View Single Post
  #4  
Old 04-14-2016, 08:17 PM
jim1960 jim1960 is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 5,960
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eclectic Guitar View Post
The man at my local music store tells me that the AKG 414 condenser mic is known for making many a famous & great acoustic guitar recording.

I think I recall Sound on Sound Editor Paul White mentioning in one of his music production books that he often makes his best acoustic guitar tracks with just one AKG 414 -pointed either to the bridge or the bottom of the neck.

The trouble is AKG C414 condensers cost over a K note, way above my budget & as well, these days I'm forced to record in a somewhat noisy acoustically untreated room environment.

I've been told that all condenser mics -even the multi-pattern condensers with hypercardioid patterns & reflection filters etc. pick up all the room noise. -Otherwise my research would of led me to the very affordable CAD M179 ($279.00 can$) -20Hz to 20KHz multi pattern condenser with hypercardioid setting;

*I was advised that a good (unidirectional) dynamic cardioid mic is the thing for these acoustically hostile settings, -this is a valid enough solution for the vocal tracking, -the trouble is dynamic cardioids simply don't make it for recording acoustic guitars. The received wisdom, (in gearslutz.com) is that generally condenser mics are by far best for recording acoustics, (although in this forum I've noticed ribbons being used as well).

* Then I learned of the Sennheiser MD 441, an excellent clear high fidelity dynamic that is very good for various instruments as well as vocals.

Although not the cheapest dynamic cardioid mic, -could it be that this would be my go to solution ?
You've been given a mixed bag of advice ...some good, some not so much.

There are various models of the AKG 414, some are better for recording acoustic guitar than others but I'm not a huge fan of that microphone. I own one and I don't reach for it very often.

As a general rule, cardiods will pick up less room than figure eight or omni patterns. Hypercariods will pick up even less but I've found they're harder to work with because they're less forgiving regarding mic placement.

I don't know a lot about the CAD M179, but in your price range I'm a big fan of the ADK A6. They're a bit forgiving when it comes to placement and they can produce nice clean tracks. Years back, Dream Guitars used to use a pair to record Al Petteway's demo recordings and that's where I first learned of them.

In another thread, someone mentioned the Audio Technica AT2020 as being another good candidate but I have no personal experience with that mic.

I'm sure the person who recommended the dynamic cardioid mic had the Shure SM7B in mind. That mic became all the rage when folks found out Michael Jackson used one for his vocals on the Thriller album. Jackson also had the use of some pretty spectacular mic pres and other gear and I haven't heard anything that's convinced me that mic is a good choice in a low budget studio focusing on acoustic guitar. I could be wrong about that though as I've never used one, but if I were you that wouldn't be on my wish list.

As for the MD441, honestly, I don't think a dynamic mic should or could be your best choice. The most versatile mic to start with would be a large diaphragm condenser. And ribbon mics are great if you have a room that's been properly treated. Otherwise, they're problematic because they pick up everything. Plus, ribbons need a lot of gain. If you don't have a very good mic pre, your tracks will be noisy. LDC is really your best bet.
__________________
Jim
2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi
2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood
2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar
2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce
2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce
1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce

along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos.

YouTube
Reply With Quote