I'm looking for advice on a mic that will work well with micing classical guitar through a PA.
I've got a Cordoba Cadet 3/4 and a Bose PAS, i use my PodXTL for electric, but I'm looking for a great sounding mic that will catch all the mids and lows, with clear highs.
my price range is $50-200
Hey there.
I'm not an expert on this, but I recorded several times my classical guitar
achieving a good sound quality...
Try to set the mic in different angles. Not looking straight to the body of the guitar, but in diagonal positions.
"I never wanted to go, always wanted to stay.
'Cause the person I am, are the parts that I play...."
I've used a single mic pointing towards the soundhole in live situations and it's been good. At home, I tend to have the mic closer, pointing at the body above the soundhole. There are mp3s on my website if you want to check out how the sound.
Best,
A :-)
"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
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i use three mics for acoustic, mic one is inside the guitar in an acoustic pup or lapel mic (they work ok) mic to is usually some sort of large diaphram condensor place about 8inches in fron of the sound hole, and Mic 3 is a lipstick condensor placed either diagnolly just infront of the bridge, or about 1'4" away from the guitar soundhole... all depends on what sound you going for.
No matter where you go.... There You are! Law of Location
I believe you're looking for specific recommendations on which mic to buy, right? If so, you have three basic choices: Dynamic mic, Condersor mic, or Piezo pickup.
Dynamic mics are cheaper and less prone to feedback. A basic Shure SM 57 works well on almost any acoustic stringed instrument, and can be bought new for about $100.
Condensor mics are more expensive and more prone to feedback, but they can better capture the sound of your instrument. Many people swear by the Shure SM 81, but it costs over $300. This option seems to work best for most classical instruments, although as other posters have suggested, sound pros often use multiple mics to capture all the nuances of an acoustic instrument, including soundhole condensor mics.
Your third option is to attach a Piezo pickup onto the body of your guitar and then run it through an amp or straight into the mixing board. A professional can attach a Piezo pickup either under the saddle of your guitar, on top of the soundboard, or inside the guitar. This requires drilling holes in the end block of your guitar in order to attach an input jack. You may not want to drill holes in your guitar. Cheap Piezos can be bought that require no drilling and attach directly to your guitar thru adhesives that leave no residue, but the sound quality can be "iffy" this way. However, I've had good results using a $35 Dean Markley transducer attached to the soundboard of my classical guitar.
I hope this helps.
