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Old 11-13-2021, 12:14 PM
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Default Acoustic guitar recording - LDC, SDC, ribbon, active ribbon?

I'm curious what mic(s) everyone likes to record solo acoustic guitar with?

I'm currently using two small condensers, one at around the 12th fret and the other at around the bridge. In the past I have used two large condensers and at times used an active ribbon with another mic, sometimes a sdc, other times a ldc.

Anyway, just curious what others record with and what the setup is? Space pair, XY, etc.
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Old 11-13-2021, 12:25 PM
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You can get good recordings with multiple mike types and mike locations however I personally
prefer using two SD cardioid condenser mikes in some sort of spaced pair configurations (for
finely detailed mike response and a wider soundstage than coincident or near coincident mike
locations).
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Old 11-13-2021, 12:33 PM
FrankHudson FrankHudson is offline
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Early this year I was able to get two Warm Audio WA-84 SDC condenser mics at a good price after selling some stuff to raise funds. That's what I'm using now. Spaced pair over the 12th fret area and bridge area. They seem to have a nice sound. Not too brittle or toppy.

I'll sometimes just use the 12th fret mic, particularly when the guitar is part of a mix. I keep thinking someday to setup a MidSid rig just to see what that world's like.


My iRig Stage soundhole clip-in is technically a mic too. I use it when I need to record in my "Studio B" (small bedroom converted to office). It's a little compressed and "in your face" sound-wise, but for some things that's actually a benefit. And it's much better at isolating from room sound issues I think. The main draw back is that it's a demon for picking up pick noise.
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Old 11-13-2021, 01:37 PM
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For about a year and 1/2 been using a spaced pair of AEA N22 active ribbons.

But I have been looking at also getting a pair the new Austrian Audio CC8 SDC
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Old 11-13-2021, 01:38 PM
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If I were recording solo guitar, I'd use a SDC on the 12th fret and a LDC near the bridge.

For backing parts, I'd use one of those (I'm not too particular) pointed around the 16th fret.

My mikes are an AKG P170 and Blue Spark.

D.H.
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Old 11-13-2021, 01:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rick-slo View Post
You can get good recordings with multiple mike types and mike locations however I personally
prefer using two SD cardioid condenser mikes in some sort of spaced pair configurations (for
finely detailed mike response and a wider soundstage than coincident or near coincident mike
locations).
Same for me, but in the fairly rare instance where my omni mics work in my home recording spaces I prefer them over the cardioids.
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Old 11-13-2021, 03:05 PM
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I've made albums with various LDC's over the years, but more recently I've gone to the classic spaced pair of SDC's. I got a pair of Schoeps cardioids a few months ago, and so far they are the new go-to's for sure. I like the KM184's a lot too. And the Gefell M300's... Those three are my favs. I also like recording in M/S too, and for that I use an AKG c414 XLii as the mid mic. I really wanna like ribbons more than I actually end up liking them. I had the Royer 122ii for a while. Gorgeous microphone, but didn't end up using it very much. But I still have pangs of regret for letting that one go..
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Old 11-14-2021, 03:04 AM
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I enjoy experimenting with different placements / set-ups, but seem to gravitate back to an SDC cardioid pair in some sort of near coïncident set-up.

I also have used an active ribbon with an SDC for MS and liked the result, enjoying the flexibility this gives post recording.

Because of the correlation of a coincident (or near) set-up I have also found it possible to get a good sound from combining these in MS, overcoming (for me at least) some difficulty to get a single forward facing mic to give me a representative sound.

My mics are SE8 cardioids and omni modules that I have yet to fully explore.
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Old 11-14-2021, 11:21 AM
j3ffr0 j3ffr0 is offline
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I mostly record fingerstyle and for that I like ribbons, SDCs, and LDCs. I usually use some version of spaced pair. Most often and SDC on 12-18" from the 12th fret or so and a Ribbon (or sometimes LDC) 12-18" from the body.... That body mic might be over the shoulder or might be in front of the guitar behind the bridge... depending.
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Old 11-14-2021, 01:16 PM
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My default setup hasn't changed a lot in a long time. Right now in my studio, I have a pair of LDCs (Brauner VM1s) as spaced pairs, a pair of SDCs, Schoeps CMC6/MK41s that vary, but are usually also setup as spaced pairs, and an AEA R88 stereo ribbon in MS. I typically record all 3 pairs, then choose. I've never blended all 3, but usually pick between the Brauner's or Schoeps, depending on how they sound on the particular recording, then blend in some of the ribbon to fill in the middle. The R88 is a very dark, deep mic, and it's almost like bringing in a lower octave when I mix that in. Most of the time I end up with Brauners+R88 with the R88 mixed quite a bit lower.

I have several other ribbons that somehow I just haven't had a much luck with, tho I keep trying to like them.

For videos, I've used different setups, an AT4050ST stereo mic (It's MS, but has decoding in the mic), an Ear Trumpet ORTF stereo mic, or a pair of Townsend L22s, which are nice because I can choose SDC, LDC, or ribbon after the fact, and can even blend different mic models and different polar patterns, for a lot of fine-tuning in the mix.
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Old 11-14-2021, 03:27 PM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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For acoustic guitar recording I use a pair of Warm Audio WA-84 mics. I have been using them mounted on a bar about 6-7" apart on a single mic stand, but recently I bought another small mic stand so that I can separate the two mics more, as others often do. I have not used the wider spaced method yet, but will during this next week.

A pair of these WA-84 is fairly cost effective, about $750.

I have also in the past had good luck recording acoustic guitar with a pair of Audio Technica AT4050 mics. However, the small diaphragm mics like the WA-84 seem to do a little better job on rapid transient response.

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Old 11-15-2021, 04:10 PM
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I'm using two AT 4041, one pointed at the neck block, the other at the bottom bout, so far it's the best sound. It's been difficult to get the nuances and detail when playing w/ flesh and nail, the 4041s work for me.
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Old 11-15-2021, 04:56 PM
AcousticDreams AcousticDreams is offline
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I use a pair of Schoeps CMC6 with the Wide Cardiod 21 Capsule's. I use them in a very wide spacing to capture all of the body & string sound. I am rather heavy handed and thus generate a louder volume from my Dreads.
I like the sound of omni's, but you need a perfect room for Omni's to be 100% utilized without creating other artifacts. Wide Cardiods are in the Between mode....emulating some of the Omni and some of the Cardiod characteristics. Wide spacing also helps eliminate some of Proximity problems.
Previous to my Schoeps I was using a stereo pair of LDC....AT4050's. Not as smooth or controlled as the Schoeps..but in a perfect room they can work great. And you can pick them up used at a very reasonable price. Stephen Wake uses them in Omni and with wide spacing. Doug Young uses the Stereo Version of the 4050's in mid Side and gets great results.
I also have a pair of Sm-81's that I bought brand new in the 80's. And an old AKG electric Condenser(a cheaper version of the 451)
Eventually I will probably sell my 4050's and SM-81's)
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Old 11-16-2021, 11:55 PM
j3ffr0 j3ffr0 is offline
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I have also jumped on the Schoeps bandwagon recently and am very impressed with them so far. I have not previously loved using two SDCs at the same time in a spaced pair set up, but I'm going to put both of them out next instead of pairing one with a ribbon.

I have the CMC6 with the MK4 capsule, which seems to be what most are using (although I've heard good things about other capsules too).
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Old 11-17-2021, 11:31 AM
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I'm using Neumann KM184's in a spaced pair. They seem to work really well for me.
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