Best small diaphragm condenser for the money?

[knewbee]

Greetings,
Been mulling this for a while. I haven't had the best success getting good acoustic guitar sounds using either my U87, Lawson L47, or both. Thinking I need a good small diaphragm condenser. But I don't know which to go for. At some point I'd like to get two of whatever I choose, so I can use them for drum overheads, but for right now I'm just thinking about acoustic guitar. The recent Mix magazine article was a totally useless re-hash of marketing info, as usual.
Anyone have any strong feelings one way or the other...? Thanks! - Steve

[Busterman]

Judging from the nice (pricey) mics you already have, this might not be great advice, but I have to Oktavas that work great on guitar as well as overheads. I can't remember the model number, but they are the little pencil type and I see them quite often in other studios.

[Charles D. Ballard]

I've had a lot of success with the Numann 184's on acoustic guitar. In fact, I've had a lot of success with the 184's on MANY things. IMHO the 184's are some of the most versitile (sp?) mics out there. They won't break you either.

-Charles

[PeeTee]

Oktava MC012

[beech]

AKG 451? Bright, but maybe that's what you are looking for. I remember working with an engineer who always used one along with the U87 and he got a great rhythm sound, although that was in the analog days.

DW

[BenjiF]

Here's another vote for the Oktava MK12. There *are* much nicer things out there, but if you're looking for a pair of nice small diaphragm mics at a low price point (about $200 for a pair), the MK12s are a hard act to beat.

[sdevino]

Earthworks M30 matched pair.

The best overhead mics I have ever heard and incredible on acoustic guitar.

[where02190]

We have a matched pair of Audio Technica 4041's that are excellent on acoustic guitar, particularly for finger picking. They have about the most output of any SD mic I have ever seen, are extremely quiet, super flat response. I have also used them for drum overheads and percussion and they yeilded excellent results.

Hope this is helpful.

[doorknocker]

Another vote for the KM 184, I even use it on vocals sometimes, although that's surely not the intended use ( AKG C414 is my standard voc mic) the KM 184 is versatile and has lots of presence without being harsh....Now I only wish I could afford a second one...

Andi

[XHipHop]

I second the AT 4041's but i'd also like to add Marshall MXL 603s's.
AMAZING mic for the money. Only about $80 each so please pick them up and just try them. You won't be dissapointed.