Recording acoustic guitar and vocals

T

TexasPete

New member
I'm brand spankin' new to the forum, so I hope this is not overly duplicative of what's been posted in the past.

I am looking at purchasing a moderately-priced mic for home recording (direct in to a PC using Cakewalk GuitarStudio 2)that will be used primarily for recording vocals and acoustic guitar in mono.

Based on some basic research (i.e. what I can afford through the Musician's Friend store), the mics I'm considering are:

1) Rode NT-1
2) AKG C-1000S or C-3000B
3) Sennheiser MD-421 II
4) AudioTechnica AT-4033 SM
5) CAD E-100, M-37 or M-39

Questions:

1) Opinions on the relative merits of above choices
2) Any others I should be considering?
3) I would prefer to spend around $200, but obviously some of these are closer to $300+. I've heard good things about the AT-4033, but do you think it's work the extra $$$? These recordings are primarily for my own enjoyment and I have no illusions of sending these demos to anyone but friends and family.

Thanks for your help.
 
Hey Pete. On my guitar (nylon-string) and my voice (not nylon-string), the Rode NT-1 sounds marginally better than the AKG C1000, although both sound good to me. Using *both* of them on the guitar really sounds nice, though. :)
 
The NT-1, best for price on acoustic and vocals in my opinion-just make sure you use the gold/silver dot as the front.
 
AT 4033 Worth the extra indeed

The AT 4033 is indeed worth the extra dough...150 bucks for alot more power and clarity...strictly opinion though.
I use it on my Taylor K-10 and it accurately reproduces the sound, and then on my vocal, a very meaty tenor, and it does the job quite nicely running through an ART Tube MP.
 
"alot more power and clarity"

Compared to what? So many people say so many good things about the 4033 that I'm willing to believe it, never having used one. But can you, from experience, compare the 4033 to other mics on Pete's list? That would be really useful.
 
I've yet to get what I'd call a decent acoustic tone with my NT-1.:( also I've yet to get a bad vocal sound with the NT-1. :D The NT-1 is a great mic, but more usefull on voice than anything else.

-jhe
 
The NT-1 is a great all around mike. It does a great job of recording my gut string (no flattop currently on hand), or just about anything else.

For vocals I prefer the warmth and proximity of the trusty ole 57. It just sounds better to me for my voice. It also allows me the luxury of recording voice without the use of headphones - just play my mix back thru the monitor speakers and position the mike in such a manner that would not allow for the recording of the playback.
 
4033 vs C1000, CAD E-100, NT-1, NT-2

I used to work in a fairly large music store, and I have compared my 4033 to a C1000, C3000, CAD E-100, NT-1 and NT-2...for ME it is the best choice....the C1000 didn't give me enough warmth on my voice, the CAD E-100 I like very much on my friends voice, but not mine...and I love the CAD E-100 on a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, with a good ole 57 right at the sweet spot and the CAD about 1 1/2 to 2 feet away. The NT-1 again doesn't give me enough warmth on my vox, and the NT-2 is a little to brittle in my opinion...emphasis on the word opinion. Overall for ME, the 4033 works the best...I am lucky to have a friend with a different array of mics than me, so when we colaborate we have a wide array to choose from. But again...this is all just opinion....in my experience...stores, at least the one I worked at, will let you demo a mic out for the night to try at home...you can't get the accurate sound running through the stores gear and not hearing the sound in the mix....and again...these are my opinions, and if you like a 30 dollar radio shack, I say go for it...whatever gives you the sound you want....technical specs may be better on some, but if you hate the sound, then why bother...use your ears, and don't worry about all the numbers.
Ben
 
Hi Tex,
I am not familiar with any of the mikes you listed nor am I familiar with your software. I have an AKG C4000B and am very pleased with it. I use it to record guitar, vocals and my hammered dulcimar. I also have a couple of AKG D3700's that I use for live performances.

The main reason for my response is that there seems to be a missing link in your equipment. The only reason I bring this up is that it will be an additional expense.

The mikes you have on your list will require some form of pre-amp with phantom power. I do not think that you will be able to go direct to your computer. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Like alot of other people on this BBS, I too am faced with the greast desire to purchase all the neat equipment to have a great studio and lack the funds to accomplish it. I just don't want to see you buy a mike, take it home and plug it in and not be able to use it (what a bummer)

Good luck and happy recording
 
Hi Tex,
I am not familiar with any of the mikes you listed nor am I familiar with your software. I have an AKG C4000B and am very pleased with it. I use it to record guitar, vocals and my hammered dulcimar. I also have a couple of AKG D3700's that I use for live performances.

The main reason for my response is that there seems to be a missing link in your equipment. The only reason I bring this up is that it will be an additional expense.

The mics you have on your list will require some form of pre-amp with phantom power. I do not think that you will be able to go direct to your computer. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Like alot of other people on this BBS, I too am faced with the greast desire to purchase all the neat equipment to have a great studio and lack the funds to accomplish it. I just don't want to see you buy a mike, take it home and plug it in and not be able to use it (what a bummer)

Good luck and happy recording
 
The Phantom Menace

Thanks to all who have posted comments thus far...

I began to realize after reading some of the specs
that many of the better quality mics did run off of so
called "phantom power" while others run off of batteries,
either exclusively or as backup power.

The only mic I have previously used is a piece-of-crap
Peavey dynamic that I used for stage work and recording when I was in a high school garage band and didn't know any better. For recording with it, I ran it straight into an a four-track recorder.

I still have that old four-track recorder. Could that serve the same purpose as a pre-amp? If not, what is a relatively inexpensive but reliable source of this "phantom power"?

Perhaps more importantly, will I turn to the dark
side of the force if I use it?

O.K., just kidding on that last one. :)
 
Dunno bout the 4-track. Does it have a button somewhere that says 'phantom power' or 'p power' or something?

If the 4-track doesn't work, you'll have to get either a mixer or a preamp. If you go the preamp route, you'll need one preamp for every mic you track at the same time. The ART Tube MP costs about $100 for one channel, and is okay gear. You can get two channels of similar preamplification in the Presonus Blue Tube, which is less than $200, and just as good as the ART, from all reports.

If you're just tracking yourself, then you might not have much need for a mixer, unless you're going to be using some outboard analog effects at some point. Correct me on this if I'm missing something. :D
 
If you want to do phantom powered micing, you may be way ahead of yourself.

Most of the "better quality" mics, that run off of phantom power - need you to supply them with it, be it by mixer or by pre.

TPete,
If your budget is tighly bound - smoothly work your way up.
A 4-track recorder has it's limts as to how far it will go. Most I have seen, are not phantom.
 
Quality of Mic v. Quality of Mic Amp

Again, my thanks to all for keeping this thread going.
You have really helped me zero in on what questions to
ask.

O.K., now for the nitty gritty... if you only have
about $350.00 to spend, do you:

1. Get a NT-1 and a ART Tube MP or

2. Get a AT 4033 and a cheap Phantom Power adapter (e.g.
Rolls PB23) and hope for the best by routing it through a cheap 4-track recorder/mixer that you've had since high school.

In other words, it seems like I've a chicken or the
egg problem. I really can't justify spending the $500+
it's gonna take to get a decent mic preamp and a decent
mic, so what will make a bigger difference in sound for
the same $$$? Will it defeat the advantage of the nicer mic if you route it through a cheapo amp rig?

If I get a few responses to this, I promise I will take
my toys and go home and leave you all alone. Thanks.
 
With $350 I would...

TexasPete - I would buy an NT1 from www.zzounds.com/a--2676837 for ~$170 and then order a Joe Meek VC3 preamp from the "scratch and dent" page at www.joemeek.com for ~$150. The Meeks on that page are slightly older models, but are new and fully warranteed. I think they're out of the VC6's, but may have some VC3's left.

This will be a nice setup to start with, and I think no matter how you grow, both of these components can find usefulness in any rig. I have an NT2 and just upgraded from the VC3 to a VC6 and it is a nice sound.
 
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