two different LDC or two matched SDC mics for classic guitar.. opinions?

[coccoietto]

Hello everybody.
I would like to receive some help please. I am going to organize my home recording project, and I need some suggestions about recording the classic guitar. I have the possibility to use one LDC mic, peavey Studio pro M1, which sounds fine but a bit dark. But I wanna have a stereo recording. My options now are the following: 1) buy another LDC good quality mic, to combine with the previous one (I was thinking the AKG C3000); 2) buy a pair of matched SDC mic (such as OKTAVA MK012). Based on your experience, which choice would be the best, in terms of good investment in the long run?

Thank you so much !

 

[KineticSound]

Opinions will vary, however my favorite method for acoustic & classical guitar is to use one LDC and one SDC panned in stereo. I've used the LDC just beyond the sound hole 20-25cm from the guitar and the SDC at the 12th fret pointed to the spot where the neck and body meet. The SDC gives me the high end of the string sound while the LDC gives it some "oomph".

The Oktava is a fine mic. In that price range, you might also test a Shure SM137 or Audio Technica AT4041. See which is the best match for your guitar.

 

[Justsomeguy]

Opinions will vary, however my favorite method for acoustic & classical guitar is to use one LDC and one SDC panned in stereo. I've used the LDC just beyond the sound hole 20-25cm from the guitar and the SDC at the 12th fret pointed to the spot where the neck and body meet.

I either do the above, or two LDC's (not a matched pair by any means), and then either pan them in stereo or pan them together and adjust the volume of each one to taste.

The tougher part of the question you posed is "which choice would be the best, in terms of good investment in the long run?". The answer, as usual, is "it depends". it depends on what else you have and what else you plan to use the mics on. However, as you already have an LDC, a nice pair of SDC's would fill a lot holes that a solo LDC would not. That's the way i'd think of it anyway

 

[MrWrenchey]

You could also just double track the guitar with a single microphone. That'd be stereo and you'd only need a single mic.

 

[Bobbsy]

For me it's the same model SDC all the way, panned for stereo. This adds a clarity and detail that other methods don't.

Suggested mics? At the budget end of the market, sE1A. They sell an actual stereo pair but their quality control is (in my experience) good enough that you can just buy two mics.

 

[coccoietto]

Thank you guys. very helpful!! MrWrenchey I didn't think about double tracking the mono recording. It is surely something to try. but anyway, don't you think there are important differences with recording stereo with 2 mics?
My choice would go for a matched pair of SDCs, Given that I also play accordion and wanna record other little instruments..

 

[Bobbsy]

Thank you guys. very helpful!! MrWrenchey I didn't think about double tracking the mono recording. It is surely something to try. but anyway, don't you think there are important differences with recording stereo with 2 mics?

As with voice, double tracking a guitar will sound like two guitars playing a duet, not a single guitar in stereo. It can be a nice effect but it's not the same as stereo recording.

 

[moresound]

My choice would go for a matched pair of SDCs, Given that I also play accordion and wanna record other little instruments..

Then I guess my question to you is .....

What is available at a nice price in Italy?
Then we can go from there.

 

[Bobbsy]

Then I guess my question to you is .....

What is available at a nice price in Italy?

Most of the current government I believe...

...oh, you meant microphones.

Anyhow, Henry, if you want to have a peak at a major European supplier have a look at THOMANN. I've linked you to the English pages but if your Italian is good, click on the appropriate little flag at the top.

 

[moresound]

Most of the current government I believe...

...oh, you meant microphones.

Anyhow, Henry, if you want to have a peak at a major European supplier have a look at THOMANN. I've linked you to the English pages but if your Italian is good, click on the appropriate little flag at the top.

I just sent one of my daughters to Italy two weeks ago to study the culinary arts there - Maybe I'll visit with her later.
But in the mean time English is my language of choice.

Thanks Bob.

 

[coccoietto]

Jesus... Music is the way I try to escape from the actual political situation!!
Fortunatelly I also live an isolated dimension in my island.
Anyway.. some music store order all kind of music instruments you need from all over the world. For example a matched pair of Oktava MK012 cost here 300 Euro. That's on the average or am I wrong? It is a way too expensive for me. Do you know guys some other kind of SDC mics a bit cheaper?
Also, Do you think buying just one SDC to combine it with a LDC is a bad choice?

 

[BrentDomann]

Combining different mics is not necessarily a bad choice. Almost all mics have "color" - or some character - that they give to the things they record. This can be good or bad depending on what the artist wants and whether or not the color of the mic works with the timbre of the instrument or voice.

On some level, stereo just means that there is a different sound coming from the left side of the soundstage than from the right. When you record with two mics at the same time they do not have to be 100% left/right. Instead, you could treat them as two different signals altogether (which in fact they are). Put a stereo reverb on one, EQ it, whatever. Do something different to the other. If you use stereo effects or pan the two channels you will get stereo information as output. But just because the mics are not a matched pair it doesn't mean you will get a "bad" stereo recording.

Sometimes you want to approach stereo as a more rigid thing - you want to capture the sound in the room as your ears would hear it naturally or as a slightly enhanced version of that. If that is what you want to do, then a matched pair (of whatever) is a better idea. The goal in this case would be to give no color to the recording or at least to give the same color to each channel and pan them out as wide as you want the sound to be. In this case, a pair of SDCs is a great idea.

If money is tight, don't be ashamed to buy just one SDC to use with what you've got. Also don't be ashamed to buy an inexpensive pair of SDCs. Despite the cork-sniffing that happens, if you spend some time reading reviews of what mics are available in your price range you can sometimes find mics that perform well above their sticker prices.

In sum, feel free to experiment. It's not bad to use mis-matched mics unless you have a specific need to match a pair. In this case, I don't think you have that need unless you want to make a conscious choice for it. Good luck!

 

[coccoietto]

Thanks BrentDomann. Nice explanantion. yes my aim is to have a nice bigger sound, but not necessarily have it panned in stereo.. I will let you know about my choice.

 

[witzendoz]

I recorded a Flamenco album, solo nylon stringed classical guitar, during sound check I tried 2 different LCD mics but could not decide on which one as both had good points (neither were bad). So I set them up with one upside down on top of the other so they were as close to the same position as possible. I set them up about 500mm out front of the guitar. I also was interested to hear a ribbon mic in the setup so I put a ribbon right alongside the 2 LCDS, I also set up a ribbon room mic (I think I flipped the phase) about 1mtr out front at head hight.

All the tracking was done with each mic going to a separate track. During mixing all the tracks were blended to get the desired sound, I did pan the mics a little for spread, but it was not done as a stereo effect as I don't like stereo single guitars much, very little eq was added or subtracted.

There were a few different guitars used and the different guitars work best with different mic blending as one guitar was dark sounding and another bright. The album came out very nice and natural sounding, with a touch of reverb added flamenco style. I have attached an image from the session.

The answer, use as many as you like, then you can mix it how you want it with lots of options.

Alan.

 

[Bobbsy]

Jesus... Music is the way I try to escape from the actual political situation!!
Fortunatelly I also live an isolated dimension in my island.
Anyway.. some music store order all kind of music instruments you need from all over the world. For example a matched pair of Oktava MK012 cost here 300 Euro. That's on the average or am I wrong? It is a way too expensive for me. Do you know guys some other kind of SDC mics a bit cheaper?
Also, Do you think buying just one SDC to combine it with a LDC is a bad choice?

I'd go for THESE MICS. This is the matched stereo pair but individual unmatched mics are 99 Euro each so you might as well get the stereo bar etc.

(Somewhere on the forum is a thread where I recommended the SE1A to another guitarist--he posted examples of his LDC vs the SDC and was ecstatic about the sound he got. Alas my search skills are failing me.)