Warm and quiet mic(s) for recording acoustic guitar. (approx. 1k budget)

[Ty Ford]

The KM184 is very nice, but has what I consider a gentle rise in the high end. I call it warm, but articulate...but not bright.

-- I have never considered the KM184 anything but overly bright

If you don't want the hyped top end, I'd stay away from the cheap chinese imports. They all tend to have a strident top end (IMO).

-- Amen

A personal note on the AKG C414s...the new ones (ever since Harmon bought out AKG) have been a bit brighter/harsher sounding to my ears than the classic 414s. Maybe try to buy an older one.

-- All C414 (and there are about six different versions of this mic, all of which sound a bit different) are a bit sensitive to the type of preamp used. With the wrong preamp, C414 sound spitty and brittle on the top end. With the right preamp they sound great. GML and NEVE pres are good matches. I'm sure there must be others. BTW the TLM 103 behaves much the same way.

[Dark Eyed Junko]

Originally Posted by Fran Guidry

This may or may not help, but let me offer you a chance to compare some microphones and see how different they sound. These are all recordings of the same performance, with the mics carefully placed as close to the same spot as possible, all using the same preamp, and all carefully level matched.

http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/audio/20090626-F.wav
http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/audio/20090626-G.wav
http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/audio/20090626-H.wav
http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/audio/20090626-I.wav

These mics range in price from $150 to about $1800. Some small diaphragm, some large. All are cardioid.

Do any of these sound amazingly better than any other? Do any of them sound terrible?

Fran

Thanks so much for this. Side by side comparisons like this are usually more insightful than any review you can read. To my ears, one of them sounds just slightly worse than the others (but still not bad), and the others I find virtually indistinguishable.
If you can send me the key, I'd love to know what I just heard.

[lppier]

I have the Beyerdynamic MC930s, it's an excellent mic, and I discovered recently that it sounds fantastic when stereo mic-ed in a spaced pair. I used to do it in x-y configuration.
I would recommend them

[alohachris]

Aloha,

Great S/D mics mentioned here already.

Up to $1K? There are so many: modded AKG 460/480's, Neumann 140's (Ok, so it's a stretch), Peluso CEMC6's, Shure 81's, Beyer 930's, modded Oktava MC012's, AT 4021's, Mojave MA 100 or 200's (another stretch) - all accurate and warm. Stay away from Rode, MXL, Audix, Josephson, Sennheiser S/D's if 'warmer' is what you're after. Based on my experience of them all.

An important part of the equation is matching the right mic to the right preamp, right guitar and right music. That's where the art of recording guitar comes into play.

TIP: ADK A6 (under $200 street)- Hook a pair of these up to almost any preamp with great results - warm and accurate, w/o distortion and too much self-noise. To hear it, go to Dream Guitars. Almost all of Al Petteway's samples use a pair of A6's W/O EQ.

http://www.dreamguitars.com/preowned...on_0402114.mp3 Or this:

http://www.dreamguitars.com/new/tipp...ndo_708020.php

Expensive Tip: Schoeps CMC641 Hypercardioid ($2-3K street) - Out of your price range, but this is my favorite mic for recording acoustic guitars. Most accurate and warm. I had to save for a long time and becoming single again to get a used pair of these. It's worth it to me!

Go the Doug Young's site and listen to the reference mic samples from #50-87. #73 uses this ref. mic and shows how rich the overtones of a great guitar can sound on a great mic.

http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptests/

Check out Doug playing here using a pair of CMC641's and a bit of Magmic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0Bbgucd7K4

But if it comes down to choosing a less expensive mic - that your ears like - then do so AND PUT THE REST OF YOUR BUDGET INTO ROOM TREATMENT! That's the real way to achieve warmer results and control.

alohachris

PS: You can also buy used from reputable sellers to cut costs. I've had great success doing this. I also rent to own from suppliers all over the place, pay for r/t shipping and try 'em out on my rig - the best way to let your ears make the decision, IMO. - alohachris-

[italianspruce]

Originally Posted by Fran Guidry

This may or may not help, but let me offer you a chance to compare some microphones and see how different they sound. These are all recordings of the same performance, with the mics carefully placed as close to the same spot as possible, all using the same preamp, and all carefully level matched.

http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/audio/20090626-F.wav
http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/audio/20090626-G.wav
http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/audio/20090626-H.wav
http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/audio/20090626-I.wav

These mics range in price from $150 to about $1800. Some small diaphragm, some large. All are cardioid.

Do any of these sound amazingly better than any other? Do any of them sound terrible?

Fran

"H" is by far the best of these to me. I'm about as far from an expert as you can get, having little studio recording experience, but I'm impressed by "H". "F" sounded like it might be on the cheaper end of the scale. "G" is better than "I". I would say order of quality from top to bottom is probably H, G, I, F.

[DupleMeter]

Originally Posted by usb_chord

Thanks, Duple. You mentioned having a good room being a must for the omni. All rooms (including the one I'm recording in) are carpeted. Would certain mics tend to work better in this type of environment than others?

You know - one of the best ways to create an instant "good room" is to buy some of those free standing bass traps/broadband absorbers that companies like Real Traps or Ready Acoustics make. They're basically OC 703 insulation in a freestanding frame covered in a breathable cloth. They build them with extra inner space to create a decent bass trap (down at least low enough for guitar).

But, carpet tends to absorb a very narrow bandwidth of frequencies leaving a signature behind, so I may advise against omnis and go with cardiod mics (like the KM184 or TLM 193). It's hard to say without actually hearing the room...so that's all based on my experience with carpeted rooms in homes (assuming this is in your home).

[Fran Guidry]

I want to thumbs up the suggestion to invest in some broadband absorbers. I have a blog post and video up on Homebrewed Music showing the cheapest, fastest, ugliest way to build these panels.

http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/2009/...-on-the-cheap/

The first 13 panels I installed did more for my recordings than many thousands of dollars spent on preamps, interfaces, and microphones.

Fran

[usb_chord]

Originally Posted by alohachris

Aloha,

Great S/D mics mentioned here already.

Up to $1K? There are so many: modded AKG 460/480's, Neumann 140's (Ok, so it's a stretch), Peluso CEMC6's, Shure 81's, Beyer 930's, modded Oktava MC012's, AT 4021's, Mojave MA 100 or 200's (another stretch) - all accurate and warm. Stay away from Rode, MXL, Audix, Josephson, Sennheiser S/D's if 'warmer' is what you're after. Based on my experience of them all.

An important part of the equation is matching the right mic to the right preamp, right guitar and right music. That's where the art of recording guitar comes into play.

TIP: ADK A6 (under $200 street)- Hook a pair of these up to almost any preamp with great results - warm and accurate, w/o distortion and too much self-noise. To hear it, go to Dream Guitars. Almost all of Al Petteway's samples use a pair of A6's W/O EQ.

http://www.dreamguitars.com/preowned...on_0402114.mp3 Or this:

http://www.dreamguitars.com/new/tipp...ndo_708020.php

Expensive Tip: Schoeps CMC641 Hypercardioid ($2-3K street) - Out of your price range, but this is my favorite mic for recording acoustic guitars. Most accurate and warm. I had to save for a long time and becoming single again to get a used pair of these. It's worth it to me!

Go the Doug Young's site and listen to the reference mic samples from #50-87. #73 uses this ref. mic and shows how rich the overtones of a great guitar can sound on a great mic.

http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptests/

Check out Doug playing here using a pair of CMC641's and a bit of Magmic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0Bbgucd7K4

But if it comes down to choosing a less expensive mic - that your ears like - then do so AND PUT THE REST OF YOUR BUDGET INTO ROOM TREATMENT! That's the real way to achieve warmer results and control.

alohachris

PS: You can also buy used from reputable sellers to cut costs. I've had great success doing this. I also rent to own from suppliers all over the place, pay for r/t shipping and try 'em out on my rig - the best way to let your ears make the decision, IMO. - alohachris-

Awesome post, chris! I've got a bunch to digest here. Focus is changing slightly. .

[usb_chord]

Originally Posted by Fran Guidry

I want to thumbs up the suggestion to invest in some broadband absorbers. I have a blog post and video up on Homebrewed Music showing the cheapest, fastest, ugliest way to build these panels.

http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/2009/...-on-the-cheap/

The first 13 panels I installed did more for my recordings than many thousands of dollars spent on preamps, interfaces, and microphones.

Fran

Wow, I'd never even heard of these things. Clearly getting great recordings is about far more than just getting a nice mic. . .

Thanks, Steve and Fran. (And everyone else who has posted!)

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by usb_chord

Hi, everyone. Looking into buying a nice mic or two for recording high quality audio for youtube videos. I always read people mentioning how overly bright or noisy some microphones can be. Could you all give me some suggestions around 1k and below? Thanks a bunch, everyone.

A few questions:

1) One or two mics within your budget?

2) What are you recording?

3) Will the recording be used for anything other than YouTube videos?

4) With respect to the YouTube videos, how will you integrate/synchronize the recordings (with the new mic(s)) and the video feed?

[Mr Blues]

Has anyone tried the Rode NT3 i hear that one is good for recording .
guitars

Do you find that large diaphram mics can be a bit boxy for guitars? Thats been my experiance.

Dave

[Bob1131]

Originally Posted by Mr Blues

Has anyone tried the Rode NT3 i hear that one is good for recording .
guitars

Do you find that large diaphram mics can be a bit boxy for guitars? Thats been my experiance.

Dave

I use several different mics, but my favorite is a Rode NT1-A which is a LD. As you can tell from previous posts in this thread, there are many factors that influence the sound of a mic - the preamp, the room, the placement, the mic itself, and the guitar. Any guitar will sound boxy if the mic is too close or in front of the sound hole, so placement is absolutely key to recording a guitar.

[Fran Guidry]

Originally Posted by Mr Blues

...
Do you find that large diaphram mics can be a bit boxy for guitars? Thats been my experiance.

Dave

Not at all. Check out the mic samples near the beginning of this thread and see if you can tell which is SD and which is LD.

In general, there's nothing you can say in general about the sound of LD vs SD mics that is generally true.

Fran

[Steev]

Originally Posted by Mr Blues

Has anyone tried the Rode NT3 i hear that one is good for recording .
guitars

Do you find that large diaphram mics can be a bit boxy for guitars? Thats been my experiance.

Dave

The NT3 is a very useable hypercardiod mic.
Ive used them in x/y pairs, on a boom pole on location, and in conjunction with a Rode Classic2 I got my best violin sound ever.
They will also run on a 9v battery if you need which can be handy.

It's been said many times though, a good mic placed badly will sound bad and almost any cheap mic used well can sound great.

Steve

[Pokiehat]

Theres a guy on Gearslutz called Sahiaman who makes these tiny little mics that are built into an XLR plug called 'little blondies'. They are around 100 bucks or so (price varies) but heres the good news:

1) They sound amazing and have loads of bass. Its won out in several shootouts against some really expensive mics.
2) All proceeds from sale go to charity so you aren't just getting a great mic, you are doing something that really matters.

Its so tiny you will need to build your own shockmount but its not that hard to do with a couple of rubber bands, some pvc pipe, cable ties and a mesh pencil cup.

Visit here for blondie pictures, sound clips and shootouts:

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-mu...ondie-mic.html

Its also worth bearing in mind that Sahiaman makes them up when he can find the time outside of work so they periodically 'go out of production' and come back.