microphones

[rickjr]

hi, can anyone suggest a great microphone to use with a akg c414 for recording acoustic guitar. thanks for any suggestions. rickjr

[Mark Kaufman]

So, like a stereo pairing?A few good options:Gauge ECM 87AT 4040CAD M179Studio Projects C4You know, Jeff Lynne gets his nice acoustic sounds from SM57s...I guess it's all where you put it.

[matthoggard]

I have a CAD M179, great mic for acoustic!!

[mojobone]

I like small-diaphragm condensers, generally, but a lot depends on the guitar; sound propagates from an acoustic in sometimes surprising ways, it's often more about the right spot than which mic. I've gotten acceptable results with SM57s as has Sufjan Stevens. I saw a guy end up with the mic under the guitarist's chair, once. It's best if you can have someone play and move the mic around while listening through headphones 'til you get it.

[Mark Kaufman]

He's already got a c414, so I think he's looking for an interesting partner mic to mix as a stereo pair.

[jonathanm]

SM57

[ragani]

If you want a great microphone for acoustic guitar recordings, I highly recommend a pair of Neumann KM 184MT mics. One of our pro session players brought in a pair to borrow a few years ago, and since then I've never been able to record with anything else for acoustic guitar tracks. What an incredible sound!Of course, if you're looking for a top notch very warm sound for solo acoustic guitar tracks, there's always the gold Manley (big major buckeroos for that mic!). We tried that one out too on a loan, but we always use guitar in the mix, and it was too rich of a sound for what we needed. As a solo track, however, it was stunning. Full, rich, and warm-- beautiful!

[ernstinen]

What I've never done, but makes sense, is hire an aspiring engineer from a local college, and pay him/her maybe $10/hr. to move mics around for you while you sit on your golden chair with your guitar. I've never done that, but it seems like an obvious option, just like moving around mics on your guitar cabinet. An assistant, for a few hours of time, will make a BIG difference in your sound, while you listen to your monitors/headphones to get the EXACT spot where the mic(s) should be placed. Have someone else do it, pay them, and move on to get a great recording!Sorry I didn't think of this before ---Ern

[mojobone]

I might choose a different mic to pair with the 414, depending on whether the mics will be panned or mixed to mono. If I'm mixing to mono, I'll want two mics as different as possible, cuz theoretically one mic picks up what the other misses-sorta like amplifying an acoustic in a live environment, one pickup alone doesn't give you a complete sonic 'picture' of what the guitar is doing in the room, cuz sound comes from every part of the instrument (and not just the body) and bounces off every surface in the room to arrive at your ears. (another common technique is to walk around the room with one hand over one ear, 'til you find the spot where the guitar sounds best and put the mic there)Yer standard stereo guitar miking technique, two mics angled downward at 45o toward the bridge and the twelfth fret (or wherever the neck meets the body) works pretty well in either case, for stereo, a nice matched pair of Neumann KM-184s, or if mixing to mono, or only a slight panned spread, an EV RE-20 on the bridge and the AKG at the neck, but any large-diaphragm dynamic might make a nice mate for the AKG in this instance-maybe AKG D-112 or Shure SM7B, but a smaller dynamic, like an SM57 can pick up some nice thunk, too.

[rickjr]

thank you everyone for your suggestions i will take them all into consderation. to be continued later, rickjr