Solo acoustic condenser mic

[Jonny Unitus]

I'm thinking a pair of Marshall MXL603S...anyone got suggestions? PS my budget is $400...any help will be gratly appreciated as I'm a relative novice


Cheers

 

[Warhead]

Actually for the application and budget those are a good pick, lots of high end detail.

War

 

[taylorguitarman]

I really like my set of 603's. They sound really good in my new room. A set of Oktavas would do the trick too but will cost a bit more. I've got a single carioid one but I've been contemplating getting the matched 3 capsule pair lately. The 603's work well enough that I can't justify it at the moment. New monitors come first.

 

[Jonny Unitus]

Maybe I'm better off getting a pari of Marshalls giving me a better all-round sound? And tey are very affordable too

 

[AlexW]

I have the 603s but actually prefer the sound of a single AT 4033.

 

[Track Rat]

Better all round sound is a very subjective term. Not that you'd be disapointed in the 603's. Personaly I've never heard them. I do have a pair of the Octavas with all the caps and on some guitars/players/particular tunes they can be just the ticket. But if I were you I'd take that $400 and put into one good mic. This one is in your range and it's a dandy.
http://mercenaryaudio.com/josephsonc42.html

 

[rpd]

I love my NT-5's for acoustic guitar. Plus you get two if you want to do drum over heads, or any stereo micing.

 

[Rick Shepherd]

I also Like the AT4033 for micing acoustic, and it also does well on vocals! This sample song, just a sample, uses the AT 4033 for guitar. I panned the guitar to one side, vocals to the other so you can more clearly hear the guitar and vocals separate:

Sample Using The AT4033 for Guitar

 

[XLR]

I've used a 603s pair and think for the price they can sound good on steel str and nylon str gtr. Depending on your use though, I have to agree that a single mic of higher quality may serve you better.

Tim

 

[Big Kenny]

2nd to track rat, you won't find a better mic at that price than a josephson

 

[ozraves]

The mics I'm liking lately for acoustic guitar are the Avenson STO-2 (as a pair or a single) and the Audio-Technica AT4047 (single).

If I'm wanting shimmery, then I put up a Blue Dragonfly.

 

[TheOneTrueMatt]

How about the Studio Projects C4s? How do they stack up in all of this? I'm on a similar budget and those are what I've been looking at most seriously since I've heard pretty good things and they're about $300 a pair right now, plus omni capsules can't be bad to have. I'm planning on using them mostly for acoustic guitar as well, but since it might be awhile before I get another/better pair of SDCs, I want something that can hold up well as overheads and other sources where sdcs are appropriate.

 

[tdukex]

If you want to record in stereo NOW and get some experience with stereo micing techniques I would recommend the 603s. They will get you a very good sound IMO. You can always step up to a pair of Josephesons later (when you can afford them) and get most of your money back from the Marshalls.

 

[Robert D]

If this is for solo acoustic guitar, and not acoustic guitar sitting in a dense mix, then my recomendation is to go stereo, and I don't mean panned mono. To me, a mono solo acoustic guitar track, regardless of the price tag of the mic used, will lack dimension....period. I expect disagreement here, and conceed that a really great guitar in a great room, with a great engineer using a great signal chain can pull it off. But in the context of home/semi pro recording, I think it's easier to finess the EQ of an inexpensive stereo pair than it is to try to achieve a full sounding and spatial recording with a single high quality mic.

Cheers,
RD

 

[mandocaster]

I guess for "true" stereo, or binaural, or something like that a matched pair is necessary, but I like to use a SDC and a LDC. One close and the other not so close. I think it gives a more interesting effect.

 

[AlexW]

I used 603s stereo pair, x-y at the 12th fret or so with a Studio Projects B3 aways back; ok results. A recent session I used a single AT4033 and it came out much better; just seemed to sound more natural and sit better in the mix. Same guitar, room, everything else.

 

[Robert D]

I guess for "true" stereo, or binaural, or something like that a matched pair is necessary, but I like to use a SDC and a LDC. One close and the other not so close. I think it gives a more interesting effect.

Yup, nothing wrong with that. It's not stereo recording in the strict sense of the word, but I 've done it too, and sometimes it's a nice effect, phase issues aside. Also, I don't think a truely matched stereo pair is usually necessary for a good XY recording. The difference between same model and matched pair will be lost on most mortals.

-RD

 

[Track Rat]

I used 603s stereo pair, x-y at the 12th fret or so with a Studio Projects B3 aways back; ok results. A recent session I used a single AT4033 and it came out much better; just seemed to sound more natural and sit better in the mix. Same guitar, room, everything else.

I do like 4033's on acoustic guitars. One of their strong suits.

 

[sdelsolray]

Here's some .mp3 mixes of the same recording I did using 4 source tracks, three small diaphragm condensers and one large diaphragm condenser.

1) Schoeps XY
The Schoeps XY pair. Panned 67% left and right. Waves C4 multiband compressor, Altiverb reverb, Waves SI and Waves L1+ on the 2-buss.

2) MG UMT800 and MG M294
The Microtech Gefell UMT 800 (at the 12th fret) and the Microtech Gefell M294 (lower bout). Panned 35% left and right. Same settings for Waves C4 multiband compressor, Altiverb reverb, Waves SI and Waves L1+ on the 2-buss.

3) Schoeps XY and MG UMT800
The Schoeps XY pair, panned 100% left and right plus the Gefell UMT800 dead center. Same settings for Waves C4 multiband compressor, Altiverb reverb, Waves SI and Waves L1+ on the 2-buss.

4) Schoeps XY and MG M294
The Schoeps XY pair, panned 100% left and right plus the Gefell M294 dead center. Eq'd the 294 with a 3dB cut at 8k. Same settings for Waves C4 multiband compressor, Altiverb reverb, Waves SI and Waves L1+ on the 2-buss.

5) Schoeps XY, UMT800 and MG M294
All four mics. Schoeps XY pair, panned 100% left and right. Gefell UMT800 panned 30% right. Gefell M294 panned 30% left. Same settings for Waves C4 multiband compressor. Added stereo chorus from a TC Electronics M2000. Higher wet/dry mix for Altiverb reverb. Waves S1 set a bit wider. Waves L1+ set the same. Goin' for the pseudo new age sound.

Source Files:

The four 24 bit/44.1k .WAV source files are here, along with descriptions, if you want to download them and fool with some mixes yourself:

http://www.sdelsolray.com/