mics for classical guitar
chris ruth wrote:
Any recommendations for mics that may be an upgrade from Oktava
MK-012s for recording classical guitar.
Let pre-empt some of your questions
room - ok, treated so kind of 'dead' on purpose
This is not good, because it - in my opinion - rules the best choice out,
DPA 4006 or similar.
guitar - great!
This is good.
player - ok (well it's me, i can post some recordings if you want to
gauge that)
For you to fix if not adequate.
equipment - usbpre 2 and laptop...that's it!
I will also do some guitar orchestra (boston guitar orchestra)
recordings live, and spaces vary alot.
Josephson C42, Shure KSM 141/137, AKG CK 451. All need suitable treble eq,
whatever that is. Do NOT go too close, to record an entire instrument you
need to be "instrument size" away from it. My best recordings of guitar in a
room are made with mic higher than players head, ie. angled perhaps 45
degrees down.
KSM 141 is the most useful one of those listed because of its dual
personality, but ambience and perspective tends to be better on the other
two when used for ensemble miking. Getting minimum phase EQ right helps a
lot, but conceptually the Shure seems to be a spot microphone rather than an
ensemble microphone - great for choir tho!
Recording guitar for track use and guitar in a room are two very different
recordings and thus come with different mic choices and placements. Based on
Ty Ford's mic test a - preferably pair of - Neumann tlm 102's ARE on my
"look for list". I do not have any personal experience with the tlm 102 so
while it does appear to be excellent it is premature for me to comment on
its usefulnes but I am thinking track use, comments are appreciated if
available.
And what the other guys said. With my existing setup my first choice would
be C42 for you as well as for the guitar orchestra. You should also check
the MKH 8040, to me it sounds as if Sennheiser have been in the Neumann
design archive, ie. eerily like the KM84 as I _recall_ a pair I borrowed and
stupidly did not buy in 1975 because they clipped my A77. Note: _not_ a
valid AB comparison!
Note: I instinctively dislike laptops for location recordings because they
are independently usable objects that are sellable at a shady beerjoint, the
Good Book says not to tempt ...
Chris
Kind regards
Peter Larsen
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