[Nick Brown]

H. Khalil wrote:
On 20 Jul., 00:01, Mike Rivers wrote:

he can try playing with EQ on the recording that he made
with the Schoeps mic to see if he gets what he's after. He can also try
putting the mic in a different position, recording in a different room,
using different strings, filing his nails differently

I tried all these and also found the optimal setting for me. But what
I am referring to is a certain quality of the guitar, a slight over-
brightness and harshness (typical of a new spruce top classical that
still did not fully open up, which usually takes several years), and I
thought a ribbon could smoothen it a bit. (It's a great guitar
though.)

I'd be hesitant to recommend a specific mic,
particularly a Beyer, which can be a bit tricky to work with.

Why is a Beyer particularly tricky to work with?

(I thought Beyer because they are quite easy to get in Germany where I
live.)

Thanks!


You might be surprised by how little difference there is between a Beyer
ribbon and the Schoeps on classical guitar. One of the reasons that I
think ribbons have the reputation for sounding soft and warm is because
of most ribbon mics' lack of high frequency response, say above 10KHz,
but there's little or no sound coming from a classical guitar at those
frequencies, so it isn't really a significant issue here.

When I compared a Beyer M260 to a Schoeps 541, if anything the Beyer
sounded a little brighter. I didn't measure it but it seemed to me that
maybe the Beyer had some mid-range peaks whereas the Schoeps is pretty
flat; that might have been the cause of it. I seem to recall Hank making
a similar observation about a Beyer ribbon a while back in this group,
but I don't remember the context.

I should say that I really do like the sound of an M260 on classical
guitar (or I would if I ever got around to playing it, which doesn't
seem to have happened for a while...), but if as you say you're looking
for something warmer and softer than the Schoeps, I'd say a Beyer ribbon
mightn't be it.

Hank mentioned the AEA 84; I'll suggest you put a Coles mic on your
short list, the 4040 is a very different thing, darker, thicker
sounding. As to 'warmer', hmmm, not sure.

Lastly, a ribbon mic with a figure-8 pattern could be used as the side
mic in an MS pair, along with your Schoeps. It doesn't produce a
dramatic stereo effect, but it's interesting, it gives you a little of
the character of each of the two mics.

Cheers,
Nick