Acoustic Guitar Mic/Preamp Comparisons

eliottjames · 2nd May 2005

Acoustic Guitar Mic/Preamp Comparisons

In late winter 1999, Bill Shafton, a wonderful jazz guitarist, came from LA to my Wateree Studio in Atlanta. He was working on a new CD, "In My Hands", which was released last year. We spent a good day auditioning mics and mic pres, as well as finding the best mic positions.

The mics included Neumann TLM 103 & KM 184, GT MD3a, and Equitech E200. The mic pres used were DACS Mic Amp, Grace 201, Neve 1272, API 312a and DW Fearn VT-1.

This is not a precise test with premium recording techniques along the lines of the superb work Lynn Fuston would later do with his 3D CDs. Rather, these are actual session tapes that illustrate how we got the basic sound for his CD. However, the mic pres comparisons are interesting in that you can easily hear the differences.

Included: mic set-up and positions; the initial test comparisons; summary of what we ended up with; rough mixes of 2 songs; finished re-mixes of those 2 songs that are mastered and appeared on his CD, "In My Hands." (I only recorded the basic tracks, not the re-mixes.)

Enjoy!

Link below:

http://www.eliottjames.com/micpretest.html

Eliott James

Brandino221 · 2nd May 2005

I liked the API the best.

dach · 2nd May 2005

Enjoyed the comparison. I also use a Goodall for this style of music as well but mine is cedar/koa instead of what his looks like cedar/rosewood. It's amazing about the comparison and how subjective everything is. I only listened over computer speakers so any impressions probably don't really count... but here I find the Neves I've used to be a bit off when compared to the API's on my Goodall - great for some applications but not playing solo with nails. I've never tried the Dacs or Fearn. I'd love to hear a .wav file of the test instead of streaming audio.

With my personal setup, I find API512's sound a little punchier than the others I've tried plus the sound is very pleasing to me and has more detail than the different Neves and the 1 clone I've tried. I usually use a Klaus Heyne modded U67 on the neck and the "body" mic usually varies but it's usually a small diaphragm mic. I don't really care for the 103 on my guitar for solo stuff. My room mic configuration is similar as well.

Regardless of my different opinions/taste, you did a great job and thanks for posting the files... please post if you plan on having the .wav files or good mp3's available. I'd really like to "hear" a comparison between the 1272 and BAE312.
Anyway, I'm going to pick up one of his cd's... nice compositions....

Thanks,
Chuck

2nd May 2005	#1
eliottjames Gear interested Joined: Jul 2004 Location: Atlanta Posts: 26 Thread Starter	Acoustic Guitar Mic/Preamp Comparisons Acoustic Guitar Mic/Preamp Comparisons In late winter 1999, Bill Shafton, a wonderful jazz guitarist, came from LA to my Wateree Studio in Atlanta. He was working on a new CD, "In My Hands", which was released last year. We spent a good day auditioning mics and mic pres, as well as finding the best mic positions. The mics included Neumann TLM 103 & KM 184, GT MD3a, and Equitech E200. The mic pres used were DACS Mic Amp, Grace 201, Neve 1272, API 312a and DW Fearn VT-1. This is not a precise test with premium recording techniques along the lines of the superb work Lynn Fuston would later do with his 3D CDs. Rather, these are actual session tapes that illustrate how we got the basic sound for his CD. However, the mic pres comparisons are interesting in that you can easily hear the differences. Included: mic set-up and positions; the initial test comparisons; summary of what we ended up with; rough mixes of 2 songs; finished re-mixes of those 2 songs that are mastered and appeared on his CD, "In My Hands." (I only recorded the basic tracks, not the re-mixes.) Enjoy! Link below: http://www.eliottjames.com/micpretest.html Eliott James

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2nd May 2005	#2
Brandino221 Gear addict Joined: Sep 2004 Location: Central FL. Londrina, Curitiba, PR, Brasil. Posts: 433	I liked the API the best.

2nd May 2005	#3
dach Gear nut Joined: Jan 2005 Posts: 133	Enjoyed the comparison. I also use a Goodall for this style of music as well but mine is cedar/koa instead of what his looks like cedar/rosewood. It's amazing about the comparison and how subjective everything is. I only listened over computer speakers so any impressions probably don't really count... but here I find the Neves I've used to be a bit off when compared to the API's on my Goodall - great for some applications but not playing solo with nails. I've never tried the Dacs or Fearn. I'd love to hear a .wav file of the test instead of streaming audio. With my personal setup, I find API512's sound a little punchier than the others I've tried plus the sound is very pleasing to me and has more detail than the different Neves and the 1 clone I've tried. I usually use a Klaus Heyne modded U67 on the neck and the "body" mic usually varies but it's usually a small diaphragm mic. I don't really care for the 103 on my guitar for solo stuff. My room mic configuration is similar as well. Regardless of my different opinions/taste, you did a great job and thanks for posting the files... please post if you plan on having the .wav files or good mp3's available. I'd really like to "hear" a comparison between the 1272 and BAE312. Anyway, I'm going to pick up one of his cd's... nice compositions.... Thanks, Chuck