Recording acoustic guitar: budget <$500

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sfmartins

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I am trying to get some opinions for non-professional home recording.
I just want to record 1 Martin acoustic guitar for mainly fingerstyle.

My suggestions for mics so far:

- Studio Projects B1 ($100)
- Audio Technica AT-3031 ($170)
- Rode NT1A Cardioid Microphone RD-NT1A ($220)
- Rode NT5-S ($220)

As for the interface

- PreSonus AudioBox USB ($150)

Any suggestions are very appreciated.

Thank you all for the time.
 
Are you talking single mics, or pairs? Acoustic guitar really comes to life when recorded with a stereo a pair in any number of configurations. If I'm double tracking (backing or rhythm parts) I'll just use one, but for all other applications I record my acoustic with a pair of mics.

Oh yeah, and while I have a number of buget to mid mics, my favorites for this are the Rode NT5s. I'm afraid I have no experience with the other mics you mentioned.
 
I am trying to find the best option in this price range, so if I can get a nice pair that would be great.

Any other suggestions apart from the ones I mentioned?
What about the interface?

Thanks again. I really appreciate the help.
 
budgets to low for both mics an an interface your sacrificing to much
 
I guess that's true...

What would be the minimum cost of a decent interface + micro combination?

I had a suggestion for a Apogee Duet + Cascade Fathead II Ribbons or Studio Projects C4's, which would go above $800.

I can probably replace the Apogee for the $300 Firebox. What about the micros?

Thanks!
 
id go with rode nt5's or rode nt4 nt4 is simple as it gets and it sounds great can be had for 400 on ebay new

this takes the guess work out of stereo mic placement and it's pretty nice match levels and your done that with a decent interface if you have to have the presonus I'd add a dmp3 dual preamp later I'm sure the presounus preamps are garbage in that unit

RODE_NT4_dw.jpg


if it works Mackie Onyx Satellite FireWire Interface i love the preamps in this thing perfect for a true to life recording

can be had dirt cheap to and are worth it for the 2 preamps alone which can be used alone

so that would put you at about 575-600ish but youd have great quality
 
I have a matched pair of the NT5's and love them. Used them on the guitar in "Hey Luanne" and "All In This Together Now" that are posted to MySpace. Recorded straight into a Projectmix I/O. I can post higher quality copies for you if you want to take a better listen.

http://www.myspace.com/ilantisstudio
 
I also own the rode nt5's and love mine as well, but I just think of sometimes picking up the nt4 for a very quick and simple drum overhead solution

I'd be happy to send you some guitar samples if you like as well of a cheap washburn with good strings that can sound as nice as any taylor with these mics lol I know since I've recorded a few taylors martins etc.

I know you guys don't know me, but I'll say I'm a producer/engineer if I'm in a session and there are no neumann km184s I bring the nt5s
 
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I also had suggestions for Cascade Fathead II Ribbons or Studio Projects C4.
Any opinions on how they compare with the Rode nt5 or nt4?

Thanks!
 
Naiant mics with the presonus interface would do very acceptable "non-professional" recordings.
 
You can do pretty well with that interface and a couple decent condensors. I use 2 CAD M177's, they're the only condensors I have, so I can't tell you how they compare. But they sound good to me, and I'm sure any of the mics listed are capable of getting you a decent "non-professional home recording".

I'm with WhiteStrat, 2 mics sound really nice. Position one at the bridge and one at the 12th fret, a foot or so away, kinda pointed towards the sound hole.
 
Wait, hold up - let's keep things in perspective, guys.

The guy freely admits he's not after "professional" results, he just wants to have some fun doing some solo acoustic recordings. Yes, if he drops $8-900 on a pair of good condensers and a good quality interface, he'll get better results... But even the Presonus he's looking at plus maybe the MXL 990/991 set that seems to be considered a good "bang-for-buck" set around here are going to give him MUCH better results than anything else at his disposal, and will probably keep the guy happy. And, $150 for the Presonus plus $100 for the MXL's, and he's at $250 - maybe $300 if you include mic stands and cables.

Under his budget, for one, and WAY under the $800 figure some of you are citing... Yes, it'd be a better rig, but consider the poster's needs, too.
 
Thanks a lot Drew for your suggestions. I think I mentalized myself that I need to go close to $500 to get something a bit more decent.

Putting everything together, the best for 1 acoustic guitar seems to be

- Pair of Studio Projects C4's (~$280) or of Rode NT5 (~$350)
- PreSonus AudioBox USB (~$150) or PreSonus Firebox (~$300)

Which is between $400-650.
I will probably make the final decision according to cheap deals I find here on the forum, ebay, craigs, etc.

There are very different opinions on the Naiant mics, and I am afraid of buying something cheap and regret later.
Do you guys have anything else that I should consider?

Thanks again.
 
Audio Technica Pro37

sfmartins,

There's lots of different opinions on the Naiant mics, most of them good. For recording acoustic guitar in stereo I love two Naiant omnis on my Jecklin disc. I also used this setup to record a Jazz piano CD on a Steinway baby grand. They just sound really good. You should buy them and something else.

On the something else I like the Audio Technica Pro37 (same as Pro37r) SDC cardiod mics. Since they're cardiods they will give you stereo options that you don't get with omnis. They have an extremely detailed high end great for that acoustic guitar nuance that is so important.

Another option for your interface is the M-Audio Omnistudio if you have a PCI slot on your computer. I still don't have an Omnistudio but I love the M-Audio pres and I plan on using an Omnistudio for my in the box solution.

Lately I've been recording stereo to my Zoom H4. Sometimes with my M-Audio DMP2 pres and sometimes using the H4 pres. As well as being a portable flash recorder it is also a computer interface and four track multitracker but I haven't used mine like that yet. I am really happy with it as a flash recorder. Even with the built in mics it sounds good.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
The guy freely admits he's not after "professional" results, he just wants to have some fun doing some solo acoustic recordings. Yes, if he drops $8-900 on a pair of good condensers and a good quality interface, he'll get better results.
Click to expand...

yes

but, I was thinking of the guys budget cause I was including resale value used nt5s about 300 325 on ebay a used mxl 990? :D

used mackie interface is about the same as a used presonus I'd imagine though I'm actully gonna look. I really liked the pres in that thing so if i can fond one cheap I will and i have 30 preamps already lol

also how may of us started going I just wanna record.... ?

this is stuff he can build off of later on not just cheap stuff he wont get value back on buy cheap buy twice or buy cheap lose your tail

buy decent buy once buy once get most return back thats my 2 cents
 
Here's what I would do with your budget. Get a used apogee duet (assuming you record on a mac). They sell all the time for around $400 used on gearslutz, or ebay. Get two Niant X-Q omni mics (about $70 new) to use while you save up for the mics you really want. The apogee duet is a killer deal for the quality of the converters and preamps you get. I don't think you can touch that quality with the other gear mentioned. You'll be making great recordings instantly, on budget, and you'll have a great interface that won't need upgrading until you start recording more than two channels at once. Save up for the Rode's or Joly modded Oktava's or ... You'll thank me later.
 
We have a Sontronics STS-2 LDC. superb but big and not perhaps the best thing for acoustic guitar in a V small untreated room (great in front of a Celestion tho'!).

I have recently bought two (not a pair) AKG Perception 150's (SDC's). Used as a CO-I pair we get very good results on acoustic guitar. They are on special offer here at the moment, £55 one, £85, two and it gets better the more you buy.

Matched pair are not available AFAIK but unless you are looking for the last word in stereo image precision I doubt the extra cost is worth it anyway( can it matter for a solo instrument?). My two differ in output by perhaps 2dB? Beer into water to tweak that!

Dave.
 
sfmartins said:
I am trying to get some opinions for non-professional home recording.
I just want to record 1 Martin acoustic guitar for mainly fingerstyle.

My suggestions for mics so far:

- Studio Projects B1 ($100)
- Audio Technica AT-3031 ($170)
- Rode NT1A Cardioid Microphone RD-NT1A ($220)
- Rode NT5-S ($220)

As for the interface

- PreSonus AudioBox USB ($150)

Any suggestions are very appreciated.

Thank you all for the time.
Click to expand...

You also need nearfield monitors and a pair of headphones. Perhaps a Zoom H2 of H4 and use the rest of the $$ (plus a bit more perhaps) for your monitoring chain.
 
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