PERCUSSIVE fingerstyle MIC!?

[Zordinary]

Hey, does anyone have a good (and affordable for a student like me) suggestion of a mic for percussive fingerstyle acoustic playing? I'm looking for something that is clear crisp, also brings out the bass sounds of my bass drum and snare techniques, but not so strong that it covers up the melodic notes. I still want a mic that brings out a light, crips, clear sound of the guitar, while still giving enough punch for the percussive sounds.
Im not a audio wiz or anything of the sort, but so far just listening to other recordings of acoustic guitar in general, condenser mics seem to be my liked ones, however i have not heard them with the percussive sounds added, just normal acoustic guitar recording of chords strummed.
I MOSTLY play fingerstyle guitar, but sometimes i do collabs that involves vocals, do condenser mics suck in vocals (lets say i just play chords and someone else sings)? However i do not like some of the acoustic sound in dynamic mics. i have no clue how these mics work, i just know i want a good percussive fingerstyle mic that can work for other purposes like vocals as well!

[Doug Young]

I don't think there's anything special about percussive guitar, you just want a mic that picks up what's there, and you have lots of choices, all of which should work. Most people prefer a condenser mic for recording acoustic guitar. The primary difference between vocals and instruments is that you may need more of a wind screen for vocals. Singing directly into a small condenser mic like many people use for acoustic guitar can sound kind of "spitty" :-) You can add a pop filter to any mic tho.

You don't say what "affordable" means to you. There are many inexpensive mics people recommend often here, like the ADK A6 (which I've not personally used). I think the Audio Technica line is a good deal, with prices starting at around $100 for the AT2020 and going up to $5K or so, so pick your price point.

For just getting started with recording, which it sounds like you probably are, the little portable recorders with everything built-in are a good way to start. Like a point-and-shoot camera, it's hard to go wrong with them. Or there are mic attachments that you can add to your smart phone. This is a very cost effective way to record, you have the whole recorder, with mics, for as little as $100 on the low end, up to maybe $400 on the higher end.

Here's an example of a casual recording of a percussive player you may recognize that I recorded a while back using a Zoom H4, in a non-studio environment. You Tube sort of mangled the sound a bit, and it would have sounded better with the recorder closer, but you can get some idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfhnzirlxqE

or check out the "B" Track on this thread for a better sound quality example of how a portable recorder can sound (no percussion on this track - but it uses better mic placement than on the Andy McKee example)

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=359079

[Zordinary]

WOW! Thanks for the brilliant answer! The track B sounds absolutely amazing!
Yeah i dont have much money, so the most ill go is probably a hundred to 200 something (300 ranges are possible too, it'll hurt my wallet a little though xD )
I don't necessarily need something portable, but it would love it if i could take it out to record lets say in a park or in my back yard, i don't like staying in confined walls when playing my guitar The Zoom H6 looks very portable and sounds pretty amazing! But its 399 i could still get it, but do you know any other cheaper models that you would recommend!?

this is how my mic sounds like right now, its a random mic that i found at best buy.
http://www.samsontech.com/samson/pro...ophones/gomic/
it sounds decent, but i want something even better!

PS you're youtube channel is amazing too!

[Doug Young]

There's a whole line of Zoom recorders, from the Zoom H1 at $99 on up. But I can't guarantee they'll be any better than your USB mic. (That's kind of the same idea as getting a mic to go with your smart phone.) Given your budget, I'd expect it to be fine.

Did you mean to post a recorded example? The link is just a link to the product page.

[Zordinary]

Hey! Here is an example of a recording. In this recording the mic was a bit further away. But i used bass sounding percussive technique and some harmonic slapping and this is how it comes out as.

http://youtu.be/vyjB1FR0wQk?t=41s

[Doug Young]

I think your mic (and recording) sounds fine. The biggest thing you could do to improve your sound would be to add some room treatment and/or mic closer to the guitar. Check out Fran Guidry's HomebrewMusic site for seom demos of how 2 inexpensive sound panels can make a big difference

[Zordinary]

Alright thanks!
I still want something a bit better though, definitely considering a Zoom now.