Shure PG81

[Ivob]

hi everyone on this forum, i'm a new member here and hope that somebody could advice me on the type of a small-diaphragm microphone for recording and stage performance for an acoustic guitar only. i'd like to buy shure PG81, does anybody of you have some experiences with this mic? or would you recommend some cheaper mic, which is equally good? thanks, ivan (slovakia, europe)

I have used one of these to mic my acoustic and resonator guitars for live performances for many years. I think it sounds detailed and natural, but I have not owned other condensers (higher or lower end) so I cannot compare it to them. I have not had problems with feedback at all, which apparently is a major problem for some, and have played lots of gigs in a wide range of venues with it. I did talk to a representative at Shure who told me that for live applications, the PG81 is almost as good in terms of sound quality as the SM81 and that the PG81 is better at resisting feedback than the SM81. In other words, my understanding is that the SM81 has a flatter frequency response, among other things, so it has higher fidelity, but that in a live setting the difference probably not gong to be very noticeable and it is more prone to feedback as a result of its wider frequency response. My understanding of microphones is limited, but these are my impressions. My guess is that the PG81 is a relatively well-suited live performance mic but not nearly as good as some higher end condensers for recording. I think it all boils down to matching the right microphone to your particular needs/circumstances. Hope this helps.

[Ivob]

thank you, it helped. i needed to hear experiences directly from some owner or someone who uses this mic. i'd buy some better mic of course, if i had money...this shure PG81 seems to me a good compromise

[Cletus]

I have owned one for several years using it for live applications, it's a great mic you won't go wrong with it. I have had no issues.

Originally Posted by Ivob

thank you, it helped. i needed to hear experiences directly from some owner or someone who uses this mic. i'd buy some better mic of course, if i had money...this shure PG81 seems to me a good compromise

My admittedly limited experience with mics is that some are not necessarily "better" than others, but that some are better suited for certain applications/sound preferences than others. Again, I think the challenge is finding what works best for your particular application(s)/tonal preferences. I have not experimented too much with other mics because the PG81 has worked well for me for many years, but I am often tempted.

[Gaelen]

I have been using the Rode NT5 stereo matched pair for a few years now and I think that they are fantastic for many applications.

I use them for acoustic guitar, mandolin and drum kit overheads for both live and recording.

I do tend to prefer to use a small condenser like the NT5 for the top of the guitar and a larger one such as an audio technica 4041 or Rode K1 for the neck/fingerboard position for recording acoustic guitar.

I can't really fault any of the Rode mics I have or that friends use.

The K2 is also very useful as it has a multi pattern setting from Cardioid to figure 8 to Omni and quite good value for money as well.

Of course a good pre amp will also make quite a difference to the result.

I hope that's of some use ?

[Ivob]

Actually i already have one mic from rh sound, it's a large diaphragm studio condenser. it was cheap but many technicians have told me it beats much more expensive and known mics. i'm quite happy with it but the sound from it is, i would say, too mellow and rounded. for some of my songs more detailed and crisper output would be better, that's why i want to try some small diaphragm mic, thank you all for reactions