Which microphone to use for recording ?

[eholst]

Hi

Does anyone in here have some good advice about which mic to use for recording a reso (and a 12-string acoustic guitar as well) ?

I have seen on Busker's homepage that they recommend a SM57, I have also seen that Shure has a Beta 57A, which has more presence....

It should be used purely for acoustic recordings (deltablues and such).....

If anyone has a good advice - I have a Busker Sidewalk (style O) brassbodied......


Best wishes....

Eholst

[blueshome]

Just the guitar, or guitar and vocals? What are you recording with?

[eholst]

Hi

Well, primarily for recording the guitar, we also have a Shure beta58A, which we also use for guitar and also vocals.....the idea is to be able to record two guitars at the same time....you could call it a "studio live recording"....

We record on a Tascam 2488neo harddisk home recorder.....

[Gerry C]

If you are using a dynamic mic, I personally think the SM-57 is fine for both reso and 12-string. Some condenser mics give very good results too, but they tend to be more expensive and often require 48v phantom power from a mixer. I have not used either of the 'beta' models so I can't comment, but the SM-58 (vocals) and SM-57 (instruments) have been industry standard for both stage and studio for a long time and there is a reason for that...!

Cheerily,

Gerry C

[Deleted]

Very happy with my SM-57. Seem to recall from previous discussions that many prefer it to the beta model, but I can't speak from experience

[Michael Messer]

Hi Eholst,

For well-priced multi-use recording and stage microphones you cannot beat the basic SM57 for instrument and the SM58 for voice. Personally I do not think the 57Beta is as good as the original classic 57.

If you are not worried about how much you spend; for stage you can't beat the 57 and 58, but for recording there are many choices from 100 pounds/euros to 5000 pounds/euros.

Shine On
Michael.

[blueshome]

The Tascam seems a very nice and quite sophisticated piece of kit.
Whilst an SM57 might do the job for many, industry standard for this application is a condenser mic because of the wider and flatter frequency response of this type. Phantom power is not an issue as your recorder has it available.

It's commonly recommended to use a small diaphragm condenser for acoustic guitar, but as you already have a dynamic equivalent I would recommend a large diaphragm mic. I have heard very good results from Rode mics, also SE, but there are many brands around. Try to borrow a few to try before you buy.

You may find that with the right set up you can record both guitars and vocals simultaneously on a single mic of this type.

Recording is an art and skill in its own right and I would recommend you do some background reading to find starting points. Then it's up to you and your ears to get the best results.

[eholst]

Hi all

Thanks a lot for your good advices......I seem to see that the SM57 is to prefer ahead of the beta57A, and of course a condenser mic is preferable....but for now we can't use this, as i'm afraid it will pcik up too much noise from the street, which is just outside....we also plan to get this later on, so for now I will follow your advice for the SM57.....:-)

Blueshome, yes, the Tascam is very nice to work with, it's easy and you get a quick start using it, because the menus are easy to use, and it records in 24 bit.....the only thing I could comment is the kind of cheap plastic they have used, but for around 700£ (in Denmark) you can't expect to get the very best....but the features are quite okay to use for home recording.....

Best wishes

Eholst

[maxxengland]

If it's any help at all, Darowyn pointed me at the AKG D77S instrument mic. Good tonal responses, and nobody appears to be making fakes yet.

If you go for a Shure, I'd go to a reputable dealer and get what you're paying for.

[SoloBill]

Hi,
It doesn't mention resonators but the April 2010 issue of Sound on Sound magazine has an article on recording accoustic guitar.

Extract from the article is here - www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr10/articles/acguitar.htm

The SM57 is mentioned but so are several other options.

[geoff]

The SM57 is a standard mike that can do anything at quite high quality. Everyone should have one around at least.

However, for very high quality these Karma pencils can't be beaten at their price:

www.karmamics.com/shop/K-10-Pencil-Condenser-Microphone.html

Just buy a matched pair for $150 and don't buy just one. You need to point one at the nut and one at the soudhole for extreme nice 12 string recordings.

One mike should be enough for your reso.

[eholst]

Hi

Thanks for all advices...we have now bought a SM57, and then we will try this out....as this was so highly recommended.....

If we later on should get better mic's, we will go for a condenser mic, perhaps a Rode Nt1A or similar....depending on how much we can spent....Neumann would certainly be nice....but.....

Best wishes

Eholst

[fredkinbom]

In my home recording set-up, I am very pleased with my Oktava MK-012s (matched stereo pair, small diaphragm condenser mics made in Russia) for recording my acoustic Weissenborn guitars:

www.oktava-online.com/mk012.htm

Great mics for the money!

I am also happy with the SE Electronics SE2200A large diaphragm condenser for recording vocals.

In the studio where I recorded part of my album we used a € 6,000 1950s Neumann U47 (I think it's the U47 - a valve mic) for my vocals. While the Neumann no doubt is a better mic (and is still going strong after 50 years, something I doubt my SE2200A will be), I am still happy with the quality of my home studio recordings.

As for the SM57 and a reso, I think that sounds great - I A/B-ed it with my condenser mics for recording reso and my ears preferred the sound recorded with the SM57. Great mics!

Cheers,

Fred