Quote:
Originally Posted by Fran Guidry
First, there are literally dozens of mics that are "known for making many a famous & great acoustic guitar recording."
Second, which AKG 414 did he mean?
Third, if you actually do a careful test with level matching and similar positioning, I don't think you'll get less ambient noise and reflection from a dynamic compared to a condenser of the same pattern. The reason so many people believe that a dynamic works differently from a condenser is that they position them very differently.
Fourth, the Sennheiser is one of the most condenser like (flat extended frequency response) dynamics out there, but has very low sensitivity so it requires a preamp with lots of very clean gain so your budget must take that into account.
Fran |
Agreeing here, we've got a C414 comb from back in the day, a couple of C414EB P48s, and a fly pack of six Sennheiser MD441s floating around. I think we might even have a C414XL II in one of the studios. All nice mics. I probably wouldn't reach for any of them first when an acoustic guitar comes through the door. The MD441 is really quite a nice dynamic but the high-end and dynamic response of dynamics aren't anywhere as nice as that of a good condenser. Still, if a guy came in with a small guitar, was strumming it vigorously with a light pick, and I was trying to make it fit in a combo, an MD441 would be a good choice to moderate it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dmoss74
...snip... one of the nicer features of the c-414 is how ridiculously minimal their noise floor is. it's practically non-existent.
|
The Rode NT1 series are the current production mics with the lowest self noise, by the way, and they are reasonably inexpensive ($199-$269). We've got both an NT1A and the new NT1. They are both great mics for the money. Were it me, I'd spring the extra money and get the newer NT1 (darker grey ceramic coat). It has a smoother high-end than the older model. The sound is somewhere between a C414 and a Neuman TLM-170.
Back in 1980 my professor of Recording Techniques and Electronic Music taught me a profound lesson: you need to make music with what you have and not long for some new instrument or device to come along. Adopting that philosophy has kept me from pursuing the rotating door of either guitars or mics. Its kind of "Equipment checks in; it never checks out."
Bob