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Old 10-17-2017, 11:53 AM
ChapinFan ChapinFan is offline
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Default Suggested Acoustic Guitar Mic

I am not sure if this fits here... but if I wanted to record my guitar -- as in put a microphone in front of it, not in it... What mic do you suggest?

And if you wanted to get a solid mic, but not necessarily studio quality, just a solid mic that does the job reliably -- what would you get? (in other words, not top of the line, but one that is "good enough.")
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Old 10-17-2017, 12:24 PM
troggg troggg is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChapinFan View Post
I am not sure if this fits here... but if I wanted to record my guitar -- as in put a microphone in front of it, not in it... What mic do you suggest?

And if you wanted to get a solid mic, but not necessarily studio quality, just a solid mic that does the job reliably -- what would you get? (in other words, not top of the line, but one that is "good enough.")
I'll start it off with the super cheap and ubiquitous Shure SM57 which sounds strangely good on acoustic guitar.

You might want to set a money limit to get a more helpful response.

The good news is that this is a great time to be buying inexpensive but very useful mics.
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Old 10-17-2017, 12:50 PM
ChapinFan ChapinFan is offline
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Originally Posted by troggg View Post
I'll start it off with the super cheap and ubiquitous Shure SM57 which sounds strangely good on acoustic guitar.

You might want to set a money limit to get a more helpful response.
.

I don't want to set a spending limit, because I don't know what is reasonable. Just wanted to know basically how much I should budget if I wanted to get the "real" acoustic sound, instead of recording off of a pickup. The SM57 is about $100. Is that reasonable? Or to get something that sounds right, do I need double or triple that...?
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Old 10-17-2017, 01:03 PM
Revy Revy is offline
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Default Guitar Mic

You can purchase a new SM57 for $100, less if you look around. With an SM57 it won't make much difference new or used. It will sound good either way. I have one that I bought used for $40 and looks like it's been used for a hammer. Works just like a new one. They are close to indestructible and always sound good.
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Old 10-17-2017, 02:12 PM
troggg troggg is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChapinFan View Post
I don't want to set a spending limit, because I don't know what is reasonable. Just wanted to know basically how much I should budget if I wanted to get the "real" acoustic sound, instead of recording off of a pickup. The SM57 is about $100. Is that reasonable? Or to get something that sounds right, do I need double or triple that...?
Well then on Planet Earth in 2017 there are any number of perfectly great mics which would sound gorgeous on acoustic for under $500 especially if you don't mind used (which you shouldn't if you want bang for the buck).

But I won't argue against a used SM57 for $40 either especially if you're just starting out and not even sure how deep you'll get into recording.
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Old 10-17-2017, 02:56 PM
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Old 10-17-2017, 08:49 PM
MiG50 MiG50 is offline
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Considering that the "SM" in "SM57" stands for "Studio Microphone"...

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Old 10-17-2017, 08:58 PM
YamahaGuy YamahaGuy is offline
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I can hear the cringing as a type: MXL990/991. The 991 (pencil mic) 6" from the 14th fret, and the 990 about 3-4' back. I've gotten good results with a Blue Encore 100 dynamic as well.
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Old 10-17-2017, 10:21 PM
Tommy_G Tommy_G is offline
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I will say that i bought an SM57 brand new from an authorized dealer and while experienced engineers know how to get them to perform adequately i never found it particularly user friendly for a newbie... In fact I would go so far to say as I wouldnt buy one at any price given the options available in todays mic market... They are very nearly the bottom and very overpriced given their relative performance. Its a play on brand name and historical relevance... At least 40 years behind the technology curve.

They are low output... Low sensitivity.... Lack a sense of detail and airiness... A veiled granular a.m. tone that requires a channel strip and knowhow more particularly in an low volume source acoustic situation.

In live performance they are most often seen in front of loud guitar amps that dont really need much sound reinforcement..snare drums... Which I consider the crudest live mic applications.
.. and frankly compared to an affordable transparent response loud source mic like an Sennheiser e906 a 57 is not even a serious contender anymore for those sources.

For quiet sources the preamp gain you need when micing them is another issue worth considering... Gain makes noise... Coloration... Etc.

Also I have read there are more fakes floating around for sale than real ones.

I would rule out dynamic mics generally in spite of my soft spot for my very useful wonderful Peavey PVM22 dynamic mic.. Which I prefer in all respects to my Beta 57 which was a small step up from a SM57 at considerable expense...the Beta 57 still very bad value for the dollar....

Get a decent condenser mic, something viewed as multipurpose with staisfactory reputation as a vocal mic particularly so you can get value out of it in other applications when the situation calls for it. Condensers need phantom power but you can get phantom power off most mixers or mic preamps and worst case scenario for about 25 bucks you can find a phantom power box.

I have a mid range condenser studio mic .. A Rode NT2000 which has been very newbie friendly tonewise... A very articulate full range dynamic response... but even that is probably overkill especially if live use is desired... Its a great multipurpose mic tho and in spite of it being near the top end of my price tolerance range I felt it was a bargain performance wise.

There are some decent condenser mics in reasonable price ranges that should be far better in every way over a sm57 for micing an acoustic instrument. For example an Apex 515 can be bought for 60 bucks new if you look in the right stores... You could have a mic disaster and not feel too bad if it dies. If you have a more controlled environment and you are serious I think spending say 200 to 400 bucks on reputable quality is the right path. That brings in a lot of respectable options.

Of the lower range of the mid cost condensers... I returned an AKG C1000 immediately after trying it ... It was really a disappointment for the money... Hyped eq that made things sound unnatural and wrong without corrective eq... but still better than a 57 by a mile... At least it had detail going for it... Detail being the number 1 thing I look for in an instrument mic.

The Rode that replaced it was sooo natural and detailed and open sounding... A pleasure to use right out of the box without need for expensive outboard gear to "fix" anything.

If I was in the hunt today for a practical condenser mic... My first audition would be Peavey CM2. I trust the quality and bang for buck in Peavey moreso than any other manufacturer except Yamaha and as noted... My PVM22 is a gem. Peavey gets it right. 125 bucks street price for the CM2.

Last edited by Tommy_G; 10-18-2017 at 12:52 AM.
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Old 10-18-2017, 12:30 AM
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Varying opinions, of course. I love the Shure SM-57s and 58s. They are virtually indestructible and are the industry standard. As mentioned above, you can find them used on CL or eBay for $40-50.

best of luck,
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Old 10-18-2017, 12:46 AM
StevenL StevenL is offline
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MXL 603 does a pretty good job for little $. Small diaghram. I'm sure this model has been replaced but they probably still make one with a like capsule. They make decent, cheap mics.
Audio Technica AT4040 basic, fairly cheap, nice and clean. This IMO is a good all-arounder for recording vocals and guitar.
I've even gotten some pretty good acoustic recording a cheap pair of Behringer ECM8000 omnis.
Heil PR35 is a dynamic mic that is somewhat condenser-like. Much more clear than the SM57/58s and hotter. Captures a beautiful low end. Does a good job on both acoustic guitar and vocals. Good for live and recording.
A Rode NTK can sound glorious with an acoustic. It's a bit more expensive though.
Of course, SM57 SM58 for something you can just throw up anywhere and get an acceptable sound. But I don't like the 57 for acoustic guitar. Sounds a bit 'nasally' to me at lower gain; needs a lot of gain to start sounding good and then you're getting into preamp noise unless you have a really good, high-gain, quiet pre.

Be sure to budget for a good quality mic preamp too. Cheap out on the pre and it won't matter that much if you have a good mic.

Just some thoughts on a few that I've experienced. Heck, these days even the cheaper stuff is pretty good for recording if you do it right.

Last edited by StevenL; 10-18-2017 at 12:52 AM.
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Old 10-18-2017, 01:25 AM
Andy Howell Andy Howell is offline
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I use Beyerdynamic 930s now but have happily used the C1000 in the past - for live playing mixed with a pickup the C1000 is a good option.
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Old 10-18-2017, 06:39 AM
robey robey is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChapinFan View Post
I am not sure if this fits here... but if I wanted to record my guitar -- as in put a microphone in front of it, not in it... What mic do you suggest?

And if you wanted to get a solid mic, but not necessarily studio quality, just a solid mic that does the job reliably -- what would you get? (in other words, not top of the line, but one that is "good enough.")
SM57's are great for stage work because they are cheap and take a lot of abuse, not because they are great for acoustic instrument amplification. They are not the industry standard in recording rooms for acoustic instrument recording. Snare drums, sure, mostly because if (or really, when) the drummer hits it, it's cheap and takes abuse and easily replaced. Also great on guitar cabinets mostly for the midrange and is almost always used in conjunction with a ribbon mic for more detail on the high and low ends.

You can glean a lot of good info from the Gear Slutz website and, if you're on a limited budget and not very knowledgeable, in the GS/Low End Theory forum.

Generally speaking, most pros gravitate towards condensers (small and large diaphragm aka SDC and LDC) mics for acoustic intruments. These will require phantom power from somewhere. Others prefer tube mics and those come with their own power supply. I mostly use ribbons for acoustic instruments and specifically the Royer 122v.

The good news is there are a zillion cheap SDC, LDC, and ribbon mic manufacturers these days, mostly using the same off the shelf Chinese components and having Chinese factories doing the assembly. Nothing wrong with that, I guess, people got to work. There are also some great affordable batch run companies like Stager, Warm and Stam that design their own or copy well known circuits, source good quality parts and, in the case of Warm and Stam, have the Chinese do the assembly.

When I was just starting to record my own stuff, I got a couple, relatively cheap Oktava SDC's (Chinese made) at GC, an Mbox, Garageband and just went at it. Like guitars, the more you spend, usually the better it sounds. But, also like guitars, spending a lot doesn't bring you the knowledge or technique - that only comes with experience and just doing it. The nice thing about the Oktavas is once you get use to their sound and the high end starts to bug you, you can get them modified and they'll sound pretty good. I sold mine to a good friend who owns a local pro studio and he uses them everyday next to his expensive mics.

Good luck!
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Old 10-18-2017, 07:34 AM
MikeBmusic MikeBmusic is offline
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There's a whole section in these forums on recording ...

While the venerable Shure SM57 has been used for live and recording use for decades, its lack of high end "air" is a drawback when recording acoustic instruments. It also need s a bit more boost from a mic preamp than some other mics.

What do you have for an audio interface (or are you using a stand-alone recorder)?
Most people will tell you that a pair of SDC (Small Diaphragm Condensor) mics is the best option for recording an acoustic guitar, but there are many many options, including an LDC (Large Diaphragm Condensor) byitself, or in combination with an SDC or in combination with a figure-8 pattern mic. Note that condenser mics generally require phantom power supplied by the mic preamp or input device.

Using 2 mics vs 1 mic is mostly a personal choice, but a lot depends on the final complete song. If thei sis just an aocusitc guitar (or guitar plus ovice), then 2 mics will allow a 'stereo' field (rather than a 'mono' sound). On the other hand, if there are other instruments in the final mix, a single mic might be the best method.
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Old 10-18-2017, 10:51 AM
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There is nothing in the op's original post that says he has any interest in either stereo micing or what the pros use. Just sayin'.
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