There's not much to an acoustic guitar, a few thin slices of wood, a few thicker bits, some fret wire, half a dozen tuners and six strings made of nylon or steel. But glue 'n screw them all together and boy can it sound heavenly in the right hands. It can sound pretty good in the wrong hands too – picture Elvis absolutely hammering his acoustic on his seminal recording of
At Sun Records. Sounds perfectly imperfect to us, just as it should. Its rich timbre, complex texture and broad range can make it a tricky instrument to record though, which is why we're taking a deep dive into the best acoustic guitar mics.
Different styles of playing call for different types of microphones, so we're going to explain when to consider a condenser mic, or when a dynamic mic or ribbon mic may yield better results. Perhaps you’re a cash-strapped singer-songwriter, spending much of your time touring with little time or money to invest in recording? In that case you may want to use an on-board mic/pickup system that's primarily designed for live performance but can be DI'd with surprisingly good results. We've covered them all here.
The Best Guitar Mics For The Home Producer [2021]
Getting mic placement right is more than half the battle to getting a sublime recorded tone. Place the mic in the wrong place and your sound will be either weak and gutless, or muddy and indistinct. We'll be exploring the best places to aim your mic and looking at the rudiments of multi-mic setups. Just head to the buying advice at the end of this article.
If money is no object, then surprise, surprise, we'd have an Octo Set (yes, that's eight and it is a thing) of Neumann KM184 s flown in on our private jet. If budget is a little tighter that's no reason to be despondent because there are some stunning acoustic guitar microphones available for a little less.
The Shure SM81 is an iconic mic for recording acoustic guitar that's proved itself over decades. This is a mic with an astonishingly flat frequency response curve that records like a dream with almost no colouration. It's built to last too.
Get Some Acoustic Guitar Recording Tips From A Nashville Studio Master
Years ago, ribbon mics were ubiquitous but as recording technology changed, they began to fall out of favour. We're glad to see there's been a resurgence of interest in them in recent years because they sound absolutely tremendous. The Beyerdynamic M160 is a fantastic example that's caught our attention because it's a hypercardioid, rather than the usual figure-8. There's nothing wrong with figure-8 patterns, far from it, but the M160 is extremely easy to focus in on the action. More importantly, it sounds incredible.
+ Solid reputation as an acoustic guitar mic+ Table-top flat frequency response+ Pad and low-cut filter+ Just as good for piano, drums and strings
Most mics that are used for recording acoustic guitar have arrived via a circuitous route that usually involves a drum kit, or bits of it. It's hard to think of two instruments that are less alike but what works well for miking up a cymbal usually works well for an acoustic guitar too – after all, it's all about capturing transients, clarity and that high-end shimmer.
How To… Record Acoustics
So, we acoustic guitarists end up using mics that are primarily marketed at drummers. The difference here is that Shure's SM81 is, first and foremost, aimed at acoustic guitarists, albeit with a friendly, open invitation for pianists, drummers and string players too.
Despite its slim, attractive body the SM81, in common with all of the SM family, is a rugged beast. It's built from tough vinyl-coated steel and Shure claim it's 'field-usable' over a wide range of temperature and humidity conditions. As an acoustic guitarist, that's unlikely to be your primary motivation for buying it, but nevertheless it's nice to know that your fingers will probably stop working before it does.
Of more interest is its frequency response curve that's incredibly flat. Self-noise is very low, output is high and it exhibits minimum colouration, even off axis. In short, it’s a dream to work with. Reproduction is faithful and its uniform, transparent character makes multi-mic setups a breeze.
Recording Acoustic Guitars In Your Home Studio? Read This
If close proximity recordings start to become bogged down in too much bass there's a 6dB/18dB low-cut filter to help your acoustic regain its position in the mix. There's a 10dB pad too, but that's probably more useful for your drummer friends unless you're an aggressive strummer wielding a powerful dread.
A defining feature of ribbon mics is that they have a figure-8 polar pattern, which picks up sound from two sides but rejects everything else. Back in the day, ribbon mics were very popular in radio studios because engineers could use just one mic to pick up two broadcasters, but they're equally adept at recording a singer-songwriter strumming their guitar or two vocalists singing a duet.
Sometimes though, when you're trying to record one instrument with precision, the dualistic nature of the ribbon mic can be a bit of a drawback. You try to record just the guitar but you end up picking up everything directly opposite it too. Fortunately, the M160 was born to tackle just this conundrum.
Common Techniques For Stereo Miking
It features a very tight hypercardioid pattern that can target just what you want to hear and little else. Even better, it sounds wonderful too, with a lovely bass response, smooth mids and silky highs. Since its introduction in the mid-1950s it has earned a glorious reputation for making strident, raw sources sound buttery smooth. Countless classic recordings have featured the M160 miking up drum kits and distorted guitar cabs but trust us, it makes acoustic guitars and other stringed instruments sound other-worldly too.
Another characteristic of the M160 is its unusual double ribbon design, which boosts output and provides better signal-to-noise performance. Ideal for recording quiet passages finger-picked on an acoustic.
First off, if the price is a bit of a shocker don't worry, the KM184 is available as a single mic too. But if you're tired of recording in mono and want to try more adventurous setups then buying a stereo pair will save you money in the long run.
Best Microphones For Recording Acoustic Guitar
The cardioid KM184 is part of Neumann's 180 series that also includes an omni, the KM183, and a hypercardioid, the KM185. All are known for their very natural, transparent sound and almost imperceptible self-noise.
The KM184 displays almost no sound colouration over its entire cardioid pickup pattern and it's very successful at rejecting rearward sounds. These attributes are a godsend in multiple mic setups because, by the very nature of stereo recordings, no two mics are going to be aimed at the sound source in exactly the same way. The lack of colouration across the entire pickup pattern means that a pair of KM184s will sound consistent even if one is slightly off-axis.
This mic's almost flat frequency response curve does have a slight lift at the treble end but essentially it's going to capture a very faithful rendition of your playing. This honesty can be a little disconcerting to listen to at first but it's more desirable than trying to fix a poorly coloured sound with EQ.
Recording Acoustic Guitar
With an ultra-low self-noise performance of just 13dB-A, these Neumann mics are ideal to record soft 'could hear a pin drop' playing styles, but they can also handle high sound pressure levels of up to 138dB, making them good for the loud stuff too.
Just be aware that these are sensitive mics that will pick up a lot of room noise and reflections if they’re there to be picked up. Take it from us, prep your studio or recording room properly to save yourself a lot of post-production grief…
The SM57, along with its non-identical twin the SM58, is one of the best-selling mics of all time. Quite simply it's a legendary bit of kit. While the SM58, with its ball-style grille and built-in pop filter, was originally designed as a dynamic mic for live divas and crooners, the SM57 did away with these vocalist-friendly features to live out life as an instrument mic.
Recording Acoustic Guitars At Home
Other than these subtle differences, the two models are built identically but because the SM57's diaphragm is placed closer to the action, you're likely to encounter a slightly more pronounced proximity effect when using it. And, because of the way its grille is designed, the SM57 exhibits a slight presence lift too.
Truth is, the SM57 is not really suitable for delicate, nuanced playing styles or recordings that aim to capture every little detail. Instead, it's most at home sat in front of an aggressive strummer, picking up all of the good, rich percussive stuff while ignoring any unwanted high frequency noise or low frequency rumble. When you're done recording guitars put it to good use as an alternatively-voiced vocal mic or use it on stage, it's that versatile.
Nothing looks or sounds quite like the Voodoo VR2 (OK, other than it's passive sibling the VR1). Ribbon mics are known for capturing a very life-like, yet rich sound, which, let's face it, is what most producers want. However, many can't compete with condenser mics when it comes to recording
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