Good budget acoustic guitar mic ?

[SOLOIST101]

Any suggestions?

been looking at the rode NT1A..

Budget around $400

thanks, MC

[apadua]

You can get 2 used SM81's for around that price? You could also use them for OH's as well.

I think they are good mics.....

[Brad McGowan]

AKG D200E or AKG D222. Both are like $40 on Ebay. Try it--you will be very surprised. I was.

Brad

[CoteRotie]

I think you can get an Oktava MK-012 within your budget.

[river]

Used (maybe new on sale) AT4050.

[Sean Sullivan]

You can get a used AT4051 for welll under that. Hard to beat for the price.

[TapeOp]

Originally Posted by SOLOIST101

been looking at the rode NT1A..

Budget around $400
C

Stay away from the NT-1A for acoustic gt.
It's not horrible, but there's much better options out there.

Speaking of Rode, I got good results with the NTK.

[SOLOIST101]

Ok thanks guys, so really its a large condenser I was looking at getting..

[Meriphew]

Sometimes an SM57 sounds magnificent on an acoustic guitar.

[apadua]

Originally Posted by SOLOIST101

Ok thanks guys, so really its a large condenser I was looking at getting..

Any particular reason why.. SDC work great for acoustics.... just sayin....

[A.V.T]

I think that the nt1 is too brilliant for acoustic guitar , neumann km184 is a good mic for ac . Is not cheap but is better than nt1a .

[lynyrd]

I have a pair of Alesis/Groove Tubes AM-51s that I sometimes use as drum overheads that sound pretty good. I used one of them on an acoustic guitar driven song and it sounded great. They kinda fly under the radar a bit and when they do pop up on Ebay, they can be had for less than 100 bucks, thats ridiculously cheap. You could also go the SDC route, I also have a pair of AKG C451B's that I also use for drum overheads, and they sound great on acoustic guitar. I recommend buying a pair for stereo duties but if you gotta keep it under 500 bucks, you could definitely get one for less than 500 dollars.

[geeek]

Beyer MC930

[Miguelo Adorno]

Blue Bluebird

[BradD]

Originally Posted by binary

Beyer MC930

+1

[warhead]

The Oktava MK-012 is a favorite reach on acoustic guitar. You can get a multi capsule set too.

A pair of Avenson STO-2 is not way above your budget, or maybe you could find used.

War

[fhames]

I sometimes use a old Rode NT2 on acoustic to great effect. You might find one around.



Bryant - Hames Music

[popmann]

Ok thanks guys, so really its a large condenser I was looking at getting..

Why? Generally not the best choice on acoustic, IMO. Yes...I have an old 414eb that sounds pretty sweet, but...SDCs are the cheaper way to go. Meaning--good SDCs, which are more appropriate for acoustic anyway, are cheaper than the super LDCs that do also sound great on acoustic.

Sm81s is what I use for my nicest sounding acoustic...I use the 414 with it's middle scoop for the more nasal one.

Don't get me wrong...anyone wanting to gift me a pair of Korby Kat67m mics--those are the most gorgeous acoustic mics I've every used...but, at $9k...ehh...I'll keep my 81s.

FWIW, I've also used RodeNT5s...they're fine. Little more scooped. Little less realistic (compared to the 81s)--which, depending on how good your guitar actually sounds could be a positive.

[rocksure]

I recently ran a bit of an A-B mic test on my Maton acoustic guitar. Playing the same part with mics in the same place through a pair of Valley People Trans-amp preamps. I really like sm81's but didn't have one for the test. I have used them plenty and think they are great. For the test I used an:
AKG C451...............it sounded very crisp clear and detailed. Good choice
Rode NT3...............similar to the C451 with a tiny bit less detail. Still a good choice though.
Octava M-012.........nice but a bit darker than the two above mics.
Rode NT1............. Good but not quite as much detail as the others mentioned above.
Rode NTK............warm and detailed but not as crisp as the C451 or NT3

Those are my subjective opinions on what I heard. So how do I normally record acoustic guitar? Mostly two mics....an LDC condensor and a SDC condensor. A combination of any of two of those I mentioned above. Opinion......for only one mic recordings use an SDC condensor.

[Benmrx]

If you're patient you can probably score an AKG 451 in your price range. That would by my choice at least.

[drmmrboy]

Originally Posted by Benmrx

If you're patient you can probably score an AKG 451 in your price range. That would by my choice at least.

That's what I was gonna say, but now I can just agree.

[doncaparker]

I owned a pair of Shure SM81s and a Dorsey modded pair of Oktava MK-012s at the same time. I spent a lot of time comparing them. In the end, I kept the Oktavas and sold the Shures. Both are great mics for acoustic guitar, but I liked the sound of the Oktavas better.

[K Bartos]

The GM10 by Se Electronic is a hair or two above budget, but being dedicated ac guitar mic it's a great solution.
I find that i get great and consistent results without having to spend time looking for the sweet spot.

Worth looking at.

Good luck.

Kristian

[nickolo]

I would go for a SDC,though LDC will work too..
With a half decent pre [does not have to be an API 512 or Neve] a SE electronics SE1a
at around £70 or their se3a [more costly] will with a good space and placement give good if not brilliant results..
I have used mine with my basic RME fireface pres and 512c with fine results and lent it to a session player who did a job at home with acc guitar using his old little mackie mixer into his soundcard and it sounded clear,clean[not harsh]..Did the job..
Their are plenty of other budget chinese mics but i have only stuck with my SE1a in this latest setup..They say SE quality is as is because of the care in design and testing and they have their own factory and make their capsules etc..you get a good product even at their entry level models..

[bilco]

SM81

I had an NT1a and did not like it on my acoustic at all

[BudgetMC]

+1 on this, especially for mixes where the guitar needs to fill up space but still leave room for vocals.

Originally Posted by Miguelo Adorno

Blue Bluebird

[Hammer Mark]

I've tested my LDCs and SDCs on acoustic and posted the results in the shoot outs section. I prefer AT4051 to C451B and Dragonfly to 414.

4 SDCs on Acoustic Guitar

Four Mics, One Guitar, One Take

[Hammer Mark]

There's a BLUE Dragonfly in the Classifieds and in your budget...

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/gears...ear-fs-la.html

[nickolo]

You can access most mic reviews on the Sound on sound magazine website..A great source of information when unsure what mic or whatever gear is best suited etc etc..

[cjogo]

about $50 used --RODE NT 3 ~!!