overheads and acoustic guitar

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vangore

New member
Im looking to buy a pair of drum overheads and acoustic guitar mics with a budget of 1800 euro, Ihave been looking at a pair of AKG C414B-XLII, would these be the best mics within my budget to cover both aplications?

any other mic suggestions would be greatly apreciated, also I would like if these mics could shine on other instraments and vocals, ho does the akg compare to a rode K2 for mid-high male vocals? and how doesthe akg sound on heavy distortion on guitar cabs?

I will be running these thrugh old AMEK pres and meybe old tl audios, we play a variation of Heavy rock and soft rock
 
no answers? i did a search to find the answers but i didnt quite get them, i am going to be buying the mics soon so i need answers, please help.
 
vangore said:
Im looking to buy a pair of drum overheads and acoustic guitar mics with a budget of 1800 euro, Ihave been looking at a pair of AKG C414B-XLII, would these be the best mics within my budget to cover both aplications?

any other mic suggestions would be greatly apreciated, also I would like if these mics could shine on other instraments and vocals, ho does the akg compare to a rode K2 for mid-high male vocals? and how doesthe akg sound on heavy distortion on guitar cabs?

I will be running these thrugh old AMEK pres and meybe old tl audios, we play a variation of Heavy rock and soft rock
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In that price range (1800 Euro) you're in reach of the high end small diaphragm condensers, which do quite well for overheads and acoustic guitar. Schoeps CMC6/MK4 or MK41, Microtech Gefell M300 or M295, Neumann 140 Series, to name a few.
 
well the neumann 140s are well outside my budget and i cant seem to find the others for sale in england, so i should definately go for small condencers?

Im lowering my budget to 1200 becouse i have decided to get a sennheiser md421.

thank you.
 
For just overheads and acoustic guitar, most would recommend a pair of SDs, although a pair of LDs can certainly do the job. In the 1200 Euro range, here's some suggestions:

Pair Josephson C42
Pair Peluso CEMC6
Pair Neumann KM184
Pair Shure SM81
Pair AKG 451B

The Josephson, Peluso and Shure mics are American. I don't know about their price or availability in England.
 
I'll put up a vote for the SM81's. I got a pair of them a few months back, and they've been used as drum overheads both for several recordings, and also twice a week up at church. I'm sure there may be other mics that are better for micing acoustic guitars, but these have done an excellent job on my Taylor 614, and somehow seem less intrusive of the guitarist's space than most others, especially LDC's. The sound has been very detailed, and depending on placement, can vary from very light with little low end and balanced mid and treble, OR they can really bring out the depth of sound in rosewood or cedar guitars. They've just been great mics for me, and they were only about $300.00 each (no idea what that is in euros).
 
ok iv had a look at the neumann km184 and the shure sm81, i could get a pair of either of them but im getting a rode K2 for vocals and iv heard it on guitar and thought it sounded great, would it sound good combined with the neumann or the shure on acoustic?

IV heard the sm81 are just about the best drum overheads, how true is this?

thanks for the replies guys
 
vangore said:
IV heard the sm81 are just about the best drum overheads, how true is this?
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Hard to say that they are the best, because each stage, kit and drummer are different. One drummer and his kit I recorded sounded far and away better with my Solarii (or whatever the plural of Solaris) LDC's as the overheads. I've just found the SM81's to be the best option for the most number of different drummers and kits.
 
then i guess the sm81 are for me, i cant try mics out becouse im living no where near any good mic suppliers but from reviews iv read it looks like a great mic and would suit my needs well and its not too expensive, i take it a pair of AKG C414B-XLII's are not worth it?
 
Wow, AKG 414s are recording industry standards. SM81s are great mics too but I would like to see you reach higher rather then settle for the SM81s.

I would look on ebay and contact a seller to see if they would ship to you. 1200 euros= about $1600 USD? If so then you're just about there.
 
I have a friend who reckoned he AB'd a pair of C414s and a pair of Røde NT2s on his acoustic the other day and chose the NT2s. I'm never trusting his ears on anything ever again! :mad:
 
Vangore,

Now I'm confused. You first asked about the AKG 414s, then mentioned you only had 1200 Euros to spend because you were buying a Senni dynamic. Then you mentioned you're getting a Rode K2 for vocals and asked whether a SD would work well with the K2 on acoustic guitar.

If you're getting the K2, you might as well consider getting 2 of them, then you'll have a stereo pair for overheads and acoustic guitar. If you still want a pair of SDs, see my list above. Those include most of the mid-level SDs available. You can squabble about the differences between and among them, but basically they are all fine mics for overheads and acoustic guitar.

And yes (to add some confustion), the AKG 414s are great mics too, whichever flavor you get, although I wouldn't use them for acoustic guitar given other choices.
 
I havnt used the Shure SM81s so its hard for me to make a comparison. But AKG C414s absolutely rock as rock drum overheads. I hardly ever use anything else. Very thick, tight and punchy. Not overly harsh on the cymbals either. I would definately chose these over the SM81 without even knowing how the SM81 sounds.

The C414s work really well on guitar too, although the mids can sometimes be a problem. Not extremely pronounced in the highs and might be a little boxy at times. But i still think they work really well for this application. Infact for rock acoustic guitar i think they might be just what you need.

I have the C414 EBs which are more similiar to the ULS. The TLII style is a little more brighter on the top end. Not harsher just a little more pronounced. This might be exactly what you need for the cymbals and acoustic guitar and might work a little better for vocals too.

I wouldnt even chose Neumann KM184s for overheads over the AKG C414s. But im not a big small diaphragm condenser fan on those kinds of applications.

Danny
 
darnold said:
I havnt used the Shure SM81s so its hard for me to make a comparison. But AKG C414s absolutely rock as rock drum overheads. I hardly ever use anything else. Very thick, tight and punchy. Not overly harsh on the cymbals either. I would definately chose these over the SM81 without even knowing how the SM81 sounds.

The C414s work really well on guitar too, although the mids can sometimes be a problem. Not extremely pronounced in the highs and might be a little boxy at times. But i still think they work really well for this application. Infact for rock acoustic guitar i think they might be just what you need.

I have the C414 EBs which are more similiar to the ULS. The TLII style is a little more brighter on the top end. Not harsher just a little more pronounced. This might be exactly what you need for the cymbals and acoustic guitar and might work a little better for vocals too.

I wouldnt even chose Neumann KM184s for overheads over the AKG C414s. But im not a big small diaphragm condenser fan on those kinds of applications.

Danny
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Excellent :) based on your post, I would assUme that 414s lean towards getting a better drum sound then guitar and I would say that the SM81s lean towards a better guitar sound then drums.

We have a saying on another internet board that I hang out on...GET BOTH!!! :D
 
It looks like you have enough to get a matched pair of Josephson C42MP and a Shure KSM44...to handle vocals and other LDC needs.

By the way, I have used a single C42 and a KSM44 on acoustic guitar with great results. The C42 at the neck and the KSM44 coming over the players shoulder.
 
vangore, for OH and acoustic guitar I'd recommend the XLS version over the XLII. The XLS is closer to the original 414. The XLII is transformerless vocal version. Actually, if you've now got 1200 to spend there are still pairs of the recently discontinued 414 B-ULS mics available at some dealers if you look around. They sell for around 1200 pair. Definitely worth getting for those applications and an excellent workhorse mic for just about anything.
 
sorry i didnt post back, gigs the last 2 nights and work on top of that.

well i put my limit down to 1200 when i was considering a pair of SD which i wouldnt use on much else besides acoustic and overheads but if im getting the c414s then i can raise my limit becouse they will cover other applications.

I think the akg c414s will be my choice, are they any good for vocals, what else do they work well on and which version is most versitile?

thanks for all the replies guys you have been a great help.
 
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