One Mic or Two?

[brandondrury]

From what I've gathered here, when recording my acoustic I should go with a SDC and when doing the vocals go with my LDC, amiright?

There is no rule on this one. I tend to prefer LDCs on acoustic guitar most of the time. Of course, the only SDCs I have any real experience with are the MK012s. They are very fast and have a way of sometimes over emphasizing the attack. They can get a bit "hard" sounding in the upper midrange too in a way that a AT 4050 or AKG 414 will not.

With me there isn't really a rule. I toss up a mic. If I like what I'm hearing, we go for it. If not, we try new things. Mic placement is the big one, but if I can't find a spot where the mic gives me what I want we go another route.

Brandon

[dangercityskyline]

From what I've gathered here, when recording my acoustic I should go with a SDC and when doing the vocals go with my LDC, amiright?

umm...ish? kind of. like brandon said, use whatever mic sounds best on that instrument. try to stay away from the "i MUST use this mic for this instrument" mindset. it's good to play with different mics and mic positions when you're doing this kind of stuff, especially when you're debating something like whether to use two mics or not.

Personally, I would probably use a LDC on the vocals as well as the guitar. That's just my personal choice, because it's generally what sounds best for me. this aforementioned LDC would probably end up being my Shure KSM27, just because it's pretty reliable and i know what sounds i can get out of it. Your NT1A is also an excellent choice though.

[TonyB]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

There is no rule on this one. I tend to prefer LDCs on acoustic guitar most of the time. Of course, the only SDCs I have any real experience with are the MK012s. They are very fast and have a way of sometimes over emphasizing the attack. They can get a bit "hard" sounding in the upper midrange too in a way that a AT 4050 or AKG 414 will not.

With me there isn't really a rule. I toss up a mic. If I like what I'm hearing, we go for it. If not, we try new things. Mic placement is the big one, but if I can't find a spot where the mic gives me what I want we go another route.

Brandon

Very true. The only time that I used an SDC on acoustic guitars is the NT-5 pair in X/Y configuration. When I'm not recording it in stereo I'll usually go with the LDC (my 4050).

So it depend on the song, performance, artist's intent, etc.

[Ticker]

Thanks a bunch guys, you've really cleared up a lot of haze for me!

I appreciate it greatly

Ticker