Stereo Micing an Acoustic??

[powderfinger]

I've never had matching mics to stereo mic my acoustic, and this christmas might be the time to do that.

preferably, i'd like to get a set of mics that i could use for stereo micing my acoutic as well as serve some other functions...any ideas? ($200 - $350 price range for the set)

will sm-57's cut it for this....or would condensors be far superior??

 

[Track Rat]

Personally, I prefere small diaphram condensors.

 

[participant]

Oktava mc012's... man, I'm surprised you don't own a pair already.

Marshall Electronics MXL 603s...

 

[powderfinger]

thanks guys,

a set of oktava's look pretty good.......$199 plus free shipping at musician's friend........apparently they're good for drum overheads and background vocals too

 

[H2oskiphil]

Powder-

The build quality of the Oktava's vary wildly from unit to unit. The pair that you get from MF might end up sounding like 2 different mics.

I've got a pair of the 012's that I bought at Guitar Center-I made the salesman go through about 8 different mics before I was satisfied that the 2 were somewhat close in comparison to each other.

I'd be a little leery about buying 2 at random from MF...you MAY want to consider listening to a set before you buy them, if it's practical.

That having been said, I LOVE the 2 I've got.

 

[powderfinger]

H2oskiphil,

that's a very good point......i might think about going down to guitar center and checking it out

 

[PinkStrat]

I just got an Audio Technica AT825 that is a dual x/y stereo cardioid microphone. It can run on batteries and/or phantom power. I'll give it the initial test tonight on acoustic & let you know how it stacks up to the SD condensers. Usually I use one SD and one LD condenser for this purpose, however, the thought of a single x/y mic was quite intriguing! Simple to set up too...

 

[SLuiCe]

PF...I don't think you'll be disappointed with 012's if you get them at least somewhat closely matched...within a couple db's. I little extra gain on one of the pre channels would probably be OK...especially at 199/pair.

I got 2 from MF myself...had to send the first two back because they were both returns that accidently got put into my order. The two I have now I like a lot. Another guy from the clinic that uses them is Jeff Marcomb. We both use them on acoustics.
I also like combining one with a sm57 to stereo mic clean electric amps. And they're cute little fuckers too...

 

[tdukex]

Two MC012s would work great, as would two MXL 603s. For acoustic guitar, I use a 603s ($80) at the neck and a Behringer ECM8000 omni ($40) at the bridge--a very nice stereo combination for acoustic guitar--instead of using my $1,000 tube mic. And if you bought these two SD mics you'd have another $80 left over for a SP B1 for vocals--which I hear also excells on acoustic guitar and guitar cabs.

Now for $200, you have a great cardioid SD (MXL 603s), a very nice SD omni (ECM8000), and a LD for voice and other applications (SP B1). That gives you an awful lot of versatility for $200.

 

[powderfinger]

thanks for the help guys........i think i might go for the 012s

 

[Guardian]

MC012's

I recently did a session with a singer/songwriter and I used the MC012's on his acoustic. I used the hypercardiod capsules for maximum isolation, as we were recording vocals (for real) at the same time. I chose performance/comfortability factor over pristineness of sound.. this is a VERY quick mix I threw together, with a splash of EQ, compression, and a quick reverb patch.

So don't judge me It's just so you can hear the MC012's.

Vocal mic is a Neumann TLM103 into a Studio Projects VTB1 with a nudge of tube-blend, the MC012's are going into a Mackie VLZ, and everything was recording on ADAT @ 20b/48k.

(I like the way the client performs this song live, so I had him play it for me to just 'have' and who knows? ..there are no plans to put it on the album/demo we're working on tho)

(I had to chop the end to make it fit)

 

[powderfinger]

Guardian,

thanks for posting that.......they sound good

 

[RDuke]

I've been using an unmatched pair with good results...AKG c1000s and Rode NT1, preamped with MidiMan Audio Buddy. They sound similar and complement each other well.

Rick

 

[fimpen]

I recorded an acoustic yesterday with a pair of DPA 4006 in narrow X/Y

Just beautiful...

/fim

 

[Guardian]

lala

Thanks Powder...

DAMN FIMPEN! If I had a pair of DPA 4066's, I'd spend all day staring at them and otherwise worshipping them

 

[Randy Yell]

I use a behringer ECM8000 at the bridge and a Studio Projects TB1 about a foot or so back from the neck.

 

[PinkStrat]

Hi Guardian,

That's a great sound there! What was the guitar used in the clip, a dreadnought or smaller? I have a 000 sized acoustic so it requires a certain placement and certain mics to bring it out correctly. I usually use an Equitek E-350 off to the right of the soundhole & and AKG C 391B aimed at the nut [or sometimes the body joint]. And sometimes the AKG C 4000B comes in handy too. My particular instrument projects quite far out front and is also quite loud too. However it is sure sweet when it's mic'ed up right....wow!

 

[pipelineaudio]

I use a pair of AKG 414's in M/S. WAY close to the guitar ( youll get breathing noises from the players nostrils) aimed just at the neck/body joint but angled slightly so that the S mic catches only a glancing blow from the soundhole...keep a bat closeby and if the player moves, whack him in the shins, right below where the mic boom is. Dont aim any higher on the body or he'll cringe and youll have to re set the mics

 

[Guardian]

Hmm

Thanks Pink..it was a Taylor, I'm not sure what model..but it was definitely a dread. It didn't have a pickup when he bought it <used>, so he had one installed.

 

[maskedman72]

dont make the mistake i made by getting them at g.c. or m.f.
get em from the sound room.