Recommend me a mic...

[chagmaier]

Hey guys, I need a decent mic for recording acoustic guitar and or a combo amp. I was thinking about a Shure SM57. I know thats a pretty good mic for the amp, but how do you guys feel about it for acoustic guitar?

Thanks for your input!

[Dism]

Budget?

[Hotcrazyfruit]

Do you have a decent mic pre?

Nick

[Darryl Ramm]

How do you want him to answer that? He has an Eleven Rack

I'm guessing an AKG C12 is out of the budget.

Darryl

[chagmaier]

budget... <$150 usd. i know its not much to work with... :)

yes, im using the eleven rack.

[madgt621]

Rode has two pretty good offerings if you're on a budget.

The first being: the Rode M3 SDC at $150. Pretty good. I mean, it obviously isn't your big budget mic, but it is a good of bang for your buck mic.

The second is the Rode NT1A LDC which is more expensive at $200+, but in the future, when you have a bit more cash, you can have it modded. The Joly mod has some pretty stellar reviews.

There's also the AKG C1000 S is another $200 mic thats pretty well rounded.

All great options if you're on a budget.

EDIT: Forgot to put out there that the SDC's are more for your acoustic guitar. Stick with the SM57 for closing micing the guitar amps, and LDC's are especially useful for the room sounds. (Acoustic or Amp) But there's a multitude of combinations to try, no one rule to micing anything.

[chagmaier]

thanks guys, im looking into them now! :)

[Fezzler]

I am a beginner as well that is reading as much as I have time for on guitar recording on a budget. So, for what it is worth - probably not much - I come across two thoughts frequently on this topic.

The Sennheiser 609e is a good addition or alternative to the SM57. A good preamp for the mic is a must. I am not sure how good the 11R preamp is as compared.

That said, I feel I get pretty good acoustic guitar recordings with a SM57.

[albee1952]

Personally, I would always opt for a condenser on acoustic guitar. I get good results with an EV PL-37(but its going in via either a Vintech or API preamp). I can give a thumbs up for the Joly-mod NT1A, but between the mic and the mod, you will spend over $500. At that point I would look at the Miktek C5 or AKG 214. Of course, the guitar and the room will have a lot of say on what the final sound is(a crap guitar will always sound like crap, and a bad sounding room can ruin the best of everything). Remember that placement can make an enormous difference, and I have a friend that did an amazing acoustic track with a Shure Beta87(yeah, a vocal mic for live use).

[moff]

Originally Posted by albee1952

Personally, I would always opt for a condenser on acoustic guitar. I get good results with an EV PL-37(but its going in via either a Vintech or API preamp). I can give a thumbs up for the Joly-mod NT1A, but between the mic and the mod, you will spend over $500. At that point I would look at the Miktek C5 or AKG 214. Of course, the guitar and the room will have a lot of say on what the final sound is(a crap guitar will always sound like crap, and a bad sounding room can ruin the best of everything). Remember that placement can make an enormous difference, and I have a friend that did an amazing acoustic track with a Shure Beta87(yeah, a vocal mic for live use).

Agreed. Condenser on acoustic guitar over a dynamic. The Beta 87 sounds great - designed more for vocals, but would do OK on acoustic. I also have an AKG C1000 that's been my go-to project studio condenser. Good all-round sound at a reasonable price. I haven't tried out any of the Chinese "budget" mics like Apex, but I hear they're also good value for the money. I have a Chinese knockoff of a Royer 121 ribbon mic that sounds really good, especially considering it only cost $100 (the real Royer is $1500).

Originally Posted by Fezzler

...[snip]

The Sennheiser 609e is a good addition or alternative to the SM57. A good preamp for the mic is a must. I am not sure how good the 11R preamp is as compared.

I think the E906 is a better all-round mic than the E609. A little bit more expensive, but it has a "curve" switch that allows you to get the curve of both the E609 silver, the E609 black, as well as a setting that comes terribly close to the older MD409 (no longer made), which is a killer guitar amp mic - works well on horns and percussion as well.