Reasonable condenser mic for steel/nylon guitar

[nevermore67]

Hi everyone

I am trying to locate a reasonably priced condenser microphone for recording my steel acoustic and nylon classical guitars (no pickups in either unfortunately). I'm not looking for anything fancy, just something that will give me a halfway decent sound without crackling and humming.

I don't really want to spend much more than £50 or £60, can anyone give me any ideas of what I can pick up (ha) in this price range? I currently have my eye on a Behringer C-3 on ebay for about £40 which gets mixed reviews but is probably sufficient for my needs.

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks
Tom

[PhantomRouge]

I spoke to a tech guy yesterday, who said that it would be better to have a pair of mic's for recording an acoustic guitar. One would be pointing at the bridge, while the other would point at the neck. This is said to give you a better tonal range.

If I were to do this, I'd probably consider the Behringer C2 or C4 matched pairs. They receive decent reviews and are within your budget range. I may also take a punt on them, as I'm in the same position as you are.

[alwoodcock]

Try the Rode M3, as recommended to me by ICBM. Got mine from Gumtree for £35....Excellent mic!!


Here's a review:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov0...les/rodem3.htm


Good luck!

[bobsbobbackwards]

Try the Rode M3, as recommended to me by ICBM. Got mine from Gumtree for £35....Excellent mic!!


Here's a review:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov0...les/rodem3.htm


Good luck!

+1. Sound great on acoustics.

[lasermonkey]

The MXL 603 s are very nice small condensers. I managed to get a pair for £40 a few years ago.

[nevermore67]

Thanks guys, the Rode M3 does seem to get rave reviews wherever it appears so might go for that. The Behringer twins are an option but I'm currently stuck with an interface with only one XLR input which might cause me some problems!

[nevermore67]

The goal posts have now moved slightly as my budget is around £100 and I am looking for an all-rounder which can be used for live playing as well as recording (have been asked to play at a wedding ceremony). I have heard good things about Shure mics, specifically the SM57 (which PMT recommended) and the PG81. Both come in at under £100. Anyone have any thoughts?

[Wonks]

The 57 does produce a remarkably good balanced tone on an acoustic guitar and has a tighter pickup pattern than most small condensers, so would work well live. Recording wise, you won't have the clarity of a condenser and you'll need a good low noise pre-amp. Some years ago I got together with a couple of friends and did a shoot-out of all our condenser mics on an acoustic guitar to get an idea of relative sounds. The matched set of Behringers (C2's I think) had a sonic quality very similar to the matched pair of Neumann KM184s we had, but were unfortunately very noisy indeed and I couldn't recommend the Behringers unless you were recording something very loud (to improve the signal to noise ratio). We also had an SE1a, AT3031 and an E/V Cobalt 11 stage condenser. They all performed well, though obviously some had more top end and some had a bigger bottom end, but nothing that couldn't be adjusted with a bit of EQ to match the sound you were looking for.

I'd go for something that has a bass roll-off switch, to help prevent feedback on stage. And I'd probably buy second hand to get better value for money. AKG Perceptions are good value, as are (now-discontinued) Groove Tubes GT33s or GT30s. I recently got a pair of GT33s for £80 from eBay.

The SM57 is a very useful mic to have and I think it produces a nice balanced sound on an acoustic, but it still wouldn't be my choice to use unless there was no condenser mic available.

[maltingsaudio]

I really like the pg81 as a catch all cheap condensor far better/nicer than the C1000 for example. Please don't however get caught in the trap that its got to be a condensor mic for your purposes, its got to be the mic that suits your requirements and your budget

[nevermore67]

Thanks, will the PG81 be suitable for playing live as well as recording? I know I am trying to force one mic to do two jobs but if I can find something that works reasonably I might be able to avoid buying two!