Along with vocals, the acoustic guitar is one of the more dynamic instruments you may find yourself needing to record. In other words, there’s a lot of range between the quietest and loudest moments in a performance on an acoustic guitar, so you need a microphone capable of capturing all the nuances of that full range. Let’s talk the best mic for recording acoustic guitar, offering a few options for different price points.
The Best Mic For Recording Acoustic Guitar
As I just mentioned, acoustic guitar is full of dynamic range and nuance, particularly when it’s more of a finger picked part versus strumming.
In general and as I covered in my comparison of condenser vs dynamic microphones, it’s condenser microphones which generally work better for recording acoustic guitar because of their increased ability for capturing the nuances of a dynamic range of an instrument:
This is compared to dynamic microphones which are better for live settings or miking extremely loud sources which don’t have a lot of volume variation, like a snare drum, guitar cab, etc.
Now let’s get into a few options for different price points.
Under $100
Shure SM57 ($99)
One exception to the condenser mics being better for recording acoustic guitar is the ubiquitous affordable workhorse that is the Shure SM57.
This dynamic mic is typically used for in live settings or miking loud guitar cabinets or brass, even in top end studios, but it earns its workhorse status from the fact that it’s one of the most affordable quality microphones out there, so it gets applied to miking a lot of instruments in home studios.
This includes acoustic guitar where its decent low mid frequency response can capture the upper end of the body with those early overtones from the fundamental frequency range of the most of the notes of the guitar.
The casualty of the SM57 is its dropoff on the low end below 200Hz:
With this in mind, you’ll want to keep this mic in that sweet spot of the 12th fret of the acoustic guitar which I covered in my guide on how to mic an acoustic guitar:
If you’re recording acoustic guitar with two mics, you’ll typically have one microphone favoring the bridge, meaning closer to the sound hole which will pick up more of a bass heavy, fuller tone.
In this case, you’ll generally want to place your thinner microphone here to supplement, not to mention create a more balanced tone with the fuller microphone whose placement favors the brighter neck end of the guitar.
The XY recording technique is a good example of this:
The SM57 works well in that higher position which is favoring its angle closer to the sound hole. Not only will this pick up a touch more of the low end, this will help to tame the relatively bright top end of the SM57’s frequency response by feeding it a warmer tone from the guitar based on that angle favoring.
Under $250
Audio Technica AT2035 ($149)
The AT2035 from Audio Technica was the first microphone I recommended at the lowest price point in my recent overview on the best vocal mic.
If you’re looking for a first microphone purchase to make for an all around workhorse, this is my pick for its versatility on vocals, plenty of other instruments, and the best mic for recording acoustic guitar under $200.
It can handle more body than the SM57, as well, in looking at its frequency response:
As is the case in most microphones under $500 in my experience, there’s some kind of deficiency large or small on the low/body end. It’s certainly the latter with the AT2035 as we’re talking 1-2dB at most around 100Hz.
There’s also some slight inherent boosts in the response on either side of 5k and a slightly larger boost on the top end of the sizzle and punch of the strings themselves at 10-15k.
This is an excellent mic to park 6 inches in front of the 12th fret as you play (sitting down to minimize movement) and instantly capture a great sound of the acoustic guitar.
Under $500
SM81 ($399)
Don’t let the shape of this condenser microphone fool you, the Shure SM81 is every bit a condenser microphone and is my pick for best mic for recording acoustic guitar under $400:
I’ve used this microphone solo pointed at the 12th fret on its own or alongside another microphone in two microphone setups with excellent results.
A quick reminder that if you ever use two microphones to simultaneously record the same source, no matter what it is, be aware of phase issues (see my guide on how to get in phase audio).
You’ll see this microphone is relatively flat save for a slight low shelf in the low mids and lowest frequencies, but it doesn’t have the absence or inherent filter that the others have on the lowest end:
It’s uniquely flat on the top end, as well, which is a big reason why this is the go to microphone in miking cymbals, particularly hi hats, in top end studios. While other microphones can make cymbals sound bright to a fault because of their inherent boosts on the top end, the flat response here captures the cymbals as you hear them which goes a long way in the mix.
This is just about the flattest microphone you can get at this price point, making it an extremely popular microphone for all budgets and all instruments, especially acoustic guitar.
Aside from solo microphone situations, I like to balance out my “brighter” microphones like the aforementioned SM57 or AT2035 by favoring a warmer sounding bridge placement for those while favoring the brighter sounding neck placement for the SM81.
I mentioned the XY technique a moment ago.
Another good example of this is the neck and bridge mic placement, where one mic is facing “neck” at the 12th fret and the other is facing the bridge (where the bottom end of the strings go).
In this case, you’d put your “brighter” microphone with the weaker low end response like the SM57 or AT2035 facing the bridge and aim the SM81 at the 12th fret.
While this isn’t mandatory, this gives you the best blend as each microphone compensates and ultimately complements the combined tone between the two mics.
However you’re using it, the SM81 is an excellent choice and the best mic for recording acoustic guitar under $500.
Under $1000
AT4050 ($699)
There are a lot of microphones which perform well in the $600-$1000 range for miking acoustic guitar.
Honestly, a lot of the microphones I covered in the sub $1000 category in my aforementioned overview on the best vocal mic work great on acoustic guitar because of their relatively flat frequency responses.
As I covered in my overview of the acoustic guitar frequency range, the practical range of the acoustic guitar in standard tuning begins at 82Hz (the frequency of the low open E string):
The Neumann 102 (or a pair of them) large-diaphragm condenser microphone is the flattest which I covered, making it an excellent choice for “what you hear is what you get”:
As you’ll find with a lot of microphones in this price point, there’s typically zero dropoff until you’re well under that fundamental of the open E string at 82Hz in standard tuning. Here’s the response for the 102:
Still, if you’ve got a slightly higher budget and are looking for a great microphone for recording acoustic guitar without breaking the bank, I’m going to give the nod to the AT4050 from Audio Technica for a few reasons:
First, it’s more affordable than the Warm Audio WA-47 ($949) I mentioned in that vocal mic guide as well as the Neumann 102 (again, $749).
Secondly, it has a beautifully flat frequency response on the low end with a bit of play to bring out more of the string punch and brightness on the top end:
Lastly and like the WA-47, the AT4050 has multiple polar patterns.
Every other microphone I’ve covered from the Neumann 102 and the less expensive options from earlier have all been cardioid patterned, meaning what they face is what they pick up/can record.
Specifically, I like the AT4050 for its Figure-8 pattern, also known as bidirectional pattern:
This means that it will record what’s immediately in front of AND behind it.
Why does this matter in acoustic guitar recording? This allows you to do the mid-side mic technique – an acoustic guitar recording technique which gives you a naturally full and wide sound with a lot of mix versatility.
The catch is it requires a bidirectional microphone as one of the two as I demonstrated in my overview of how to do the mid-side mic technique:
As you can see from the illustration above, it’s a bit more involved than the other techniques both in setting it up as well as once you get into the mix.
It’s well worth it, however, and I love to combine my SM81 and AT4050 in doing mid side recording for two excellent and full sounding recordings of the acoustic with the SM81 obviously being the cardioid microphone panned in the middle and the AT4050 being the split left and right.
You can then blend in more or less of those AT4050 tracks to add width as you like and as the context in the mix calls for it.
Best Mic For Recording Acoustic Guitar
There you have it, four distinct options for all price points and budgets for capturing your acoustic guitar either on their own or in a multi microphone setup.
Note that while it’s not necessary in the least, it’s worth mentioning that some producers like to double up the same microphone for ensuring they get the most similar tone when using two microphones to record the acoustic guitar, so that’s always an option, as well.
You’ll see microphones being sold as pairs a lot of times for this very reason, whether it’s for miking an acoustic, overheads on drums, etc.
But one last time, my pick for the best mic for recording acoustic guitar at each price point:
- For budgets under $100, the Shure SM57 is the odd dynamic mic out but makes for a sturdy and popular microphone which can have a lot of applications in your studio. Just be aware of its weak low end response and don’t go any closer to the neck than the 12th fret.
- For budgets under $250, the Audio Technica AT2035 is a versatile microphone for acoustic guitar and vocals alike and is great for getting a decent low and mid presence with a bit of top end shine.
- For budgets under $500, the Shure SM81 is a wonderfully flat microphone at its price point for warmly representing the tone you hear on your acoustic in its recordings. An added bonus is its long and thin shape which I find makes it easier to position for solo as well as multi mic setups.
- For budgets under $1000, the Neumann 102 is an excellent flat microphone to give you exactly what you hear when you play, but the Audio Technica AT4050 gives you the added polar patterns so that you can do some mid side recording with a second microphone to get arguably the fullest and most versatile tone in your mix.
