Best mike for recording an archtop?

[christianm77]

I think most commenters here have more depth knowledge.... TBH, I prefer to pay other people to do these things for me so I can concentrate on the playing.... Not always a possibiity, of course.

[John A.]

Is the Shure SM57 still the best one? Does it do the job for both amped and unamped archtops equally well?

Regards,

DB

"Best" for both? Probably not. An SM57 is the closest thing to a Swiss army mic. It does a lot of things pretty well. It records amps and snare drums very well; it's OK for some vocalists. For acoustic guitar, a higher sensitivity mic with a flatter response (SM 57 has a distinct presence peak) might be better, but it really depends on the particular guitar, placement, and what sound you're going for (and you can compensate for the peak with EQ). If you have a 57, might as well use it. If you're looking for a predominantly amplified sound, with a hint of acoustic blended in, a 57 should work well. There are lots of recordings made with them.

John

[gmek]

The only time I've used a SM57 for an acoustic was on a flat top. I used it pointed towards the body beyond the bridge. And then used a condenser on the 12th fret. Nice blended sound. I think I got the idea from Brent Mason in an interview. Not sure if it'd be a good technique on an archtop but experimenting in recording is half the fun.

[Petimar]

Royer SF 12 and/or Mytek C5. The combo is great!

[BigToe]

I think ribbon mics came back into flavour because digital recording made everything a little sterile sounding. Van Gelder was recording with tape and tube/valve equipment. I'm sure ribbons just added to the noise floor and low end.

I've heard that placing a ribbon too close to the subject is not a good idea as they are very prone to the proximity effect and the ribbons are sensitive to plosives. Otherwise I quite like how they sound.

[KirkP]

The SM-57 is designed with a 5dB peak in response around 6500 Hz. That helps vocals and some instruments cut through in a live performance. A mic with a flatter high frequency response may sound more natural.

Condenser mics tend to be flatter, but some have a presence boost. Here’s what Neuman has to say about that.
How Frequency Response Helps You to Understand the Sound of a Microphone
Classic ribbon mics have a much different response, gradually rolling off above around 1000 Hz. But modern ribbon mics have response specs that vary all over the place. Seems to me a good condenser mic and EQ could end up with a similar response to a classic ribbon mic, if that’s what you wanted.