Your favorite type of microphone for recording your Mandolin?

[Erok]

I've been searching for a Mic. My first inclination is to get a Shure SM57. Is that a good choice?

There are also some imported large diaphragm mics on amazon for a similar price.

I'm unsure what type of mic is best for recording into my PC and Mac.

[Br1ck]

I'd go for an SM 57 over a cheap condenser any day, though a 57 would not be my first choice. Like mandolins themselves, good mics aren't cheap, but then you get into the whole signal chain, looking at everything downstream. Getting a great mic and running through cheap AD/DA converters on the way to a recorder won't give you the full benefit of the mic.

If you aren't going to look at the whole signal chain and comit resources, any decent mic will do.

Recording is it's own tricky business. I've settled on mid grade equipment, but I've recorded with the likes of a Manley mic preamp, and given the choice that is what I'd do, but then I'd have to get a Neumann mic to take advantage of it, and soundproofing, acoustic treatment and all the rest.

I've had two SM 57s for decades and they are one of the best all purpose mics you can buy. No phantom power to deal with and darned near indestructible.

[indexless]

A 57 is great, condensers give better performance. If you have the coin an AKG 214 or an Octava 12 are fab. Shure SM7 is a great mic for mando's. On the side of strange I use 2 Behringer ECM8000 Ultra Linear Measurement Condenser Microphones and they sound great. It's not a name mic but it's the sleeper in the line, cheap and great sounding

[MikeZito]

SM58 Beta is a favorite of mine, for just about everything . . . . I seem to recall doing whole albums with that mic.

[Baron Collins-Hill]

I don't have much experience with a wide catalog of mics, but I recently bought a pair of Audio Technica 4041's that I like quite a bit! That said, lots of people know a lot more about mics than I do.

Happy picking,
Baron

[dhergert]

Medium to high quality Large Diaphragm Condenser mics are great if you can control your background noise. They are great in a studio environment. But if you have background noise in your house, like an AC/furnace or a road nearby or a RR track in use nearby, or an infinite number of other noises that we normally pay no attention to, a LDC is going to pick up everything. Plus they require phantom power which not all inputs provide.

Given those drawbacks, we've got a AudioTechnica 4040 LDC that we like a lot in studio situations. It produces a nice warm tone, plus it's hot enough to pick up our whole band in a studio, so we can control our own vocal and instrument balances which can simplify things a lot in certain circumstances.

At home or outside, I tend to prefer to go with a quality dynamic mic instead. My personal preference is the Sennheiser e935. Its tonal balance is excellent and it can be a very hot mic for a dynamic mic.

[Br1ck]

I think the OP, by the fact he is looking at an SM 57, has that limited budget in mind or I would have recommended an SM 81. Yes condensers have more detail and sensitivity, but not necessarily at that price. An SM 57 will mic a speaker cab, a snare drum, any acoustic instrument and vocals, so it is a great first mic choice.

If cost was no object, Royer ribbon mics are nice.

[Mark Gunter]

I like the SM58 because you can use it for vocals as well with it's pop-reducing ball grill/windscreen. I've used the SM58 for vocals and also with decent results on guitar and mandolin recordings. Experts will vary, but some will say that the SM58 (or 57) is a great, traditional choice for the all-around workhorse.

Lately, I've added two AT 35 PROs - one for mandolin, and another for the old archtop guitar. A decent clip-on like that is a dozen times better for instrument mic IMO.

I'm not a connoisseur or truly serious student of this stuff though, like many members here are, just stating what works on my budget so far.

[Benski]

After testing a lot of microphones, I've settled on the Audio Technica AT4041. It's sturdy and unobtrusive and captures my mandolin to my satisfaction. I've used it for the past 5 years both in performance as well as in the studio and I would highly recommend it. Keep in mind, however, that it requires phantom power so you can only use it if the sound system you're plugging into can provide that. Cheers.

[MissingString]

A 57 is great, condensers give better performance. If you have the coin an AKG 214...

+1 for the AKG 214. I have recorded (my home setup) with an AKG 214 and a pencil condenser (AKG P170) for cello, violin and of course mandolin. Not an inexpensive rig but far from the price of many awesome mics. This setup does require an interface though. And it's a coin toss to put a quality mic through an inferior signal converter. Think about what's the weakest element in the signal chain as Br1ck pointed out.

I'm far from an expert here and Br1ck started to get into this topic, but you'll need an interface to go from a XLR connected mic into a computer. Basically something to digitize the the signal. There are some "usb" microphone setups that will connect directly into a computer or tablet (Shure MV5 is an example on the IOS side). That may satisfy your needs if you want to avoid adding an interface to the equation. If I go much further I'll be getting over my head.

Chris

[Beanzy]

As a good all rounder for both mandolin and vocals that hits a price (always loads of offers on) I really like the AKG C1000s.
It will run on battery or phanthom power. Gives a good flat response where it matters. Has swappable polarity caps to give, cardoid, super cardoid and hyper cardoid response, which means you can use it on stage as well as for recording. There’s a decent internal wind shield as well as coming with an external one for extra when needed. I’ve been using a couple of these since about ‘95 and they’re still not showing any signs of tierdness yet. Excellent bang for your buck

[almeriastrings]

Stereo: 2 X Line Audio CM3

or

Beesneez "Sally" LD Tube

or

Royer R121 Ribbon.

All very different, choice depends on the room and the instrument in question. There are many other great mics, but I like all these a lot. Bargain of the bunch is the Line Audio CM3. Superb microphone at a very fair price. So close to a Schoeps MK21 wide cardiod it is scary, just a little matter of about $1,000 in price...

[Mando Mort]

Audio Technica 4041. I have had very good results with that mic for acoustic guitar or mandolin. I played a mandolin part on a recording session yesterday that was done at another studio and they used the 4041 and the artist whose song we were recording really liked how it recorded the mandolin.

[ukrobbiej]

SM 58s and 57s are dynamic mics and so do not have a great upper frequency response. I use a pair a Rode NT55s in stereo. Either spaced with their Omni directional capsules, or crossed with their cardioid capsules. You will need phantom power for them though.

Robbie

[almeriastrings]

The 'paper' frequency response is not necessarily that useful in a real-world context. For example, some of the most revered vintage ribbons had quite limited HF responses - but they sound gorgeous on mandolin and banjo because they have a phenomenally 'fast' and above all 'smooth' sound. Very dynamic without any trace of harshness. You get a major drop-off at just 10kHz on an RCA 77, for example.... on paper it looks pretty bad, but hearing it...

On a budget, some of the quite low cost ribbon mics can be very good indeed too. The only real drawback is their very low output so you need a really clean, high-gain input on your preamp/interface. Alternatively, a Triton FETHEAD inline booster will make a big difference.

[Pete Martin]

With a good ribbon mic you can boost the eq in the upper end without the harshness that doing that on other mic types usually produces.

My fav is a Royer SF12 through an AEA preamp with a good shelf boost above 9k. If you want to hear this mic and preamp, look at the Jazz tune of the month February submission I did for There Will Never Be Another You (Jazz section of this forum).

[foldedpath]

My favorite mics haven't changed in years. On mandolin, it's a vertical array of Royer 121 angled up from the bottom, with a Mojave Audio MA-100 small diaphragm tube condenser angled down from the top (usually with the omni capsule).

For a small instrument like mandolin, I like that vertical array, aimed slightly behind and below the picking hand to reduce pick noise. You don't hear that the stereo rig is vertical, it sounds like normal left-right stereo in the mix. I use a wider A/B stereo pair in the usual horizontal plane for something like guitar (and there are yet more techniques for fiddle or piano, not relevant here). As with any stereo setup, I check for phase cancellation before recording. I think every solo instrument recording, and most ensemble recordings, should be done in stereo if you have the mics for it.

The Royer ribbon goes into an AEA preamp and the MA-100 goes into one channel of a Great River MP-2NV preamp. Then into an RME interface.

If I'm feeling really OCD and the neighborhood is quiet enough, I'll add a stereo room mic some distance away, like a (discontinued) AKG C426 large diaphragm stereo mic. A room mic needs decent room acoustics, so don't try that unless you have a reasonably high ceiling and a quiet enough environment. I have to run around shutting off refrigerators and other gadgets when using a room mic and recording at home.

If you're just starting out, I'd suggest a pair of affordable small diaphragm condensers like Almeriastrings mentioned above. Go stereo if you possibly can, so you can start learning about stereo mic techniques. Try a ribbon mic too, although personally I don't think it should be your first mic purchase, and it will need a very good preamp or the line booster mentioned above.

[indexless]

Woof! this is the stuff right here...wow

[QUOTE=foldedpath;1630227]My favorite mics haven't changed in years. On mandolin, it's a vertical array of Royer 121 angled up from the bottom, with a Mojave Audio MA-100 small diaphragm tube condenser angled down from the top (usually with the omni capsule).

For a small instrument like mandolin, I like that vertical array, aimed slightly behind and below the picking hand to reduce pick noise. You don't hear that the stereo rig is vertical, it sounds like normal left-right stereo in the mix. I use a wider A/B stereo pair in the usual horizontal plane for something like guitar (and there are yet more techniques for fiddle or piano, not relevant here). As with any stereo setup, I check for phase cancellation before recording. I think every solo instrument recording, and most ensemble recordings, should be done in stereo if you have the mics for it.

The Royer ribbon goes into an AEA preamp and the MA-100 goes into one channel of a Great River MP-2NV preamp. Then into an RME interface.

If I'm feeling really OCD and the neighborhood is quiet enough, I'll add a stereo room mic some distance away, like a (discontinued) AKG C426 large diaphragm stereo mic. A room mic needs decent room acoustics, so don't try that unless you have a reasonably high ceiling and a quiet enough environment. I have to run around shutting off refrigerators and other gadgets when using a room mic and recording at home.

[banjoboy]

For mando, AT Pro 37.

[Br1ck]

Something like a Great River pre amp is just what I was talking about if you have great mics. It's almost like you need to invest in the whole package, mic, pre amp, converters. Eats money faster than f style mandolins. As good as consumer grade digital devices are, you can't put 16 quality AD/DA in a device that won't cost you big time.

[foldedpath]

Something like a Great River pre amp is just what I was talking about if you have great mics. It's almost like you need to invest in the whole package, mic, pre amp, converters. Eats money faster than f style mandolins. As good as consumer grade digital devices are, you can't put 16 quality AD/DA in a device that won't cost you big time.

Yeah, ain't it the truth about the whole package. And that includes acoustic room treatment for whatever room you're using for mixing/mastering, and some reasonably good monitor speakers so you're not trying to mix on headphones. It took me years to get "back end" gear that matched what I was putting on the front end.

It can be a money pit for sure, but the gear available now is much better at the entry level than when I started out. I had to jump straight from SM57's to Neumann KM184's because there just wasn't anything in-between. It's not like that now. You don't need to spend a fortune, but it's still important to know where your weakest link in the chain is, and boot-strap your way up from there.

[almeriastrings]

+1 on everything Foldedpath says.

Very true too that the prices of some items, on a quality vs. cost basis have really come down a very long way, especially anything 'digital' such as converters. For anyone looking for a very flexible, fairly compact PC/Mac compatible interface without totally breaking the bank, I'd highly recommend the superb Audient ID22. It is absolutely phenomenally good for $500. The mic preamps are really excellent (as good as some $500 a channel standalone units in my opinion), and the conversion sounds gorgeous. You can add the Audient ASP880 via ADAT to give you a total of 10 mic/line inputs...with analog inserts! I have used these for mobile recording, and honestly cannot fault them.

[Beanzy]

My reason for liking the basic level stuff is because I rent mics if I’m doing anything pro-level for anyone nowadays & that’s paid by the TV station here. The input and signal manipulation side has been going through so many changes it would be easy to go down a blind alley. (Anyone remember the Firewire/USB arguments until USB2.0 came out?)
I can’t see how the cost of good mics could be justified by me be unless it’s being offset against a business cost with regular usage like almeriastrings works the kit.
I know people like to build up kit, but why shoe-horn myself into a decision about buying one set-up that may get used properly for a couple weeks a year, whereas it might be better buying as a cooperative of amateurs/time-sharing the kit, or rent the lot with a good engineer so you can concentrate on the output & performing & select from more options than I could ever afford to own?
It can be like chasing phanthoms for amateurs, and cutting through the hype can be difficult enough when you’re in the business. (That’s why these threads are well worthwhile)

[Br1ck]

I agree about very decent cost to quality ratio. I use a MOTU Track 16, a sixteen track digital mixer with a FireWire computer connection. 16 channels is a bit misleading as to use it's capabilities you need a separate unit. As is you have 2 mic, two line, two instrument inputs, but that is plenty for what I do. I would like two more mic inputs though. If you have a Mac, it comes with a basic recording software package that will do all I need, which is document new songs so I don't forget them.

I use SM 81s and a Rode NT2. But still, this nifty, compact package, provided you have the computer, is still over a grand. I think one of MOTU's interfaces can be had for maybe another five or six hundred. Still, I view this as kind of the minimum setup for good, analogous to a Weber Galatin or an MT. And like good mandolins, once you have access, you don't want to go back.

A friend's home studio was probably north of twenty thousand, probably closer to thirty. It had one stellar mic pre, and sixteen really good mic inputs, two thousand to fifteen hundred mic's, which after getting the pre were the weak link, and more processing power than NASA. Then there is the thousands of hours of learning curve.

Lots of reasons to get an SM 57 and a little converter and a hundred dollar software package.mof course that is where it all starts......just go ahead an buy that RougeLOL.

[Steve Lavelle]

Ask Dawg and his reply would be the Neumann KM 84. Lacking those resources, I currently use the AT 4041. I find that I like it better than the SM 81 and the AKG C1000s which I also have. I'm currently recording in an apt. into a Focusrite 2i2. When I had a treated, isolated room and a big mixer, I favored large condensers like the Neumann TLM 103 and the AT4033 at a distance and a separate track recording the 4041 near a sound hole. Not a fan of using dynamic mics ( SM57, SM58) for stringed acoustic instruments. I've never recorded with a ribbon.