4 Mics on Acoustic Guitar (3 Playing Styles)

[gehauser]

The guitar was a 1976 Martin D-35 with medium strings (phosphor bronze, broken in).

The mics compared in this shootout were, in no particular order:

Shure SM81 ($350 small condenser)
Peluso CEMC6 ($300 small condenser)
Marshall MXL604 ($100 small condenser)
Shure SM57 ($100 dynamic)

Each mic was tested on these three guitar-playing styles:

Chords
Fingerpick
Flatpick

Two distinct performance takes were done for each mic on each playing style.

The mics were placed as close together as possible. The maximum distance between the capsules of any two mics was 4 inches. The mics were positioned 12 inches out front of the guitar aimed at the 12th fret.

The signal chain was:

Mic > Sytek MPX 4Aii preamp > Fostex MR16HD recorder > 16-bit 44.1 WAV

The preamp was used to equalize the input level of the mics - all 4 channels were stock (no Burr-Brown channels). No pad or bass rolloff was used on any mic, the preamp, or the recorder.

256kbps MP3s were created using Acoustica MP3 To WAV with Lame encoder.

Playing style, take number, and mic number are provided in the filenames. Same naming convention was used for the WAV files, which are in the attached zip files. The mic key is in the attached “answers.txt” file.

Good luck!

[brandondrury]

KILLER JOB!!! This is EXACTLY what I wanted! You followed all the instructions perfectly and the shootout was conducted extremely well.

This is going to be extremely useful for everybody! I'm pumped about this contest and you've kicked it off extremely well!

My notes on the strummed stuff:
Mic 1 - midrange character thingy happening
Mic 2 - a hair smaller sounding
Mic 3 - a bit cloudy
Mic 4 - about right

It seems that I was about right in my assessment. The SM57 does has a midrange character thingy happening (not necessarily a bad thing) because it's not going to be as bright or as fast as the SDCs. As expected, the MXL is a bit smaller sounding which is what you expect with budget condenser mic. The Shure SM81 was a hair cloudy, but only a hair. The Peluso CEMC6 ended up being my favorite.

Flatpicking Notes
1 - peaks rounded off a bit. a slower mic
2 - emphasizing a bit of the wrong frequencies on the higher strings
3 - just a hair cloudy
4 - way more in your face without sounding thin

You can hear the 57 rounding off the transients in the flatpicking style, but it's certainly not a bad sound. The MXL brought out some not-so-pleasantness in the smaller strings. It's not a robo huge deal. The SM81 sounds good. It's a hair cloudy, but that can be great thing in certain instances. The Peluso CEMC6 definitely leaps out with more in your faceness without sounding harsh or thin.

Overall, you've done an outstanding job. I personally think that all the tracks sound excellent. A great player using his instrument of choice in a good room (neutral in this case) is hard to beat and your shootout has confirmed that. Great job!

Could you tell us about the room you recorded in? How big? Acoustic treatment?

Brandon

[gehauser]

Thanks, Brandon. Those are kind words.

The room is L=22.5' W=12.3' H=8' with beveled wall-ceiling corners along the length, like you see in bonus rooms over garages (which is where I record). In my first recordings in this room I had trouble with early reflections causing guitar and vocals to sound like I was in a box, but I have experimented a lot and found the following treatment to help (this treatment was used during the subject mic test):

I hang a 6'x6' thick, heavy sleeping bag from two L=3’ x H=6’ PVC frames that are arranged in a V behind the mics, to minimize sound getting into the room in the first place. The mics are set well into the V, pointing out of the V. I then play the guitar into the V. Behind me I drape another sleeping bag over a mic stand (flat, no V), to minimize any reflections that do occur from coming back into the front of the mics. I think this treatment minimizes early reflections in the room, but probably does little to trap bass. The ceiling directly over my recording space is untreated, so I probably still need to work on that. The floors are hardwood but in the immediate recording space, I have a 5’x8’ rug.

Try not to laugh, but for bass traps, I pile rolled up sleeping bags (however many I have left) in the wall-wall corners. Not sure if rolled sleeping bags are any good as bass traps, but until I get some real bass traps, they will have to do. Oh yeah, about half of the wall space in the room is lined with bookshelves of books and “stuff” to diffuse the sound a bit.

[Briza]

Excellent shootout.The Peluso CEMC6 was also my favourite in this shootout, followed by the Shure SM57.

Well played, recorded and written.

Well done, you have certainly set a benchmark for quality in this competition.

[camerondye]

Great samples and thanks for the effort on this one. I thought the SM81's sounded the most natural on these clips to my ears across the board. I didn't like the extra top end on the CEMC6's by itself. I bet it would make an excellent second microphone for a 2mic setup.

A lot of these tests are tough because since I've been using an SM81 for a while and it just sounds like home. I just recently switched to a Peluso 2247se which is an awesome acoustic mic also. I did a Mid/Side recording with a 2247se and a 22251, and I probably mixed in too much of the side (22251) but it sounded like I'm moving in the right direction for acoustic sounds for me. I think the 2247se moves on in a great direction for me coming from the SM81.

Mid Side Recording on Acoustic Guitar - Gearslutz.com

[mattmurray8]

Awesome shootout!!

At first I REALLY liked the 57, had a nice midrange, and punch to it. I gotta say the MXL just sounds cheap. The SM81, was really balanced and had a smoothness to it. The Peluso was nice sounding, bright in a good way but thin.

After listening further I felt like the SM57 was a bit bland, and probably wouldn't sit in a mix too well. I wouldn't touch that MXL for anything but a scratch. The Peluso was nice, but I felt the SM81 was the winner and was the most natural representation of the sound. (I also may be biased because I own one, as well as a 57)

Would love to hear the same shootout on an 002, 003, API, RNP, Great River, and Neve Pre

Thanks for this!

[meddlingfool]

Ha!
I failed entirely. I picked each mic once.

[gehauser]

Originally Posted by camerondye

Great samples and thanks for the effort on this one. I thought the SM81's sounded the most natural on these clips to my ears across the board. I didn't like the extra top end on the CEMC6's by itself. I bet it would make an excellent second microphone for a 2mic setup.

A lot of these tests are tough because since I've been using an SM81 for a while and it just sounds like home. Mid Side Recording on Acoustic Guitar - Gearslutz.com

I am in the same boat as I have had the sm81s for lot longer than the cemc6 and they sound like what I am used to hearing - punchy, transparent, natural sounding, but more rounded than the cemc6. I thought the sm57 was powerful and not bad, but lacked some definition in the highs, while the mxl604 was thin and unnatural sounding by comparison to the sm81 and cemc6.

Without the room treatment that I had up for these tests (see description in earlier post), the cemc6 can really get a bit too edgy on the high strings for flatpicking. For that reason I prefer the sound of the sm81 over the cemc6 for flatpicking, but I prefer the cemc6 over the sm81 for fingerpicking and chords. Both mics were superior in all playing styles to the sm57 and mxl604, to my ears.

[Jesionblue]

I love these shootouts! very useful! thanks to all of you!

[maaaquemeseyo]

I´m learning a lot. Thank you!!