Mic Suggestions

[Jgavin]

So I’m looking at possibly picking up a pair of Soyuz 013 fet, or Beyerdynamic MC930 mics to record fingerstyle acoustic guitar. The Beyers have a great reputation as a great mic for this but I have no first hand experience with them. I am intrigued with the Soyuz but there really isn’t much out there in the way of audio samples on acoustic guitar. My interface is an Audient iD14. If you’ve had experience with either and feel like sharing That would be great.

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by Jgavin

So I’m looking at possibly picking up a pair of Soyuz 013 fet, or Beyerdynamic MC930 mics to record fingerstyle acoustic guitar. The Beyers have a great reputation as a great mic for this but I have no first hand experience with them. I am intrigued with the Soyuz but there really isn’t much out there in the way of audio samples on acoustic guitar. My interface is an Audient iD14. If you’ve had experience with either and feel like sharing That would be great.

A pair of Beyerdynamic MC930 works quite well with solo finger style acoustic guitar. Pleasant, predictable and quite honest. The mic has a bass rolloff starting at about 150 Hz which somewhat counteracts the proximity effect when close micing.

I have no experience with the Soyez 013 FET.

Other mics you may wish to consider in your price range (+ or -) include:

Microtech Gefell M300
3 Zigma SD-C TL (or SD-C FX) (interchangeable capsules)
Telefunken (USA) M60 (interchangeable capsules)

Each of these rival the Beyerdynamic MC930 and, IMO, are preferable to it.

[Chipotle]

Sweetwater just posted this today: Choosing the Best Microphone For Acoustic Guitar – 32 Mic Shootout

Unfortunately they don't include those exact mics, although they do have other Soyuz and Beyerdynamic mics. You may find some other candidates in there as well.

I often see the Schoeps CMC6 (your choice of capsule pattern) on the short list for acoustic guitar recordings.

[Jgavin]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

A pair of Beyerdynamic MC930 works quite well with solo finger style acoustic guitar. Pleasant, predictable and quite honest. The mic has a bass rolloff starting at about 150 Hz which somewhat counteracts the proximity effect when close micing.

I have no experience with the Soyez 013 FET.

Other mics you may wish to consider in your price range (+ or -) include:

Microtech Gefell M300
3 Zigma SD-C TL (or SD-C FX) (interchangeable capsules)
Telefunken (USA) M60 (interchangeable capsules)

Each of these rival the Beyerdynamic MC930 and, IMO, are preferable to it.

Funny, I was just looking at the M60s. I actually emailed Telefunken to see if they could direct me to any audio files of acoustic guitars recorded with this mic. I’ve also been speaking with Ryan at FEA, and he suggested the 3 Zigma. I do like the sound of the M300’s but would only be able to purchase 1. I could certainly pair it with my multi-pattern LDC and probably get some really nice MS recordings. Thanks, I appreciate your thoughts.

[Jgavin]

Originally Posted by Chipotle

Sweetwater just posted this today: Choosing the Best Microphone For Acoustic Guitar – 32 Mic Shootout

Unfortunately they don't include those exact mics, although they do have other Soyuz and Beyerdynamic mics. You may find some other candidates in there as well.

I often see the Schoeps CMC6 (your choice of capsule pattern) on the short list for acoustic guitar recordings.

Thanks, just checked it out. Very informative.

[ChuckS]

I have a pair of 3 Zigma sdc with cardioid capsules (got them from Sdelsolray). I’ve also had their omni capsules. My use is for fingerstyle guitar and they are nice mics and a good value. They’re on sale now directly from ADK for a great price.

Have you checked out used pricing on the M300?

[Jgavin]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

I have a pair of 3 Zigma sdc with cardioid capsules (got them from Sdelsolray). I’ve also had their omni capsules. My use is for fingerstyle guitar and they are nice mics and a good value. They’re on sale now directly from ADK for a great price.

Have you checked out used pricing on the M300?

Hi Chuck. I have checked pricing on the M300s, I would only be able to get one for now. I could always add a second later on. Are you a fan of the M300? If you have a soundcloud or YouTube channel I would be interested in hearing your 3 Zigma mics.

[keith.rogers]

There are a lot of videos in the "stories" channel that are using the Soyuz 013, but unfortunately, they don't say whether it's the tube or FET version. (Guessing FET because it looks like a standard mic cable.)

Sometimes there may be a second mic and sometimes the guitar is plugged in.

Here's a few:

https://youtu.be/avBqWutvzN8
https://youtu.be/mITjI0XndH8
https://youtu.be/BeYCM3PnvqY
https://youtu.be/eZVb_TuMTUI
https://youtu.be/Dh2PU9wkhhc
https://youtu.be/VpvB3SnBy8U

[Jgavin]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

There are a lot of videos in the "stories" channel that are using the Soyuz 013, but unfortunately, they don't say whether it's the tube or FET version. (Guessing FET because it looks like a standard mic cable.)

Sometimes there may be a second mic and sometimes the guitar is plugged in.

Here's a few:

https://youtu.be/avBqWutvzN8
https://youtu.be/mITjI0XndH8
https://youtu.be/BeYCM3PnvqY
https://youtu.be/eZVb_TuMTUI
https://youtu.be/Dh2PU9wkhhc
https://youtu.be/VpvB3SnBy8U

Thanks Keith, I didn't know about these videos.

[jim1960]

The Telefunken ELA M 260 has been on my short list for a couple of years. They sell it in a set that includes hypercardioid, cardioid, and omni capsules. I already own a Gefell M295 pair so I have the accurate non-colored box checked. The Tele is warm. It brings some vintage-y character to the recording. I've liked it every time I've heard it. Might be worth checking out.

[anton]

I have a pair of the Gefell M300s and love them. All my recent Youtube videos were filmed with them, check those out if you want to hear some samples. Guitarist Michael Watts also uses them for his YT videos, and was part of the reason I decided to buy mine. Got them used for around $1300

Ive never tried the Beyers but i hear they are nice too.

Ive heard the Soyuz have a higher self noise, so maybe not ideal for solo guitar. Maybe get them from a place that allows returns if you go that route.

Lots of nice mics out there in this price range.

[keith.rogers]

Originally Posted by Chipotle

Sweetwater just posted this today: Choosing the Best Microphone For Acoustic Guitar – 32 Mic Shootout

Unfortunately they don't include those exact mics, although they do have other Soyuz and Beyerdynamic mics. You may find some other candidates in there as well....

Only did a once-though with my old Sony cans and I was pretty underwhelmed by those short clips.

I [kind of] understand the idea of putting each mic at the same position, but in reality, I would very rarely put 2 different mics in exactly the same spot, even if they were the same kind of mic, and in the case of LDC vs. SDC, probably almost never in the same spot/angle. This methodology seemed to create a bunch of recordings that were uniformly "meh" (but, "my ears" admittedly).

A actually have one of those mics, ATM450, and it is one that I like, but don't use as much on acoustic as a couple others. The side-address confuses some folks, too. I put it up as an overhead when I recorded a band in a bar some years ago, and after the first set I had to go explain to the drummer that when *he* decided to move it to "point down" at his kit, it meant that I had a good recording of half the room noise on his OH track for the first set.

P.S. (Edit) the Telefunken sets are interesting, and there's a FET model M60, that also comes in a "master set" with all the capsules. I would like to hear that. Very low noise, but I have a cheap pair of SDCs with the same noise spec as the Soyuz, and in my home studio, it is not audible. If you have purpose-built studio for recording, it might matter.

[Kevin G String]

Hi Chuck. I have checked pricing on the M300s, I would only be able to get one for now. I could always add a second later on.

I would consider saving up for a pair, as they are matched when you buy a pair together. But that's just me. They are quite an investment.

[ChuckS]

Originally Posted by Jgavin

Hi Chuck. I have checked pricing on the M300s, I would only be able to get one for now. I could always add a second later on. Are you a fan of the M300? If you have a soundcloud or YouTube channel I would be interested in hearing your 3 Zigma mics.

Glad to see Anton responded on this thread; check out his recordings with the M300. I sent you a PM with a few links to some 3-Zigma comparison recordings.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

Only did a once-though with my old Sony cans and I was pretty underwhelmed by those short clips.

I [kind of] understand the idea of putting each mic at the same position, but in reality, I would very rarely put 2 different mics in exactly the same spot, even if they were the same kind of mic, and in the case of LDC vs. SDC, probably almost never in the same spot/angle. This methodology seemed to create a bunch of recordings that were uniformly "meh" (but, "my ears" admittedly).

Of course, but the idea isn't to get a great recording. It's to compare mics, as apples-to-apples as possible. I'd been considering a WA-84, but these recordings were enough for me to decide I didn't care for it that much, no matter how much I read it's super close to an actual KM84.