say doesnt start any arguments
. I still think one of your biggest problems is your room. Give it a try and tell me what you discover.danny
