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

[anton]

Along similar lines there is a guy that makes small XLR mics under the name Naiant.

I have a few of his older models and they are nice and quite usable. It seems he is always coming out with something new.

http://www.naiant.com/studiostore/microphones.html

Cant beat the price, might be worth checking out.


Anton

[Fran Guidry]

I haven't tried the Sahiaman mics but the Naiants are not what I would call quiet. When I compared them to the DPA 4061 the Naiants had noticeably higher self noise, and the little DPA is not a quiet mic.

Fran

[alohachris]

Aloha,

I totally agree with Fran Guidry about Naiant mics. I auditioned a couple at home a couple years ago. They were WAY TOO NOISY. It took me less than two minutes to repack them and send them back to the store I rented them from.

They're Self-Noise Central! Just look at the specs!

Avoid them for recording, IMO.

I think Sdelsolray has had similar experiences with them.

alohachris

[theotigno]

I have a Naiant mic as well (the MSH4 ... the tube version) and yes, it does have quite a bit of noise to it. It does do a great job in some applications, though.

Not sure if this one is in this thread (I'm making a quick visit while I'm exporting photos) but has anyone mentioned the EV N/D967? You can listen to some of the clips @ fingerpick.com. Scroll down and listen to the sound clips that are available.

Another *warm* acoustic guitar recording method I got was using an SM57 and modifying a mic cable to match the impedance of the preamp (in my case, a modded Presonus MP20). It was in a Recording magazine article I found a while ago (that I can't seem to find now).

In the same vein, something that I have been wanting to try is using a Mercenary-modified SM57. Sounds interesting ...

*edit: I found the link to the impedance matching article.

[Doug Young]

For $1K, you have lots of good choices. The AudioTechnica mics are available in all price ranges, and seem quite good. Lots of pro recordings have been made with AT4033s which run around $300 each. I'd call it a warm mic, and they're reasonably quiet. I just stumbled on this little demo recording I made a while back (probably posted it here) that might be useful. This is a shootout between a pair of Brauner VM1s ($5K-ish each) and an AT2020, which is the bottom of their line (I paid about $50 each). They were recorded simultaneously, as close together as I could get them, then put sequentially onto one track for convenience. The Brauners are first, then the AT2020s. Especially considering the 100X price difference, I think the AT's work just fine, and you can always go up the scale to better AT models.

Brauner VM1s vs AT2020

I think a lot of the sound has to do with the rest of the signal chain being decent, and the room being treated. As others have said, the latter is the best place to put your money first if you haven't already.

[Pokiehat]

You can get AT4033s for alot less than 300 bucks in local classifieds and on eBay. I picked up another AT4040 a couple of days ago for 150 bucks.

There are definitely differences between all the AT mics but I don't think its a question of some being better than others more than it is about some being more appropriate for certain situations than others.

For instance, some vocalists sing in a register where the mic just brings out all the really unflattering bits so what do you do? If you have a locker you can change mics. 4040 is very similar to 4050 except its a bit more shrill in the upper mid/treble sort of area. 4050 can do multiple polar patterns so if you want a 'do it all' mic that can can do overheads, ambient room micing, close micing etc then you are better off with the 4050.

4033 is a different design to 4040/4050. 4040/4050 are externally polarized capacitor (true) condensers whereas 4033 is an electret condenser. There are some things where I like the sound of a 4033 over a 4040 and vice versa and I know a few people that prefer singing into a 33 rather than a 50 because they prefer the emphasis. It depends on your voice.

4060 is a tube mic so thats another completely different design and its kind of expensive. Comparible I guess to other tube mics but I don't get to play around with those very often.

AT shockmounts are quite expensive too which is a bother. I really didn't want to buy another shockmount so I made my own but on my own admission my build quality sucks so its a bit of a precarious hold. At least AT don't fleece you over shockmounts as bad as Neumann does so I guess thats a thumbs up for small mercies.

[Doug Young]

Yeah, sorry, "better"'s a word that should be banned, generally. I was being a bit sloppy with words. AT had an interesting booth set up at NAMM a year or so ago, with all their recording mics lined up in a row inside a quiet room with headphones, so you could walk along and talk into each one and hear the differences. The differences were more striking that I'd have expected. As you went up the food chain, the mics were both more sensitive (you could hear the noise of the show clearly in the higher priced ones, not much at all in the low end), and there seemed to be a deeper, warmer sound to the higher end models as well. Not a very scientific test, but that was the impression I got.

AT mics can be quite a deal if you shop around. Lots of people list the 4033 at $399, but as you say, they can be much cheaper. The 2020 is $99 at Sweetwater, but I got mine 2 for $99. They periodically have blow-out factory sales at their plant in Ohio where stuff sells *really* cheap.

[biggs2]

I'm pretty much a rookie when it comes to recording acoustic guitar but, over the past couple of years, I've acquired a couple of Audio Technica mics (AT 4040 and 4021) which work well for me. While AT's aren't considered high-end mics, I think they are a good value and can be versatile.

The 4040 is a really neutral mic with a flat response that works well in most situations. I'm still experimenting with the 4021, but, I've found that it is fairly sensitive to placement and it can be warm or neutral depending on where it is placed. I like the 4021 so much, I just ordered another for stereo recording. I particularly like it's nice tight bass and honest mid-range.

Again, I'm still experimenting but the 4040 and 4021 also work pretty well together as well. You could get a pair of 4021's and a 4040 and still be under your budget.

[Blueser]

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

I liked the sounds of H and I. I think I like I the best, but it's pretty close. I did not care for the first two as much.

It would be great if you could PM me the key as well.

Thanks for posting this Fran.

Regards,
Dave

[Fran Guidry]

Originally Posted by Blueser

I liked the sounds of H and I. I think I like I the best, but it's pretty close. I did not care for the first two as much.

It would be great if you could PM me the key as well.

Thanks for posting this Fran.

Regards,
Dave

Dave, the keys are sent. Thanks for listening to the clips and offering your opinion.

Fran

[j3ffr0]

I use an AT4021 a lot, but I wouldn't call it warm (but I wouldn't call it not warm either). A warmer mike is the ruler flat AKG460B with the CK61 capsule. These can be found easily enough on ebay. Not everyone likes them, but I like mine.

[Ty Ford]

Originally Posted by usb_chord

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!)

You don't need to be a acoustic designer with measurements and infinitie possibility computations. Paying very close attention to what your space sounds like works.

Rules:
A successful space is a combination of absorption and diffusion.
Reduce hard flat surfaces by making them with absorption or diffusion.
Don't have parallel surfaces that are hard.
Don't put up too much foam.
Ceilings and floors count as well as walls.

Here you see rugs, foam, an entire wall of LPs for diffusion (and storage), a gray muslin backdrop (to the right), ceiling tiles, some covered in foam. Even the couch does it's part.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1vn9m5r4q0ekber/Studio1.JPG

Hmmm, hope this pix makes it. It's not showing in preview.

Regards,

Ty Ford

[Rick Shepherd]

Originally Posted by usb_chord

Hi, everyone. Looking into buying a nice mic or two for recording high quality audio for youtube videos.

If you are looking for a mic simply for recording YouTube videos, then you are wasting your money spending 1K. However, if you plan on building yourself a decent home audio recording setup, there are many other decisions to be made.