Recording acoustic guitar

[Revelation]

Looking at the Audio Technica 4051a, AKG C451 B. I plan to get two for recording an acoustic guitar in stereo. Has anyone heard both of these mic's? What is the difference between the two?

[themaidsroom]

i have an old 4050 audio technica mic and a pair of new 451's
i never use the 4050 ......perhaps it should be sold....and perhaps the 4051 blows
it away..... i had , and sold another at mike years ago...i could never learn to love them ... the 451's are used on many things almost every day . they work well on acoustic guitar...
they are a touch bright...... great detail

buying one josephson e-22s... is what i would recommend.....a little more cash than
two 451's..... but the mike just says "love me" from day one...you'll have to be patient for stereo, etc... i recorded an acoustic today
with that mike for the first time, (its first week was with the snare) and it was a wonder....detail, darkness and character relative to the more functional
nature of the 451's....

sometimes a coles 4038 is perfect, depending on the guitar....

be well

[pktele]

as a former owner of a pair of 451eb's and as a current owner of a pair of josephsen c42's ... i would have to say no contest. i love the c42's on acoustic guitar... i've been recording a lot of guitars over the years mine included and they are very friendly to most decent acoustics. lots of detail clear low end ... and work horses for many other applications .... but as the previous post says don't forget ribbon mics.

[The Hit House]

Greetings:
This is my first post here so please be gentle.
I’m recording a rock song that I’ll describe as herky jerky. I’m looking for a way to tie the song together and I’m thinking I want to do it with acoustic guitars. I’d like to have a acoustic guitar bed that’s felt as much as it’s heard
I have three guys with three different acoustic guitars. I was hoping to put all three in a room together and have them strum the song. My plan is to record several tracks and change a few things up for each track. Use a capo on one or two, maybe have one guy substitute a mandolin for the guitar, that sort of thing.
I have two options for rooms. One is an 18 x 25 x 10 live room and one is a tiny dead room.
My question is which room should and how should I mic them?
I own small & large diaphragm condensers such as:
SM81 (2), Neumann 104, AKG 414, Royer 121, AT4033 (2), an a boatload of dynamic mics.
Please advise.

Thanks

Tony

[Jasonrichmond]

I would have to agree that the Josephson C42's are great. Check out this video we did of guitarist Ryan Cavanough at Sound Pure Studios.

Josephson C42 Matched Microphone Pair | c 42 | Soundpure.com

[jeffsochor]

I have a pair of both the 4051a and 451B mics. Last week I did a guitar + vocal session (no ODs), and gaff taped the 4051 and 451 together to do a mono side-by-side comparison on the acoustic gtr. The AT had a much deeper low end response and less hype on the top, easily favored. But when combined with the vocal, the AKG just kind of mixed itself. In this context, tough to say which would be the better mic, but for solo gtr the ATs win.

[TonyD]

I haven't tried the AT mic, though I'm generally a fan of their mics and own a 4040. But I *adore* the 451s in ORTF on acoustic. Stuck it up once just for funsies and it's been my go-to ever since. As previously mentioned, I'm sure there are much nicer for solo guitar, but in the mix it just sits great and has great detail.

[Hammer Mark]

Originally Posted by Revelation

Looking at the Audio Technica 4051a, AKG C451 B. I plan to get two for recording an acoustic guitar in stereo. Has anyone heard both of these mic's? What is the difference between the two?

You might find this comparison I did useful. I preferred the 4051.

4 SDCs on Acoustic Guitar

[M.o.T.s]

I would take a look at the Schoeps stereo sets.
One of my fav setup for guitar is cmc6+mk4 capsule.

check:
Microphone Sets Mikrofon-Set - Overview - SCHOEPS.de

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by M.o.T.s

I would take a look at the Schoeps stereo sets.
One of my fav setup for guitar is cmc6+mk4 capsule.

check:
Microphone Sets Mikrofon-Set - Overview - SCHOEPS.de

I agree, but its a completely different price point. Like almost almost 4 X

[Slap Back]

Originally Posted by Revelation

Looking at the Audio Technica 4051a, AKG C451 B. I plan to get two for recording an acoustic guitar in stereo. Has anyone heard both of these mic's? What is the difference between the two?

Maybe look on ebay for one or two of the older AKG 451e/ck1 cardiods. These are bright but very sweet on the top end. Lovely sound.

[Unclenny]

Originally Posted by The Hit House

My question is which room should and how should I mic them?

Big room....big mics.

See what you can do to modify the room with gobos....or anything...to gain a little control over things. Catch every bit of those guits and then modify the track as needed to do what you want it to (crush the hell out of it).

[Eisbude]

Originally Posted by pktele

as a former owner of a pair of 451eb's and as a current owner of a pair of josephsen c42's ... i would have to say no contest. i love the c42's on acoustic guitar... i've been recording a lot of guitars over the years mine included and they are very friendly to most decent acoustics. lots of detail clear low end ... and work horses for many other applications .... but as the previous post says don't forget ribbon mics.

How work this microphon on acoustic pianos?

[cyjanopan]

I have AKG c451 (old one), AT mikes, Josephson C42 , IMO from all of it AKG is most natural, AT sounds like plastic and C42 is fake bright, like some digitally added EQ. AKG is bright but it sound convincing

[jono]

IMHO, the 'best' mic for acoustic guitar is completely dependent on the 1. guitar itself, 2. The playing style of the individual on the individual piece of music. Mic's that work well on dreads many times won't sound good at all on an OM, for instance. And the mic that works for clean fingerpicking probably won't sound good at all on a fast-strumming, jangly performance. If the mic is for recording yourself and your particular style, it sure would be nice to rent-borrow-trial them all to get a handle on which sounds best for you. It will be obvious right away. Also, 2 different mic's ain't a bad idea either...m/s config with different mic's can be really great. And you get more flexibility by having 2 different mic's for other uses...

[Robert Sands]

and are the KM 184'2 out of the question now? I have a pair but I don't find a lot of love for them on the forum. Thought they were supposed to the go to mics for ac guitar when I bought them and now I see a lot of people saying less than stellar things about them.

[funkytracks]

any one considerd shure sm81 ive used them a few time and i got a great sound

[choinga]

I still love my 184 for a couple of my guitars...but I bought a pair of MC930's (under $800 for the pair) and it's been the best mic purchase I've ever made. These things are just brilliant on acoustic's of all types - you'd have to pry them from my cold, dead hands at this point.

Do some searching - you won't find a bad word on the MC930's - best bang for the buck in a matched pair under $1k out there, IMHO.

[Classic]

Originally Posted by Robert Sands

and are the KM 184'2 out of the question now? I have a pair but I don't find a lot of love for them on the forum. Thought they were supposed to the go to mics for ac guitar when I bought them and now I see a lot of people saying less than stellar things about them.

I absolutely love my KM184s on acoustic.

[hernanperez2000]

Originally Posted by choinga

I bought a pair of MC930's (under $800 for the pair) and it's been the best mic purchase I've ever made. These things are just brilliant on acoustic's of all types - you'd have to pry them from my cold, dead hands at this point.

Do some searching - you won't find a bad word on the MC930's - best bang for the buck in a matched pair under $1k out there, IMHO.

I agree. MC930s are excellent for acoustic guitar recordings. I also have schoeps, josephson c42, etc. Schoeps are natural sounding mics. C42s are brighter than mc930.

[Sean Sullivan]

I've own both, and I really enjoy using a pair of C451B's for acoustic guitar, especially bluegrass or country where it needs to be pretty bright. It mixes itself. I just use a 80 Hz filter (or the 75 Hz on the mic) and blend the two mics.

But, both are very useful and defiantly won't prevent you from getting a great sound. Both are great overhead microphones as well.

[harry_seldon]

I bought a pair of 1980's 451e microphones for $600, and have never been unhappy with them. Work nice with my Breedlove Pro guitar.

[nas]

Beyer MC 930 is a great choice indeed. The presence peak is above 10 kHz so it has a very smooth top end and none of that harshness found on some other SDC mics. A matched pair for under a grand is a steal for the quality you get.

[Tom Hakala]

Yes! MC930 is great! I have C451 but I only used it for snare don't like it on guitar that much. KSM32 and AT4050 are both nice. I also like SM7b.

[IxtabStudios]

I have a pair of 184's and used to use them on acoustic but now I almost always go for the Royer 121 as a main mic with a Brauner Phantom or Little Woodie as the second. I'm quite fond of the sound of two different mics on an acoustic.

The 184's are very useful to have in the studio but aren't always the best choice on acoustic guitar, but they've never sounded "bad", just not amazing.

[waxx]

my favorite (excluding the old KM84 wich are way to expensive) is the Gefell M300 (900€) here). But like said a lot depends on wich guitar, wich player and so on... Sometimes even a SM57 is what is needed for that case.

[geeek]

If the acoustic is the main component of the track, I'm a big fan of a spaced pair of C451's - With a room mic too (if the room is nice)
Or a nice open LDC if it needs to sit in a track mono, and be heard without being overpowering.

[Albert L.]

The KM-84 is still my favorite. It doesn't seem very expensive once you get the sound you need to get in like 2 minutes without a lot of other hardware.

[stevie_1959]

I am in a similar boat, and want to use a pair of small condensors for recording acoustic (fingerpicked) guitar. I had made a list of the following in my price range:

Rode NT55
AT4021
AKG C451B
Peluso CEMC6
Beyerdynamic MC 930
Shure KSM137
Shure SM81

I don't know of anywhere I can borrow or try mics out so I will probably have to take a bit of a gamble. I have only heard the SM81 (which I liked), but on a recording of resonator which is a bit of a different animal to a normal acoustic.

I use a mahogany dreadnought guitar which has a fairly warm sound, but I sometimes use metal fingerpicks which can really bring out a snappy treble. I don't want mic's which might exaggerate the high end.

From the thread so far it looks like the AT, AKG and Beyer are all popular...it's a tough choice!

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by stevie_1959

I am in a similar boat, and want to use a pair of small condensors for recording acoustic (fingerpicked) guitar. I had made a list of the following in my price range:

Rode NT55
AT4021
AKG C451B
Peluso CEMC6
Beyerdynamic MC 930
Shure KSM137
Shure SM81

I don't know of anywhere I can borrow or try mics out so I will probably have to take a bit of a gamble. I have only heard the SM81 (which I liked), but on a recording of resonator which is a bit of a different animal to a normal acoustic.

I use a mahogany dreadnought guitar which has a fairly warm sound, but I sometimes use metal fingerpicks which can really bring out a snappy treble. I don't want mic's which might exaggerate the high end.

From the thread so far it looks like the AT, AKG and Beyer are all popular...it's a tough choice!

Dont want to add to the confusion but you might also consider the Mercenary Audio KM69 they based it on the Neumann 84