Lewitt LCT440 PURE or RØDE NT1 your opinion please

[jschmitz54]

After reasearch and advice I’m thinking one of these two mics might be good choices, but which one. They are both highly recommended by pro and amateur reviewers. This will be my only mic and used for recording acoustic guitar and vocals. Other options gratefully accepted.

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by jschmitz54

After reasearch and advice I’m thinking one of these two mics might be good choices, but which one. They are both highly recommended by pro and amateur reviewers. This will be my only mic and used for recording acoustic guitar and vocals. Other options gratefully accepted.

Both good choices, and here's another in your price range with stellar reviews....

https://www.google.com/search?q=senn...hrome&ie=UTF-8

[jschmitz54]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Both good choices, and here's another in your price range with stellar reviews....

https://www.google.com/search?q=senn...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Thank you! It just keeps getting more confusing. How do you ever pick one.

[runamuck]

Originally Posted by jschmitz54

Thank you! It just keeps getting more confusing. How do you ever pick one.

It becomes increasingly arbitrary, in my opinion.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by runamuck

It becomes increasingly arbitrary, in my opinion.

Yep, there are slightly different flavors (*very* slight) between most mics, and you can easily swamp any difference with mic placement, room acoustics, guitar, playing, etc. I'd suggest getting 2 mics, tho. Stereo is nice for guitar, or since you sing, you may want a guitar mic and a vocal mic at the same time. These are good, and you can get 2 for your price range:

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technic.../dp/B0006H92QK

You can find these used or on sale for far less. I see one on reverb for $50 right now.

[fitness1]

Just to confuse you more - the sE electronics X1S is a pretty darn nice mic too - can get them used for around 100.00 if you are savvy.

[runamuck]

Doug Young has just posted an opinion. You can do a little research on who Doug Young is and what he's contributed to recording the acoustic guitar and I think you'll find that following his lead is wise.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by runamuck

Doug Young has just posted an opinion. You can do a little research on who Doug Young is and what he's contributed to recording the acoustic guitar and I think you'll find that following his lead is wise.

That's very nice of you! But I should be clear that I've never seen the mics the OP is looking at, so I have no idea about them - they may be better choices than the ones I pointed to. The ones I suggested I know are a good deal for the money (they are budget mics, but they sound good), and would allow for 2 mics well within the budget. So that's the main thing to think about. I've posted examples of the AT2020's in the past, a search should find them if you want to get an idea how they can sound.

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by jschmitz54

After reasearch and advice I’m thinking one of these two mics might be good choices, but which one. They are both highly recommended by pro and amateur reviewers. This will be my only mic and used for recording acoustic guitar and vocals. Other options gratefully accepted.

There are dozens and dozens of relatively inexpensive large diaphragm ("LD") condenser mics these days. Generally designed for vocal use ("vox"), they can also work for recording acoustic guitar, whether you record your guitar and vox together or record them separately and mix the two tracks together.

Since you are new to the recording hobby, just get one and start recording. The more important thing is the skillset you will slowly acquire with experimentation and practice at recording.

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by jschmitz54

Thank you! It just keeps getting more confusing. How do you ever pick one.

Buy a few of the models you've narrowed it down to, keep the best, and return the rest. But many stores won't let you return mics because of health issues, you have to ask their policy.

[runamuck]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Buy a few of the models you've narrowed it down to, keep the best, and return the rest. But many stores won't let you return mics because of health issues, you have to ask their policy.

I disagree with this advice for someone just starting out.

There's the sound of a mic, then there's placement of a mic to the source, room acoustics, preamp gain which can be different for different mics, playback volume and other variables - all adding to one's confusion when there's no or little experience of what makes up a good raw, unprocessed recording.

That was my experience, anyway.

When I first started out, I was amazed how the thickness of a pick made a much larger difference in how a guitar recorded than ANY mic I tried.

And then there's the guitar itself. I have one guitar that's so bright that it records best with a ribbon mic pair, which I would never use to record my Martin OM.

There's just too many variables for a beginner to make sense of. That's why I recommend buying a a mic or pair of mics recommended by an expert (like Doug Young) and at a price one can easily afford. Experience needs to be built up over time and it's only through experience that one becomes sensitive to the number of subtleties that all add up to what we want to hear.

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by runamuck

I disagree with this advice for someone just starting out.

Well we all see things differently that's why we have a forum.

I don't think it's as nearly daunting as you are making it out to be.

Watch a few youtube videos on proper mic placement, put the few mics up, and see what you like best for your guitar.

Here's a very simple video using one of the mics the OP is looking at. He pretty much gets to a nice starting point were it would be easy to try a few different mics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZRnrA5GOx0

After watching the video he can try the few mics and see what he likes.

[runamuck]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Well we all see things differently that's why we have a forum.

I don't think it's as nearly daunting as you are making it out to be.

Watch a few youtube videos on proper mic placement, put the few mics up, and see what you like best for your guitar.

Here's a very simple video using one of the mics the OP is looking at. He pretty much gets to a nice starting point were it would be easy to try a few different mics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZRnrA5GOx0

After watching the video he can try the few mics and see what he likes.

Yeah, that's a helpful video. But move that mic an inch to the left or an inch closer to the guitar and the sound will be different.

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by runamuck

Yeah, that's a helpful video. But move that mic an inch to the left or an inch closer to the guitar and the sound will be different.

Well we all have to learn sometime And that's a good starting point, here's another...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aivxxQLK9Qw

[jschmitz54]

I’ve looked at those AT2020s. They are reviewed well enough but also talked about as a beginners mic. Nothing wrong with that because I am a beginner but I always had this experience where if I buy beginners quality I usually find myself looking to move up shortly. The two mics I’ve posted about seem like a starting point LDC for companies that make higher quality mics. I’m sure ther are others and am open to all suggestions. Someone suggested a newer Roswell mini 47 (this is not an accurate model number, but it’s close) which also looks very good but that price point keeps edging up little by little.
I can certainly see the benefits of two mics idea and maybe those AT2020s would fill my needs for sometime to come. I enjoy reasearching all these suggestions and appreciate advice from the many experienced and knowledgeable people here on AGF.