Best Mic For Acoustic Guitar For Recordings

3) AUDIO-TECHNICA AT2035 - BEST LARGE DIAPHRAGM MIC FOR ACOUSTIC GUITAR

Audio-Technica has been in the game for a long time and I expect big things from this microphone. The AT2035 is the successor of the very famous AT2020. Designed to be the perfect addition to a professional studio as well as a home studio and it’s mid-range, almost budget-friendly price tag reflects that very fact (can also be used for live performances).

The AT2035 is a large-diaphragm condenser microphone with a cardioid pickup pattern along with a switchable 80Hz high pass filter and a 10dB pad switch. This best mic for acoustic guitar is able to handle sound levels up to 148 dB and with the with 10 dB pad switched on, it can reach a whopping 158 dB!

Okay, now all of this technical knowledge aside, how does it perform? Well, if all that technical information did not give it away, this microphone is amazing! It is very versatile as the company claimed with a specialization at recording clean, clear vocals.

There is a considerably low disturbance when compared to other microphones at this price point and compared to its processors. In conclusion, this is a very versatile microphone capable of handling anything that you through at it. It captures sound with warmth and clarity. For anyone looking for a microphone for a home studio, I would definitely recommend this.

If you are going for a studio microphone, I would say look around more. It can absolutely serve as a studio microphone also, however, the low ends on this microphone do tend to be exaggerated. Other than that, I found no flaw in this microphone. Go for it!

5) AKG PRO AUDIO C214

Easily one of the best microphone out there under 500 bucks. AKG is one of the bigger names when it comes to microphones and they have certainly earned their place as one of the best mic for acoustic guitar. The construction on this thing is beastly.

An all-metal die-cast body which is shock and scratch-resistant finish and it comes in a nice, metal box making it not just sturdy but also road-tough.

This condenser microphone has a large-diaphragm and Integrated suspension which reduces mechanical noise and delivers detailed sound. It has a time response of 20Hz to 20kHz and a 156dB max SPL.

It has one pick up pattern, cardioid, which takes a point away from it as customizability is hindered because of that. However, the performance this beast offers makes up for that 10 fold.

This is a very versatile microphone and is able to handle everything from vocals to drums. Thanks to its high SPL, it can handle almost anything you throw at it. The sound you get is rich, layer with detail and warm.

It further boasts features like a switchable 20dB attenuator and bass-cut filter for close-up recording and reduction of proximity effect and reducing any unwanted noise. In conclusion, I would say this is easily one of the best mid to upper range microphones out there and you will not be disappointed with it.

6) STELLAR X2

This best mic for acoustic guitar is focused more on podcasts than other instruments, so right from the gate, there is specialization thing going on here. Another thing that the company claims is that it is a Neumann killer. Well, we must understand the difference between marketing tactics and reality. A 200 dollar microphone simply cannot compete with a 1000 dollar one; you get what you pay for.

Here, what you get is a condenser microphone with tuned towards neutrality, making it proper for vocals and podcasting as voices of both men and women will not stand up, rather mix easily. Setting this mic up is very easy and did not take very long. Vocals sound very balanced and required only a little bit of processing to get them just right.

These can also perform well with acoustic guitars with the right setting and a bit of processing. By no means is this a Neumann killer, not even close. However, this is an alright microphone for those wanting a mic for starting out a podcast or hobby musicians.

7) CAD AUDIO EQUITEK E300S

The CAD Audio Equitek E300S is a very neatly made microphone. I really like the way it looks, simple and elegant. This microphone features, are you ready? 1.1-inch gold-vapor deposited externally biased multi-pattern (cardioid, Omni, figure-of-eight) dual-diaphragm.

Okay, that had a lot of big words there. Let’s break that down. This microphone is a classic vocal studio microphone, though, that isn’t to say it cannot be used for recording other things.

I tried recording a 12-string guitar on it and the sound was crisp and clear, I was honestly very surprised by how well this thing performed in my test. The company claims that the microphone offers transparent, airy upper and mids, coupled with a rich, silky smooth low end and an enormous up-front presence making it their finest vocal mic and I certainly was not disappointed by the performance this thing offered in terms of vocals.

This best micfor acoustic guitar offer a frequency response of 20Hz to 18KHz, hi-pass filter 6dB pad/octave @135Hz, a 20dB pad and three polar patterns allow you to balance tone and space.

This microphone has some unique and practical features which I am a fan of. It boasts an auto on-off feature and, this one if my favorite, it not only runs on 48V of phantom power. But can run on Rechargeable 9V hydride batteries with an operation time of 6 hours! That feature alone makes it worthy of taking it along with you on the road.

8) MXL R144 HERITAGE EDITION RIBBON

The MXL R144 HE is one of the only Ribbon microphones that you can get on a budget. Well, at least the only ones I found that are worth getting. A ribbon microphone, which also is known as a ribbon velocity microphone, is a different type of microphone than the condenser microphones we have discussed so far.

The ribbon microphone is a type of dynamic mic that has a slim piece of aluminum (usually) which is suspended in a strong magnetic field and is what we would call a passive device.

Ribbon microphones are amazing for capturing detailed sound without being so sensitive that they pick up unnecessary noise, only the sound intended. Only those that do not know about a ribbon microphone do not want one. Coming to the ribbon microphone at hand, the MXL R144 HE incorporates a figure-8 polar pattern and a 1.8-micron aluminum ribbon.

This best mic for acoustic guitar figure-8 polar pattern allows the microphone to pick up sound from the front and back while ignoring the sound coming from the sides.

This feature is extremely useful as when you record vocals or guitar sitting in front of the microphone, it is able to capture the sound and the echo from the back. This microphone is able to handle a high SPL, 130 dB provided there is no distortion and has a frequency response of 20 Hz - 17 kHz providing Mellow sound with a rich midrange and rolled-off top end.

This microphone is also built well. It has a metal finish with a sliver frost body and a chrome grille which gives it a nice look. I would recommend this for recording guitar amps and maybe vocals if you have mic amp. This seems more of an addition to your microphone collection than a stand-alone piece IMO.

9) ASTON ORIGIN - BEST MIC FOR RECORDING ACOUSTIC GUITAR

Okay, This is the most metal looking microphone I have seen. I know I said that before but I give that title to the Aston Origin. It looks simple to some but I don’t know, I think its that simplicity mixed with their logo, mix of the colors black and grey, etched body and 2-millimeter solid stainless steel laser-cut chassis. Okay, guess it is not that simple but it is cool looking.

The body isn’t just unique-looking, it offers a lot of practical features. Not only is it shock-resistant but it also houses a built-in pop-filter. Aston was able to make this bad boy have an in-built pop filter using the stainless steel mesh knit technology and very wave-form design makes this microphone shock-resistant, protecting the capsule.

The fit and finish are also impressive and as you would expect, otherwise all of that would be just a gimmick.

Coming to specs, this is a large-diaphragm, side-address, cardioid-pattern, condenser microphone with a frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHz and maximum SPL it can handle is 138dB without the pad switched in (148 with). Coming to performance, I am a fan. I like the performance of this best mic for acoustic guitar almost as much as I like its design.

The mic was able to perform well in almost all tests. The sound that is created is clear and quality and is able to handle processing which, weirdly enough, some microphones cannot. This mic is indeed very versatile, it excels at recording vocals and acoustic instruments which makes it perfectly suited for our list.

10) AMAZONBASICS CONDENSER MICROPHONE

I was a bit skeptical about this one as it is a microphone by Amazon, not some music company. I must admit, I am rather surprised. First of all, being an AmazonBasics product means on a good sale, this thing can be a steal! Speaking of steal, this thing is all steel (nice one)

The beast is almost entirely metal and feels solid, it’s not gonna break but it might break something if it falls. Okay, do not try that.

This best mic for acoustic guitar features some surprisingly good features, well the fact that it is a USB microphone, meaning you can simply plug this thing into your pc and start recording.

Coming to other features, it boasts things like a built-in mute button, an OLED screen that displays vital info (this was very surprising!), an integrated headphone amplifier for zero-latency monitoring and the usuals like pattern selection, gain, volume control, etc.

This microphone has 3 condenser capsules for 4 different types of recording patterns namely cardioid, bidirectional, omnidirectional, and stereo so it is extremely versatile in this record, covering all grounds. Coming to the elephant in the room, how does it perform? Surprisingly good I would say. Vocals sound clear and instruments also sound fairly decent.

I would not call this a microphone for professionals by any means but it does seem like a viable option for beginners and intermediates players. I am impressed.