To record a guitar...

[IIRs]

I can recommend SE Electronics though: I've got a Z5600A 9-pattern valve mic, which sounds great!

I have an opportunity to acquire one of these at a price I can afford: a wise investment for all-purpose use?:)

Absolutely! the mic doesn't sound coloured at all: it has that articulate mid-range that you get from good valve gear, but the top end is just as sparkly as a good solid state condenser.. I love having the 9 polar patterns too, I often use the in-between settings.



<edit> my only caveat: being a valve mic it is quite bulky, and requires a seperate PSU and extra dedicated cable. That, plus the recommended minimum 30 minutes warm-up time before recording, makes it less good for quickly setting-up and capturing a moment than a similar solid state model.. unless you can leave it on a stand powered up all the time, but I don't do that because I try to avoid smoking around it when its on

[will.record.for.food]

I have recently started using the Audix i5 for amps as well as acoustics, coupled with a stereo set of AKG 460's, I get an aweseome sound!

[rockstar_not]

This thread could easily explode into the longest RMS thread ever.

With that said, I agree with IIRs that you need to worry just as much about the mic pre-amp as the mic.

General rule: A great pre-amp can make a crappy mic sound decent, but it's pretty hard to get a great mic to sound good through a crappy mic pre-amp.

IIRs spending rule seems about right.

My new favorite very affordable mics for recording acoustic guitar are KEL HM1. Read about them, listen to acoustic guitar recordings, etc. at this link:

www.kelaudio.com

If you can't get a KEL (you can only buy them direct from the manufacturer), try getting your hands on a CAD M-179, variable response pattern mic and a decent mic pre-amp to go along with it. These are home recordist type prices (M-179 can be had for around $200).

-Scott

[Rock]

avenson audio omnis (stapes omnis).. spaced pair close mic these to the guitar 6inches awesome sound.. there $500 a pair.. they look like smaller earthworks mics.. these sound great ....... my 2 pennies

I've been wanting these mics forever... a friend tried them out and said they sounded great he was only concerned about the noise floor because he does some kind of wispery soft music a lot.

[lharless]

well, i gave you my $0.02, im gonna go hump the fridge.

[DaveL60]

with a MXL 990 micro (with T2, of course). Is not the best, but worth the price.

If you're on a budget, I'll definitely second the recommendation on the MXL 990. I'm using one with my Behringer mixer, and the sound of my acoustic through it vs. my SM-57 is night and day. I think the 990 is being discontinued -- in any case, I just took a quick look at the 990 at MuFriend and right now they only want about $50 for it. This is my first condenser mic, and I'm sure it's going to teach me a few things.

DaveL

[Daniel Pompougnac]

Sankiou for all your posts.
I traduce... and I buy a micro.

Daniel

[polaris20]

Right now, a SP B1 pointed at the neck joint, about 10" away.

But shortly, a pair of matched small diaphragm MXL's.