Mike Exeter met up with Barry Bayliss at Gospel Oak Studios near Birmingham, UK, to compare a range of microphones for recording acoustic guitar. Some of the microphones were very affordable and a few more expensive mics were thrown in too.
The microphones used in this comparison include
- C414
- WA-87
- JM37
- Earthworks SR30
- JM27
- C451
- B&K 4007
- SM57
- Royer 121
- KM84
This video covers guitar recording using a variety of single mics - Mike Exeter and Barry Bayliss experimented trying out a variety of expensive AND affordable mics, some were large diaphragm and others small. There are samples of the mics here so that you can compare. Special thanks to Jacob Holdsworth for editing and to Gospel Oak Studios for access to their pretty vast mic selection. Thanks also to Robbie Dwyer for his production input.
In summary, the consensus is that any of these microphones would do a great job when recording acoustic guitar. Careful placement of the mic makes so much difference and the way that the guitar is played also changes things too, use of picks etc.. We hope that you found this video useful - Watch our Twitter or Facebook feed for news or just subscribe to the RecordProduction.com YouTube channel so you never miss any updates!
