Ultimate Acoustic Guitar Mic Shootout

Hey Everyone,
I run a studio in New South Wales Australia - Spinlight Studio
Over the years I have collected some quality mics and thought perhaps it's time I made a few videos that might help others to compare the tones and colours that these mics have to offer.
This video features:
Intro: (0:00)
Lauten FC-378 F mode: (1:26)
Lauten FC-378 N mode: (1:58)
Lauten FC-378 G mode: (2:32)
AKG C414 XLS: (3:04)
AT4047sv: (3:36)
Neumann TLM 103: (4:08)
Telefunken TF51: (4:39)
Warm Audio WA251: (5:12)
Golden Age Project FC3: (5:46)
AKG C451b: (6:18)
Neumann KM184: (6:50)
Peluso CEMC6: (7:23)
Shure SM57: (7:55)
Beyerdynamic TG201: (8:27)
Telefunken M80: (9:00)
Sennheiser MD421: (9:31)
Shure SM7b: (10:03)
Sennheiser E906: (10:34)
AEA R88: (11:06)
Outro Thoughts: (11:38)
I roughly kept the mics about a foot away from the 12th fret of the guitar.
Preamp was a Great River MP-500nv through line inputs on a Focusrite Clarett 8preX
No processing applied whatsoever - completely raw.
Preamp Gain was set to 35db and I just level matched everything as well as I could after it was tracked.
Drop a comment below and let me know which mic you liked the best!
Follow me on instagram: @spinlightstudio
/ spinlightstudio
Check out my mixing work:
open.spotify.com/playlist/0qx...
Studio Website:
www.spinlightstudio.com.au

[@danielpennington3081]

Im never disapointed by the humble Beyerdynamic TG201. So many great options here depending on the sound your looking for or the way you want the guitar to sit in a mix with less processing. Nice work! Many thanks!

[@spinlightstudios]

No problem thanks!

[@mickeyleemusic]

Thanks so much for doing this. It's a great learning tool.

[@spinlightstudios]

You’re welcome

[@MichaelAlso]

Excellent video, thanks for the comparison! Liked the AT4047SV

[@spinlightstudios]

Thanks Michael! It is a good mic! I love it on the front of my kick

[@andreasfranzmann9634]

As an owner of a SRS808 aswell and always on the hunt for the perfect guitar tone I appreciate your efforts, great video!

[@spinlightstudios]

Thanks! Hopefully it helped!

[@spinlightstudios]

I know it's a long video guys, so just skip through it here haha
Intro: (0:00)
Lauten FC-378 F mode: (1:26)
Lauten FC-378 N mode: (1:58)
Lauten FC-378 G mode: (2:32)
AKG C414 XLS: (3:04)
AT4047sv: (3:36)
Neumann TLM 103: (4:08)
Telefunken TF51: (4:39)
Warm Audio WA251: (5:12)
Golden Age Project FC3: (5:46)
AKG C451b: (6:18)
Neumann KM184: (6:50)
Peluso CEMC6: (7:23)
Shure SM57: (7:55)
Beyerdynamic TG201: (8:27)
Telefunken M80: (9:00)
Sennheiser MD421: (9:31)
Shure SM7b: (10:03)
Sennheiser E906: (10:34)
AEA R88: (11:06)
Outro Thoughts: (11:38)

[@henrikpetersson3463]

Excellent video! That's a massive job to pull together.
I have to say that I prefer Atlantis and AT4047 straight from the mic. The Atlantis is very balanced but the AT4047 brings out some lovely harmonics of that guitar. Though I suspect that the AEA R88 might sound great with some boosted highs.
Do you have these recordings available somewhere so that I can see how processing affects them? I respect if you don't want to share. But I thought I'd ask.

[@spinlightstudios]

I don’t think I have the files sorry! I think I may have deleted the session 😅

[@henrikpetersson3463]

@@spinlightstudios All right! I'll download the RUclips audio and play around with a bit since I'm curious. Thank you for the quick reply! Subscribed!

[@spinlightstudios]

No worries mate! Thanks

[@henrikpetersson3463]

@@spinlightstudios Wow, as I expected a bit of EQ on that R88 made it shine. So natural sounding. I will have to check out the R84. Heard good things about it before, and now I'm even more intrigued.

[@spinlightstudios]

The R88 is magic, only issue is the self noise when using it on quiet instruments. If I could buy it again, I’d definitely get the active version which boosts the mics gain with less noise

[@roderickmims4802]

What you favorite vocal microphone out of all your microphone for all genre?

[@spinlightstudios]

Probably the sm7b, Neumann 103 or Lauten Audio 387 - could work with any of those :)

[@bkt6025]

ARA 88 !!!!
Im so sick of all the "fake hi, brittle brightness" that doesn't resemble what you hear in the presence of actual guitar, (that most mic s deliver
Do you know of a mic I could use live, with the color authenticity of the
ARA 88, or the first mic ?

[@spinlightstudios]

The AEA R88 is pretty magical for capturing things as they sound. Im not sure how a ribbon mic would go live on an acoustic guitar though.