Mic suggestions for acoustic guitar and voxs

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Barry79

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Hi there,

I'd like to update my recording chain and am looking for some suggestions.

Here's what I currently have -

Logic Express 7
SM58
PreSonus Firebox
Ordinary cheap pair of headphones
Samson Rubicon R5A monitors
iMac 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo, 2 GB SDRAM, OsX 10
A room, 25 x 15 x 10 feet, with a wooden floor and concrete walls.

Here's what I record -

Myself singing folk music, and my solid body dreadnought acoustic guitar.

What kinds of condenser mic would be suitable for recording acoustic and vox in my room at home? Maybe a dedicated mic for each, guitar and voxs, is the way to go.

I currently use the reverb and compression that come with Logic. Perhaps these are weak points in my chain, what do you think? Would you suggest an outboard compressor and preamp? If so, what models should I look into?

I also plan on getting good tracking headphones.

So, I have between 500 and 1000 dollars to spend. What improvements might I make to improve my recordings?

Thanks for your suggestions,

Barry
 
I wouldn't buy rack equipment, I think you have to spend big bucks to beat plugins nowadays. I'd probably go with 2 new mics and a bunch of 703. Decent sized room, but the concrete walls mean bigtime reflections. You'll definitely hear your acoustic problems with any 1/2way decent condensor. I have a pair of CAD M177's which are great for the money imo. You could get 2 of those and make yourself tons of panels and/or superchunks for well under a grand. In any case, taming that room will prolly be the most improvement you can get for your $$ at this point.
 
I second what he is saying on taming that room...but Id stay with the SM58 for voice...and maybe an AT3035 for your guitar...I scored one for $50.
 
I'd probably go with 2 new mics and a bunch of 703.

Please remember that somebody that doesn't know what 703 is would have no idea what 703 means, unless they live in northern VA and want to represent ;)

Let's try: "rigid fiberglass insulation panels" instead, or at least specify Owens-Corning 703 (although there are several other manufacturers with their own equivalent models).

I can just imagine all the phone calls to local insulation suppliers:

Studio Dude: "You got OC703?"

Supplier: "No . . ."

Studio Dude: <click>

Supplier: ". . . but we have Certainteed Acoustical Board . . ."
 
I'm in the middle of recording an album with a friend of mine, and we used a Rode NT1a on the acoustic guitars. Great grisp response. Of course the room is also important in getting a nice acoustic sound. But in terms of mics, I'd recommend the Rode for guitars...we haven't gotten to vocals yet, but we'll be tracking those separately, and I have a feeling it will shine. In the price range at least, the NT1a is a great buy. I have an AKG Perception 200, and the Rode out-performs it. The AKG is a nice mic, but it lacks the clarity and accuracy of the Rode. Just my $0.02
 
If you can't find any Owens Corning 703 you can use 6lb mineral wool instead. That's the equivalent density...it'll work just as well and will probably be quite a bit cheaper.

Frank
 
I also would spend most of my $ on the room to make sure it sounds good--it is part of your instrument's original sound.

Pick up a Naiant X-M ($70) or a pair of Naiant X-Q ($70) SDCs for the guit.

For vox, with the $ you have left, buy the best LD condenser you can afford. There are plenty of good options here.

You don't need to spend $ on tracking headphones. The ones you have are fine.

Mix on your monitors.
 
I second what he is saying on taming that room...but Id stay with the SM58 for voice...and maybe an AT3035 for your guitar...I scored one for $50.

I second the AT3035 suggestion. Used a couple of these for years, and I always enjoyed the quality for the price. Of course I eventually started using Earthworks mics for acoustic stuff... but the AT's were still great in the beginning.
 
I'm going to go against the grain here. Yes, room treatment is great. But, you have a decent sized room, and it's not like mixing folk music is a big chore. Vocals and guitars don't often have fundamentals below 80Hz, and even that lowest octave isn't as strong as the first harmonic for those sources, so I don't see an immediate need for a lavish expenditure on bass traps.

So you can go light on the treatment; two or three panels strategically placed around you as you record will probably do.

What you should do is move around the room and see how things sound at each location. Chances are there are a few locations and orientations that sound better than others. Find one of those, add a few panels, and you're ready to go. $100 if you DIY ought to do it.

One basic goal of room treatment for tracking is to knock down early reflections. Ideally, you don't want reflections coming back at you before 40msec. Sound travels roughly 1ft/msec, so to the far end of your room and back is about right. Just put the panels around you, and the rest should take care of itself.

Just do this--they have a bit more height here, so consider hanging a panel above you:

20070201_dylan_studio_3.jpg
 
Logic Express 7
SM58
PreSonus Firebox
Ordinary cheap pair of headphones
Samson Rubicon R5A monitors
iMac 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo, 2 GB SDRAM, OsX 10
A room, 25 x 15 x 10 feet, with a wooden floor and concrete walls.

Here's what I record -

Myself singing folk music, and my solid body dreadnought acoustic guitar.
...

So, I have between 500 and 1000 dollars to spend. What improvements might I make to improve my recordings?

I agree with mshilarious that some mild treatment like panels or moving blankets on mic stands around you would be good enough to minimize nasty early reflections.

My concern for your setup would be mics and preamps. The SM58 is a reasonably good dynamic for vox and will act to minimize room and guitar bleed. Over time as you get more $ you can replace it with a good $500 LDC. For now I would just get a good guitar mic like Peluso CEMC6 or SM81. Either is a $300 mic, and one you'd probably never sell.

For vox and acoustic guitar you are recording at low levels, so preamp becomes important. I have heard that the preamps on the Firebox are noisy (hissy), so outboard pres would be good I think. I would probably get ART MPA Gold (2 channels) for $300 if you want to record vox and guitar simultaneously. For vox, a GA Pre-73 might be good ($300). I really like the Sytek MPX-4Aii for a very quiet, clean pre for vox and guitar, but it is probably beyond your $ right now (4 channels for $900).

Add vocal compression to taste using your software - no need to add it with hardware on the way in.

Grow your system slowly, buying quality gear, only after you have used your existing equipment long enough to really know what you need next.
 
I would probably get ART MPA Gold (2 channels) for $300 if you want to record vox and guitar simultaneously. .

I have to object...besides Behringer...ART is the worst noisy preamps on the market...lump presonus in with them...or just about anything with a tube that is being used as lamp....there are nice pure sounding preamps he can get in that price range that wont trash all over his recordings.

A place like this should be warning people not to spend thier money on inferior gear...not promoting it:rolleyes:
 
mhilarious may have a point that because of the room size (and the fact that it is not square) you will be able to finds some spots that sound better than others. You will probably want to get a rug as well and try recording with and without it. Early reflections "will" be a problem (especially with concrete walls), and I am not sure if you will need bass traps or not.

My point is to get your recording space set up and sounding good first. I would consider buying the Naiants (or other decent, inexpensive SDCs) first so you can start evaluating your room and the treatment it will (or won't need). You can also find out if your preamps are going to be up to the task.

I absolutely would not go out and spend a lot of money on preamps and mics until I have my room straight and have some experience recording. I make very good acou guit recordings with an M-Audio DMP3, an older Marshall MXL 603s and an Oktava MC012 or two Naiant MSH-1s. The Pelusos or SM81 and the Sytek would be a great sounding combo, no doubt, just not needed to make good recordings if the room is right.
 
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