Great mic to record acoustic guitars

[atticmike]

U87 for sure unless you detest their high end sheen, then I'd divert your flow of choices to Shure and their KSM32. It's got a rather flat high end response, yet way better low mid emphasis.

[chrisrulesmore]

I'm also looking for a great mic to record acoustics, but I'm wondering which of the recommendations would be best to record a boomy dreadnought? I've tried tons of LDC's with limited success, so I'm wondering if a great SDC like the Schoeps or Mercenary KM69 would be the ticket.

I have a Taylor 310 (mahogany) that is fairly midrange focused, but still has a lot of low end, and an absolute cannon of a Gibson J45 (Rosewood) that sounds amazing but is an absolute b*tch to capture without a ton of low end rumble.

Lately I've had some success with just pulling the mic further and further back, but at some point I'm wondering if there is a loss of detail in that band-aid. The Neumann TLM-102 a foot or two off the guitar is what I'm mostly using now.

Best,
Chris

[Musiclab]

Originally Posted by chrisrulesmore

I'm also looking for a great mic to record acoustics, but I'm wondering which of the recommendations would be best to record a boomy dreadnought? I've tried tons of LDC's with limited success, so I'm wondering if a great SDC like the Schoeps or Mercenary KM69 would be the ticket.

I have a Taylor 310 (mahogany) that is fairly midrange focused, but still has a lot of low end, and an absolute cannon of a Gibson J45 (Rosewood) that sounds amazing but is an absolute b*tch to capture without a ton of low end rumble.

Lately I've had some success with just pulling the mic further and further back, but at some point I'm wondering if there is a loss of detail in that band-aid. The Neumann TLM-102 a foot or two off the guitar is what I'm mostly using now.

Best,
Chris

for a boomy guitar the best you can do is move the mics back or use a different guitar, the fact is, what will probably be best is a small body acoustic.
But you should try moving the mics back quite a bit.

[automatom]

Second that.

Basically, don't use a boomy dreadnought.

You want to get hold of a smaller, tighter instrument. I lost years messing around with the wrong guitars in recording.

Almost always, smaller is better.

[elambo]

Dreads are fine - people record them all the time - but you must be diligent with mic placement. Pushing the mic out, at around the 12th or 10th fret, and angling it back toward the sound hole usually takes care of excessive boom.

[TapeOpAl]

Originally Posted by vernier

D-19 or RE-15, with the exception of U47 or 77DX ...but 99% of the time, one of the dynamics.

Btw, thought I lost the RE15 a few weeks back, freaked out totally, but then found it. Wew!

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+1 on the D-19 - seeing a lot of use on acoustics at the moment. I've been doing one track with D19 then double tracking with a U67 and the D19 sounds so good I keep having to check that I'm not listening to the wrong mic!!!

[Musiclab]

Originally Posted by elambo

Dreads are fine - people record them all the time - but you must be diligent with mic placement. Pushing the mic out, at around the 12th or 10th fret, and angling it back toward the sound hole usually takes care of excessive boom.

in general dreads are not fine for recording unless it's a big strumming part where you will wack the hell out of the guitar, with the exception of some Martin's I've recorded, with boomy guitars you need to get the mics a few feet away from the guitar

[bluejbill]

Interesting. How/where do you use the U67? Do you use it for strumming or finger style?

That is a pretty big sound for acoustic, and maybe a bit dark. I have had better luck with the U67 in omni BTW.

Originally Posted by salomonander

normally a u67 for me. i do not record in stereo unless its a solo guitar piece.
i also like a km54 or m49 depending on the song and guitar. and the good old km84 works just fine too (costs a fraction). if i go for stereo i do love ms for guitars. it allows me to point the mid mic just like my mono condensor and still have a room if i need to (or get rid of it if it isn't needed).

[burnt_rissole]

For a natural sound I love earthworks qtc 40. I've had some amazing sounds from schoeps but don't personally own them. I love ribbons and ldc but for the actual sound of my guitars qtc 40 hands down.

[elambo]

Originally Posted by Musiclab

in general dreads are not fine for recording unless it's a big strumming part where you will wack the hell out of the guitar, with the exception of some Martin's I've recorded, with boomy guitars you need to get the mics a few feet away from the guitar

I'm not speaking for myself here, literally thousands upon thousands of dreads have rendered great, uncompromising recordings. OMs are easier to mic - no question - but it's not about easy it's about the final result. A properly mic'd dread does not sound the same as an OM. There are simple techniques for dreads which work every time.

That said, it's an arrangement question whether the sound of a dread is more appropriate for the song than the sound of an OM.

[elambo]

Schoeps/DPA offer a very truthful recording. Some call it boring. I guess it depends on what you need. I have a pair of Schoeps CMC6/MK4s which do strike me as sterile which isn't a putdown as sterile might be exactly what's required.

[Greg B]

I used the 3 Zigma mics for virtually all of the acoustic tracks of my band's new album. I'll be posting some clips soon. Marty Stuart recorded with a pair of their C-LOL-12's (large diaphragm with their GK12 capsule) and there's a clip of that here along with some others: 3 Zigma Audio: Audio Clips - Condenser Microphones

[waxx]

I like the Gefell M300 for this, schoeps is off course also very good but much more expensive...

[dibravibra]

Akg 451eb

[TanTan]

Originally Posted by AudioSight

Hi

I'm looking to find the right mic to record acoustic guitar.

At the moment i'm using a shure ksm32 and used to have a neumann u87

Dont like the ksm and the u87 was always abit harsh at the highs

Any Suggestions would be appreciated

Looking at the mojave ma200 or the brauner phantera

Thoughts?

KM84'S AND KM54'S.. both are amazing for acoustic guitars

[Daedalus77]

So many options. So much depends on instrument, player, the guitar's place in the arrangement, the desired tone, and so on.

These days I usually use our Mercenary KM69s or Gefell M300s. If I had a great-condition KM84, I'd probably use it, also. But I don't. I've also had good luck with a few LDCs—Gefell UM70, older U67. Never like the 184s or U87 (old or new) that much.

But to each his own...

[elambo]

Originally Posted by Daedalus77

If I had a great-condition KM84, I'd probably use it, also. But I don't.

But you could. You can bring one home for not much over $1K.

[monsieur x]

What about Gefell M295's?

[alohachris]

Aloha & Absolutment, Monsieur X,

The Microtech-Gefell M295 (cardioid) or M296 (omni) are both great (fantastic) mic's on acoustic guitar. It took me a long time to audition these, but once I did, I'd say that the M295 is my favorite (still made) SDC after my Schoeps CMC641's for that application.

The M295 can be found for around $1500 (@ one of the Nashville online stores). It sounds cystalline & uniquely balanced on guitar. Check out sdelsolray's comparison clips here (if you have icloud) for a listen.

Recording with Schoeps, Gefell and Josephson Microphones - The Acoustic Guitar Forum

The only issue with those mic's is that the metal diaphragms do not like humid environments. So using it here in tropical-humid Hawaii is not a good idea.

You should check out the M-G M295.

alohachris

[sdelsolray]

+1

The Gefell M295 is one great mic for acoustic and classical guitar, particularly solo fingerstyle. They are better in pairs. Gefell siblings M294 and M296 are great too.

As stated by many, Schoeps are also wonderful.

The 3 Zigma CHI mic system mentioned is also quite nice with a superb price/performance ratio. All of the four different SD capsules work well with acoustic guitar. The four different LD capsules can work well too, albeit the recorded sound will be a bit different, in a good way.

[shortstory]

Tube SDC can sound beautiful. We use a Neumann U64 sometimes but there's an AKG 451 tube version also- maybe 461?

The U64s have beautiful off-access response so you can work the room a little bit.

Honestly though- it really depends on the track. I've used SM58s with great results on a slamming strumming part.

[Winey]

The best mic for anything is whatever is already plugged in and pointing in the general direction of the the player who is not thinking too hard,

[SOULSHAKER88]

To my ears a Beyer Dynamic 930 sdc gets you in km84 territory and isn't too expensive. Excellent for picking although I prefer a Pearlman TM-1 ldc if strictly strumming. The two together through Boulder Jensen Pre's are stellar.

[andychamp]

We have both the Mojave and the Brauner, and the latter can give you a very detailed, "glossy", larger-than-life acoustic gtr. sound.
The MA200 tends to smear transients and would work better for strummed "beds".

But my personal fave is a small diaphragm true omni (Gefell M69)
Room sound needn't be a problem with omnis, either, as they stay flat in the bass, no matter how close you get to the source.

[tab]

Tried and tested on solo acoustic guitar: Schoeps cmc641, Gefell M930, Cole 4040, Lauten Atlantis. On the end the artist picked Lauten Atlantis and Cole 4040. The results were very good. Super actually. Schoeps and Gefell sounded real and natural, Atlantis and Cole 4040 gave something nice and extra.

tab

[Suda Badri]

For Rhythm Gats... I like AKG whatever, 414's 451e (or EB's people hate them but they decent) one of my favorite sounds i got was off a beautiful ovation through a 414 and a blue rocket stage 2 (blue pointing at sound hole but mic itself around the edge of the body and 414 actual placement half way up neck but pointing at 12th fret) it was quite close to the player cuz phasey stuff started happening, quite lucky he was a very disciplined player who didn't move much...

For centre of attention type guitar work, i tend to use a similar set up but include a super cardioid (id love to own an earthworks mic for this) SDC very neutral sounding mic further back about knee height pointing up at the 12th fret... this signal can be riddled with problems of all sorts, there have been a few times i have just omitted it and made do... but in a decent room its great, its cool to hear what other people are doing too...

suda