Microphone Recommendation

Not long back I posted for recommendations for a vocal mike to use in a home recording environment and someone recommended a Behringer XM8500. Well I checked with my local dealer and they had them in stock for the princely sum of 15 quid so I thought it was worth giving it a go.

It is basically a copy of a Shure SM58 and it does in fact perform way better than it's price would suggest. It also looks very well made and comes with a hard carry case. I would say it is probably as good as the Shure. So if anyone is after a quality mike at a knockdown price give them a go. You can't really go wrong for that sort of money.

Speaking of mics, anyone have any recommendations for a mic for recording acoustic guitar? My previous attempt (with some sort of big Sony recording mic) left me with a rather thin sound no matter what I tried or where I placed the mic. Also any tips on mic

(snippetty snip ..)

I just recently recorded a buddy playing the guitar part for McCartney's 'Blackbird' on a Yamaha acoustic using one of the aforementioned Behringer mics. I copied and pasted the part to a second track on the recorder delayed by ..er .. (point one of a frame at 30 frames per second equals umm ...) a small amount, panned the tracks hard left and right, added a touch of 'sparkle' with the enhancer and the result is, frankly, awesome for a fifteen quid mic! I have heard worse recordings made using expensive condenser mics. The microphone was placed about three inches from the fingerboard around the 14th fret to get the best balance of bright top and round bass. Placing the mic at the sound hole produced a far too bass-heavy sound. Doubtless the exact optimum position will depend on the characteristics of the specific instrument being played.

I wish I could claim the credit for originality, but I was only using techniques I've read about on the WWW at various times ... I'm sure a good condenser mic used appropriately could produce superior results, but both I and my guitar picking friend were surprised and pleased by the results we achieved with 'budget' class gear. (Ok, so I can record competently .. all I gotta do now is learn to play like him. Gets a bit difficult with more than four strings though ............) :o)

Have you A/B'd it with the 'real thing' for sensitivity? IIRC a local dealer to me had some cheaper mikes in which he reckoned matched the Sure for tone and ruggedness, but were less sensitive. If the Behringer matches that (and is rugged) it should be worth the substitution 'cos the Shure is still overpriced.

Yes I did A/B them and I didn't notice any great difference in sensitivity. Not sure what the spec sheets say.

Whats your budget?

These are excellent on miking an acoustic guitar (FAQ, Dave?):
http://www.sospubs.co.uk/sos/aug01/articles/ recacgtr0801.asp http://www.harmony-central.com/Features/ FRecAcousticGtr/

Although you will need to experiment to get the best sound for your guitar, room, style of playing, etc, and overall mix if its not a solo

Adrian and I recently spent an evening carrying out some experiments with the various mics we had to determine which gave the best sound for his acoustic and in which position.

We used SM57, SM58, Shure 502 (? Ade you remember ?), NT1 and NT3, through a Joe Meek VC3Q. I don't recall which of the mic's Ade preferred and which position - I'll leave him to fill in the details.

D.

..err right. That leaves me head-scratching a little, I'm afraid. I'd

acoustic guitar.

At 15 quid though you can't go wrong. I'm sure the Behringer would be well worth that sort of money, at least its a known make.

Mind you, if you are recording solo guitar and you are after a 'bigger' sound, you'll need two mics (at least).

Good links Jon. And you're right.. the 'how do I go about micing up my acoustic' question is always popping up... perhaps it's time to FAQ it!?

...whilst we're on the subject, the most commonly asked question in UKMG about acoustic guitars is 'what acoustic guitar do you recommend for under £300?'.

The same guitars get recommmended:

Simon and Patrick (or Art/lutherie if your budget is sub £200) Taylor Big Baby

Maybe its about time that went in the FAQ as well.

Maplins are selling Sennheiser 815s microphones for half price (£19.99) in their catalogue clearance sale 'til the 22nd