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Default Favorite mini condenser for acoustic guit?

I ended up spending about $200 less than I thought I'd have to for my
Craig's List June G.A.S. attack Larrivee, so I want to make up the
difference with a mini condenser gooseneck for it. Haven't decided
yet omni or cardiod, single or stereo, though I'm leaning towards an
omni stereo. What I want to do is simplify all the times I lay down
acoustic parts when it's just me in the (smallish) control room. I
usually set up a good mic, throw blankets over anything that's making
too much noise (it's not so noisy that I can't use an omni, but the
computer, drives and all that add up to something) and just make do,
but it'd be nice to not have to return to standing in front of the mic
after every knob adjustment, having it clipped to me. Plus, if someone
joins in all I'd need to do is get them going, not move my mic stand so
they can enter the room, move it again so they can sit, etc.

Figure it can come in handy for other things too. Has anyone been
satisfied doing any kind of acoustic guitar recording using any
manufacturer's $200 mini mic? Any to avoid?

Thanks!

V

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Agent 86
 
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On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 18:01:42 -0700, vdubreeze wrote:

I ended up spending about $200 less than I thought I'd have to for my
Craig's List June G.A.S. attack Larrivee, so I want to make up the
difference with a mini condenser gooseneck for it. Haven't decided yet
omni or cardiod, single or stereo, though I'm leaning towards an omni
stereo. What I want to do is simplify all the times I lay down acoustic
parts when it's just me in the (smallish) control room. I usually set up
a good mic, throw blankets over anything that's making too much noise
(it's not so noisy that I can't use an omni, but the computer, drives and
all that add up to something) and just make do, but it'd be nice to not
have to return to standing in front of the mic after every knob
adjustment, having it clipped to me. Plus, if someone joins in all I'd
need to do is get them going, not move my mic stand so they can enter the
room, move it again so they can sit, etc.

Figure it can come in handy for other things too. Has anyone been
satisfied doing any kind of acoustic guitar recording using any
manufacturer's $200 mini mic? Any to avoid?


It almost seems like you intentionally avoided saying so, but the way you
described it, my guess is you're looking for a mic to be mounted inside
your guitar. If so, I'd make two points.

1. Internal mics are convenient for live work. And in a live situation
(where feedback can be controlled), they usually sound marginally better
than a piezo type transducer. They are in no way up to the task of
producing quality recordings (IMO), because a guitar sounds substantially
different on the inside than it does on the outside. Plus, as with any
acoustic instrument, the room is a big part of the sound.

2. There are damned few $200 condensers I'd recommend for anything more
critical than paperweight duty. Of the ones I would recommend, none would
fit very easily inside a guitar.

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Michael Wozniak
 
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wrote in message
ups.com...
I ended up spending about $200 less than I thought I'd have to for my
Craig's List June G.A.S. attack Larrivee, so I want to make up the
difference with a mini condenser gooseneck for it. Haven't decided
yet omni or cardiod, single or stereo, though I'm leaning towards an
omni stereo. What I want to do is simplify all the times I lay down
acoustic parts when it's just me in the (smallish) control room. I
usually set up a good mic, throw blankets over anything that's making
too much noise (it's not so noisy that I can't use an omni, but the
computer, drives and all that add up to something) and just make do,
but it'd be nice to not have to return to standing in front of the mic
after every knob adjustment, having it clipped to me. Plus, if someone
joins in all I'd need to do is get them going, not move my mic stand so
they can enter the room, move it again so they can sit, etc.

Figure it can come in handy for other things too. Has anyone been
satisfied doing any kind of acoustic guitar recording using any
manufacturer's $200 mini mic? Any to avoid?

Thanks!

V

I'm with agent 86 here. I think you're pretty much fooling yourself to think
you'll find a good recording mini-mic for $200. The countryman minis are
very good for live, but I believe they're out of your price range, and maybe
not up to recording. For one mic for $200, you'd best think 'live OR
recording' but *not* both. Toss a coin, bite the bullet. For $200 for
recording, check out the oktava 012, crown 700, maybe one of the new ATs
(2020?).

Mikey Wozniak
Nova Music Productions
this sig is haiku


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plokmichael
 
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Try searching for an used AKG 451 on eBay....
They are often sold around $200-$250....
Take a look at http://www.prepal.com/manufacturers.htm



"Michael Wozniak" ha scritto nel messaggio
k.net...

wrote in message
ups.com...
I ended up spending about $200 less than I thought I'd have to for my
Craig's List June G.A.S. attack Larrivee, so I want to make up the
difference with a mini condenser gooseneck for it. Haven't decided
yet omni or cardiod, single or stereo, though I'm leaning towards an
omni stereo. What I want to do is simplify all the times I lay down
acoustic parts when it's just me in the (smallish) control room. I
usually set up a good mic, throw blankets over anything that's making
too much noise (it's not so noisy that I can't use an omni, but the
computer, drives and all that add up to something) and just make do,
but it'd be nice to not have to return to standing in front of the mic
after every knob adjustment, having it clipped to me. Plus, if someone
joins in all I'd need to do is get them going, not move my mic stand so
they can enter the room, move it again so they can sit, etc.

Figure it can come in handy for other things too. Has anyone been
satisfied doing any kind of acoustic guitar recording using any
manufacturer's $200 mini mic? Any to avoid?

Thanks!

V

I'm with agent 86 here. I think you're pretty much fooling yourself to
think you'll find a good recording mini-mic for $200. The countryman minis
are very good for live, but I believe they're out of your price range, and
maybe not up to recording. For one mic for $200, you'd best think 'live OR
recording' but *not* both. Toss a coin, bite the bullet. For $200 for
recording, check out the oktava 012, crown 700, maybe one of the new ATs
(2020?).

Mikey Wozniak
Nova Music Productions
this sig is haiku



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DW Griffi
 
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I don't think that's what the poster is asking about. He wants a
gooseneck mini mic, the kind you can attach to an acoustic at the strap
lock or soundhole and point back at the instrument. Sounds like he's
willing to compromise sound quality from hi end full sized mics in order
to not have to stand in front of a mic stand in his control room.


I've seen and heard guitarists using Sennheiser e908b's and AKG C417's
(?) and the both sounded very good, but unfortunately were probably
blended with something else at the time. Couldn't ascertain.



DW

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DW Griffi wrote:
I don't think that's what the poster is asking about. He wants a
gooseneck mini mic, the kind you can attach to an acoustic at the strap
lock or soundhole and point back at the instrument. Sounds like he's
willing to compromise sound quality from hi end full sized mics in order
to not have to stand in front of a mic stand in his control room.


I've seen and heard guitarists using Sennheiser e908b's and AKG C417's
(?) and the both sounded very good, but unfortunately were probably
blended with something else at the time. Couldn't ascertain.




This is right. I guess I didn't phrase it well. I've been doing
this with full size condensers (414, 87, 451, etc) and the drag is that
the quiet part of the room is naturally the farthest from the knobs and
keyboard, so it's been making adjustments, hitting record and walking
back over to the mic on a stand in the other direction. A few times
is OK but a night of this is pretty tiresome! I realize it won't
sound the same as XXX mic on a stand, but it's not for pristine
purposes. And I've never heard an internally mounted pickup (well,
under $400) that didn't give me hives.

Not asking for the best way to record an acoustic guitar, this isn't
that scenario. Just the favorite mini goosenecked condenser for it.

Thanks


V

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John Albert
 
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Agent 86 wrote:
There are damned few $200 condensers I'd recommend for anything more
critical than paperweight duty

OK, your point is well-taken.

But... which of the "damned few" _would_ you recommend?

Thanks,
- John
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Agent 86
 
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On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 15:01:58 +0000, John Albert wrote:

But... which of the "damned few" _would_ you recommend?


AT3035 for one. But not inside a guitar.

Sometimes you can find a C535 on sale, or an AE5100.



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no contest - after using schoeps cmc64s, DPA 4011s, km184s, gefell
m300s, etc, i believe the DPA 4061s (the miniature mics) are about the
best thing i have heard for acoustic guitar. you can get them on ebay
for maybe $150 each. incredible for the money.

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Mike Rivers
 
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In article .com writes:

I guess I didn't phrase it well. I've been doing
this with full size condensers (414, 87, 451, etc) and the drag is that
the quiet part of the room is naturally the farthest from the knobs and
keyboard, so it's been making adjustments, hitting record and walking
back over to the mic on a stand in the other direction. A few times
is OK but a night of this is pretty tiresome!


Oh, so this is for recording rather than live sound reinforcement.
That sort of clip-on mic generally works OK for live sound when the
actual sound isn't all that critical as long as it's decent, but when
you're not likely to get back to a mic stand in the same position ever
time, or you just move around as part of your performance.

Why not set things up so that the place where you like to be when you
record is also where you control your recording setup? If you have a
mixer, put it on a stand or table next to where you have your
recording microphones. If it's a DAW, put the keyboard and audio I/O
interface next to your recording position. For a DAW, consider a
Frontier Tranzport wireless remote controller.

Chances are once you set the preamp gain for the guitar, position, and
playing style, you won't need to fool with it until you're ready to
record another part. If you're changing gain by 2 dB or so every take
and pushing levels so hot that you have to watch the meters as you
pay, you're wasting your time and taking your attention away from what
you really should be doing - playing your guitar the best you can.

Lots of possibilities. Your proposed solution isn't really a very good
way to acocmplish what you really want to accomplish - to record
yourself in a location away from your noisemakers.



--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo
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Michael Tueller
 
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Figure it can come in handy for other things too. Has anyone been
satisfied doing any kind of acoustic guitar recording using any
manufacturer's $200 mini mic? Any to avoid?


I think no one mentioned these ones in the thread:

http://www.appliedmic.com/details.asp?ID=21

Probably much more than $200, though...
There was one on ebay a few months ago for about $300

Mike
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DW Griffi
 
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In article ,
SSJVCmag wrote:



Figure it can come in handy for other things too. Has anyone been
satisfied doing any kind of acoustic guitar recording using any
manufacturer's $200 mini mic? Any to avoid?


Again, the ol' AKG C-535 holds its own here...



And again someone posts without reading the question (even though he
quotes it).


The C-535 isn't a mini mic. Poster wants to mount a miniature mic on a
gooseneck to the guitar, like the Applied Microphone systems, as pointed
to by mtueller. These are great, though quite a bit more expensive,
but I've been curious myself about the S3G, which is a mini omni that
mounts inside but facing out, beyond the sound hole, so it's mounted but
not really internal (for that "internal sound").

http://www.appliedmic.com/details.asp?ID=22


Their S15G seems like the more standard thing the poster was envisioning.

http://www.appliedmic.com/details.asp?ID=21


If either one one went for $300 on ebay that's a really good deal. I
can verify the gooseneck mount one sounds pretty good. Never come
across an S3G. Anyone?


DW

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