Recording & Live Performance Mics For Classical Guitar

[doacmusic]

Hello fellow GearSlutz,

I need some help with choosing a very good Mic for Recording in the studio/home & Live performance for a Classical Guitar.

I have used NT3 & NT1, but both have had feed back problems when it comes to live performance. Any suggestions on this ?

And the reason for me choosing a mic over a pick-up is that I don't want to cut into my best friends, if you know what I mean.

Hope you can help.

Travis.

PS: My limit on a Mic is approx $750 US / $900 AUS

[tINY]

I've had good luck with the AT u873r on acoustic instruments for recording and live work. It's not that pricey either.

Whatever you get, make sure that it is capable of a hyper- or Super-cardioid pick-up pattern. You'll have better luck (generally) with small diaphragm mics for live work if you go with a condenser.

You might try the PR30 from Heil as well.




-tINY

[LX3]

Different demands for live and in the studio, particularly if you're having feedback problems...

Studio - best sound possible

Live - best sound with minimum spill (gain before feedback), ease of setup sometimes important too. I'd avoid most of the cheap cardioid large-diaphragm mics live (e.g. NT1), because they never seem to have a particularly tight pattern. Almost omni sometimes!

So for live, maybe an Audio Technica AT4053 hypercardioid? Great SDC mic at a great price ($500). Studio... lots of things will work well, but if you want one mic to do it all... You could always get a 4051a cardioid capsule to put on the body from the 4053? You could also try the 4051 live and see if it works for you.

However, I would probably record classical guitar with more than one mic. How about an X-Y pair of 4053s? Although that will take you over-budget, a matching pair of SDCs is always useful.

Tricky. You can see why many of us end up with a lot of mics thumbsup

[klaukholm]

I would consider a mic such as the Neumann TLM170. It is very neutral and the 5 pickup patterns give you a lot of options.

[willi1203]

Originally Posted by klaukholm

I would consider i mic such as the Neumann TLM170.

750 USD...

Why do people not read posts properly... ?

[klaukholm]

Show some courtesy please! tutt
If you were to read my post carefully you would find the words "such as" meaning "similar to", "akin to", "with similar characteristics".

While on the topic of price I would add that it is possible to get them for $1000 used.

Sometimes the best advice is to spend a little more and get good results!
The fact remains that this is the most versatile mic we have. I yields good results on every instrument we have used it on.

[fifthcircle]

Beyer 160 ribbon- used them on numerous gigs- both live and studio. Works every time. They are inexpensive, you have large quantities of gain before feedback, etc...

I like them with a Millennia pre, but the guitarist from the group Oregon (Ralph Towner ?) uses one with a little Behringer console with good results for his live performance.

--Ben