What Should I use?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Newbie dude
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Newbie dude

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I've always heard that condensor mics are the best for acoustic guitar, but then a few days ago, a guy who has experience in recording/live shows says the shure sm57 is the standard for recording acoustic guitars, so I'm wondering, to record my acoustic guitar, should I use my 57, olr my studio projects condensor mic?
 
If you have both mics, try them both and let your ears decide. You may decide a combination of the two is good for you.
 
I'd let your ears decide. However, I find the 57 doesn't pick up the full characteristic of the acoustic guitar. Experiment and you'll find the sound you're looking for.
 
Its good to have a condenser and dynamic. its effective to have the variation of both.
 
Personally, an SM-57 just sounds too.. dead to me. With an acoustic guitar, that its. Granted it's all opinion, but I think a lot of people will agree. The Sm-57 is a great mic, but that's not what it's best at. If you've got a condensor, I'm willing to bet it will sound a lot better than the 57.
 
I would agree to try both, but you'll most likely end up going with the condenser... the 57 is not the "standard" for acoustic guitar recording in the studio (not that "standard" is always best...), although it's used live a lot, and for micing guitar amps, etc...
 
But to sum up, u will encounter much more clarity with a condenser(even low end ones) than one of the best dynamic mics.
 
I wouldn't even count the SM57 as a "standard" live mic for an acoustic...

For an electric through an amp, hell yeah I'll put a 57 in front of it, but acoustics are usually more subtle, and hence require special attention. On stage I'd either use a pickup/DI, or a SDC (mostly for rejection) like an SM81.

If you've got a good pickup, use that through a DI. Otherwise, experiment with a couple of condensors until you find a sound you like (of course, if you're going to experiment, then you should also try the 57, just for the hell of it).
 
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