Fingerstyle-friendly mic suggestions

[Yamaha Man]

I agree with the pre-amp suggestion....I just bought a used FOCUSRITE ISA ONE PROFFESSIONAL SINGLE CHANNEL MIC PRE AMPLIFIER. I read a lot of good stuff and reviews on this unit, I saw a couple of demo's and thought it sounded very sweet. I went to the Focusrite website and the story behind it is pretty amazing...I plan on doing acoustic guitar recordings and this should help. I have AKG C214 mics and a couple of Neumann TLM 102's. I like the sound of the AKG mics better and put one of the 102's up for sale on reverb.com. I'm hoping that the Focusrite pre-amp will help the sound of the AKG's.

Any comments are welcome.

[ChuckS]

Originally Posted by Dustinfurlow

Hey all,

So I’m looking to upgrade my current studio microphone(s). I typically recorded previous videos on my YouTube with either a Rode NT4 (stereo condenser) or a large diaphragm audio technica 4033. I’d mix/add reverb with an Allen and Heath Zed 10 and run two XLRs out into my Zoom Q8. I’ve never used an interface or any additional audio editing like Protools or Logic. (Probably would benefit but just lazy I suppose)

I’ve been looking at maybe a Neumann TLM 102 or a pair or Rode condensers. Really my mind is pretty open to suggestions. Would like to hear some first hand experiences with different intermediate-to-high end mics and why you liked them (for solo fingerstyle)

Thanks

I've been upgrading my recording gear over the last several years. My primary goal is to capture the guitar with as much realism as possible; I’m not very concerned with recording other instruments or voice. My approach has been to look for the weakest link in the chain for my usage and upgrade that, then repeat as my funds are available. It would have been quicker, and cheaper, to do it all at once but I wasn't experienced enough to know what I needed or wanted at the beginning. When I upgrade I try to do a significant step up so it's noticeable.

I agree with other posters that you don't want to get your gear 'quality' level too imbalanced (I wouldn't upgrade mics with the preamp and adc gear you are using).

I primarily record solo fingerstyle acoustic guitar in stereo. I like to use a pair of same model sdc mics in a spaced pair arrangement. When possible I use omni mics. Currently I use a pair of Gefell M296S omnis (or a pair of 3 Zigma cardioids) into a pair of Speck 5.0 MicPre, into a Mytek Stereo192 ADC, into a Motu interface. My weak link is my playback chain.

I really like the results Anton got with his Gefell M300 mics and what Derik (Rick-Slo) gets with his Gefell M295 mics. Sdelsolray also uses Gefell but I haven't heard full arrangements of his work.