Mic Comparison

[AeroUSA]

What is your favorite microphone for recording acoustic guitar and creating IR’s?

[varmonter]

One of my favorite budget
Mics is the mxl 603s.
You can buy a matched pair
For 179.00.
My pic is the same as yours. You get what you pay for.
I have always dreamed of
Getting a km184. Just could
Never justify the price.
I have an sm81. Love it.
I've used it live quite a bit.
And record with it regularly.
In your comparison I too
like the Neuman best. Great well rounded
warm tone.the least expensive
One you tried I thought to
Be too midrange heavy.
And the little star trek phaser
Mic would be my 3rd choice.
Great review as always Aaron.thx

[gfirob]

I think your pick is about right, but they all sound pretty good. To be honest, all of them sound as if they have too much low end, as if you were favoring the sound hole in the mike position, but that might just be my ears too, or the fact that you are using a heavy strum rather than single notes (which I think would be more helpful).

I use an Ear Trumpet Edwina which has (I think) a medium sized diaphragm, smaller than a full sized condenser and larger than the small sized.

Thanks very much for doing these comparison videos, they are quite useful.

[James May]

Informative video Aaron.

The fact that the SM81 is lower gain is, as you say, not important. There is no standard for output level in microphones. It's an older electret design, which is technically different than the other three. I think that is the reason it's lower. Anyway, it is a lot louder than dynamic mics.

My assessment for purposes of making WaveMaps:

• SM81 and ML-2 are virtually identical and my first choice.
• Earthworks is equally flat sounding, except for a slight lowcut which will not hurt you at all in making Maps, as it's pretty low.
• The KM-184 sounds the most colored to my ears. I know it can produce excellent Maps, but the other three mics would be a better bet if you don't already have one. BTW, the older KM-84s are much flatter than the KM-184. They would sound much more like the SM81.

I also hear too much of the guitar's low end resonances in these recordings. If you are producing recorded material, you can eq them out to clean up the bottom end so it sits properly in your mix. If you are using a ToneDexter, it will automatically fix that for you with the variable feedback mitigation control.

[ezellohar]

James, one more option you should consider is the line audio CM4, very flat mic, so a perfect choice for wavemaps creation. And also, cheaper than SM81 and ML-2. Or, at least for european users, I don't know how much will it cost getting in the US

[SpruceTop]

The only mic I have that I've used with my ToneDexter is the Shure SM81 which generated some decent WaveMaps. I've got to experiment more with it and my LDC Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina Stereo Pair.

[SpruceTop]

Aaron, referencing your video:

For me, it's a toss-up between the Neumann KM-184 and the Shure SM81. If I had no qualms about spending the cash difference between them, I'd get the Neumann KM-184. The Earthworks mic is okay but the real surprise is the Slate ML-2. In addition to buying one of the other three mics, I could see getting a Slate ML-2 for its versatile modeling software for home recording.

[Br1ck]

For a mere mortal like myself, the SM 81 is a fine mic for a pretty reasonable price. When you start getting into the Neumann territory, Earthworks too, you start needing Manley or Avalon mic pres. You can kiss $4K goodby pretty quickly, but oh, the glorious sound! Of course, garbage in, garbage out, but it will be read the fine print on the the soup can at the dump clear, provided your audio converter is great, and your monitors too.

I have had a pair of SM 81s for a decade now, and when you own a pair you see them used as overheads on drum kits all the time. Easily to identify.

[guitarman68]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

Aaron, referencing your video:

For me, it's a toss-up between the Neumann KM-184 and the Shure SM81. If I had no qualms about spending the cash difference between them, I'd get the Neumann KM-184. The Earthworks mic is okay but the real surprise is the Slate ML-2. In addition to buying one of the other three mics, I could see getting a Slate ML-2 for its versatile modeling software for home recording.

I completely second this. I used Neumann KM184s a lot over the past 20+ years and was really surprised about the Slate. Simply did not expect them being that close. Always liked the SM81s and share your experience of hearing a slightly "compressed" sound - but still like it.

These days I mostly use old KM84s from the 70s (lucky to find a pair reasonable priced, probably easier in Germany where I live than in the US) and Schoeps MK4s.

Thanks again for a great comparison, Aaron!

[FrankHudson]

I used an old set of Octavia SDC mics for more than a decade. I recently got an used Shure SM81, and I'm still adjusting the gain and exploring it's sound. In your test on my monitors I liked the SM81, so we'll see.

One SDC I considered was the Warm Audio WA-84 which aims to sound like the older Neumans that preceded the current model you included. It's currently priced more attractively until the end of the year at less than a new SM81 at Sweetwater at $299, though it's old regular price is above Shure SM81 at $399.

[James May]

Originally Posted by ezellohar

James, one more option you should consider is the line audio CM4, very flat mic, so a perfect choice for wavemaps creation. And also, cheaper than SM81 and ML-2. Or, at least for european users, I don't know how much will it cost getting in the US

We have the Line Audio CM3 on our recommended list. Checking now, it looks like the nearly identical CM4 has replaced it. An excellent choice at around $150 USD. I will update our list.

[guitarwebguy]

After trying a variety of mics, I’ve had great success with an SE Electronics SE8.