Tagged As: Shure Capacitor Microphone
Question:
I would like to buy the SHURE SM58 S dynamic microphone (for home recording) which is mainly made for voice recording. Is it possible to use this micro also for recording an acoustic guitar ? Or do I have some impacts due to the fact that is frequency range is limited 50Hz 15khz. Recording an acoustic guitar would also be a main request for me so, do you think it would be better to buy a capacitor microphone ?
Answer:
The SM58 is a dynamic microphone that has been used as a workhorse for ages. Good microphone for many applications. If you want to mic a guitar with it, you should likely remove the pop-filter that may get in the way of a goodly amount of the post 12Khz signal...in other words, if you take the pop filter off the 58, you get something very close to the Shure SM-57. The 57 is an instrument mic, the 58 is a vocal mic, both have really pronounced proximity effects (cardiod factors) that can be helped along with a 70Hhz LFC...use it, if not, EQ it in. IMHO, if micing an acoustic is your priority, then you would do better going straight for the SM57...a good mic for acoustic guitar, micing guitar amplifiers and cabs and for some drum applications. As others have pointed out, while these are great mics for live work (robust and dependable), they are not the best for recording. For this, IMHO (again), you would do much better with something like a Shure KSM32 (large condenser) or my fave an Audio Technica Midnight Blue (small condenser) pointed at the 12th fret slightly towards the sound hole, (not right on, or you get a bunch of boomyness that has no place in music). I also track an SM57 on the bridge (pointed at the B string up wards towards the Low E). With these two microphones I can get all of the crispness and finger/picking noise as well as all of the mudiness of a 1-3-5 chord building (harmonic overlaps). In other words, all the best bass and treble with the ability to mix the two together as I see fit. The difference between a condenser and a dynamic mic is mostly due to construction...it take more signal to move a dynamic than a condenser capsule...this means that you have a better signal-to-noise ratio with the condenser. In other words, you need to push a dynamic much hotter to get the same audio signal strength as a condenser at the same distance from the source...results: condensers are quieter (better recording), do not require you to push them as hot, capture more of the transient and easily absorbed high end and, if you get a multipattern like the KSM44, you can use a pattern that does not exhibit a proximity effect as pronounced as a dynamic cardiod (such as a figure 8 or Omni or even, a hyper cardiod)...though this would be more an issue for a vocal mic. The downside of condensers is that the best require a power supply (like most ribbons), the next best require some form of phantom power and the last step before you reach for the dynamic mic is one where you can power the mic with a battery. If your mixer has no phantom to offer, you may be best to settle for the former or get a phantom box as an add on. Short answer...Yes, buy a condenser (small) if you want to record your acoustic with any amount of definition, supplement with a condenser (like the 57) if you can afford it, and, if you don't really care much about the sound of the guitar, plug a piezo straight into a board...if this setup you will be able to communicate with Donald Duck in his native language.
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