Topic: Musician needs mic/recorder advice for recording acoustic songs

[Pelican]

hello,
i've come here seeking help.
i am a musician who wants a good setup for recording demos using the following criteria:  

1) i want the mics to have character and fullness  
2) i'll need to use this setup both indoors and outdoors
3) i will be recording my voice and acoustic guitar simultaneously and not  using this setup as a bootlegging tool
4) i'd like the quality to be good enough that i could release some of these recordings in the future

right now i have a sharp md-dr480 and an at822 mic but feel like there is certainly room for improvement.  i'm considering getting a dat recorder and certainly want to get a nicer mic or pair of mics.

any suggestions or advice would be warmly welcomed.

thanks,
dave
seainmywhiskers@yahoo.com

[DaryanLenz]

A dat recorder would be a rather large improvement for you.  I have one for sale if interested  As far as fulll sounding mics, how about adk's?  They seem to meet that criteria for you.

What size mics?  My favorite mic for accoustic stuff still remains mbho's fwiw, maybe 440's?  What's your budget?

D

[Pelican]

moke,
haha, i've always loved the phrase "bootlegging".  there's a world of imagery tied to it for me.  but i love concert recordings as much as anyone and certainly meant no disrespect.

i'll run a search for the adk tl's and see what comes us.  thanks!

shittytapes,
pm me more info about your dat recorder as i am considering getting one.  
i don't mind what size the mics are as long as they are somewhat portable and give me a full, rich and textured sound.  it's tough to choose words to describe sound but what i'm using now seems to come out a bit one dimensional and less magical than what it sounded like in the room when i was playing it.

as far as my budget goes, i'd prefer to get a nice microphone that i can use for many years to come and that would yield quality recordings.  i don't know how to put a price tag on that, but of course, i don't want to spend more than is necessary to achive that goal.

cheers,
d

[zowie]

I think you'll find much more info for your purposes at the homerec.com boards.

[InfiniteOhms]

Simmilar to the adk tl is the adk a-51 s LE , i got mine (a matched pair) for $350 used, the main difference between them and the Tl's is they are fixed cardoid pick up pattern and the TL's are switchable. They sound great on acoustic guitar and vocals.

Dont forget to buget for a decent mic pre also and it would'nt hurt to have a analog to digital converter also. If this is going to be more a home studio project then a "live recording" you might consider using your computer as your recorder, using a simple program like Cool Edit Pro you could record your voice on one track and guitar on the other then crossfade / EQ / FX to your content.

[Sean Gallemore]

tapeop.com is also a great home/studio recording message board

[pfife]

Yeah, if you are going to purchase 2 mics... seems to me that you might just be better off multitracking each mic, one for voice and one for guitar...

if you are only interested in 1 stereo mic, I have the Rode NT4... I think it works pretty well... ebay $260

You will notice a great improvement with a nice mic and preamp though!

HTH

[Scuba Jeremy]

The Oktava MC012s are "okay" for taping shows at a distance, but I can't believe how nice they sounded for me when I was directly mic'ing an acoustic guitar. I ran a set between a couple of players at a coffee house, and it picked up the music and vocals nice and clear, as well as having a nice stereo effect.

The music is "eh", but I think the recording is nice.

http://www.dr-distortion.com/mp3/awaywego.mp3

[jpschust]

the mk319s are good up close on acoustics, also the at4033s and also the 4051a's :-)

[sexymexi]

i found my 391's to have a nice acoustic sound.  doing simultaniosly with voice is a little hard to do and have it sound right, cause of level and eq differences IMHO.  and recording acoustic guitar there are many different techniques i've used to get different stereo sounds.  my personal favorite would be using 2 condensers, one bout 6-8 inches away from the neck out from the 12th fret, and about 2 inches from your bridge and saddle, towards your endpin, then 90 degrees down another 2-3 inches, giving a smoother low end sound.  good luck welcome aboard..

matt

[Pelican]

thank you for all the replies

[1st set only]

if it is just yourself I would recomend going to musiciansfriend here....
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=040107083753012101207253222874/g=rec/s=mics/search/detail/base_pid/271139/

Project Pack C 1000S and C3000B Mics
Features:

The C 1000 S:
Robust microphone powered via regular phantom power or integrated 9V battery
On/Off switch
Studio quality even when powered by a battery
Excellent as a vocal microphone
Works perfectly even from a greater distance for picking up choirs
Outstanding performance also when used for instruments
50Hz-20kHz frequency range
Cardioid polar pattern
C3000 B:
Large-diaphragm cardioid condenser microphone for universal use
"True" large diaphragm with active mylar foil diameter of 1" (25 mm)
Cardioid pattern for both vocal and instrument applications
Classic character and rugged construction
20Hz-20kHz frequency range
-10dB preattenuation switch
6dB per octave bass cut filter below 500Hz
The set:
Includes case, H100 shockmount, and C1000S windscreen
3-year warranty


and get this and a UA-5 pre

this way you would have a large diaphram for vocals and a small for your guitar.  plug those into a UA-5 and you can pass a digital signal to your MD and a line signal to whome ever ampifies your sound.

I would not recomend DAT at all

stay with your MD for a while and get good at microphone positioning. later on buy a medialess form of recording like the nomad JB3.

welcome aboard.

although the easies solution is to make friends here and have one of us (who ever is close to you) record for you. there is a TON of experianced people here that really know what they are doing.