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Post by bluesholyman on Dec 4, 2023 7:46:40 GMT -6
I have very limited budget for mics right now ($0) but stumbled over a pair of pro37r's that I can probably get for about $150. I tried them out on my D-35 and while still working on mic placement, I liked what I heard. For context, at the same time, I tested out a pair of Shure BG 4.1's using same setup/placement as well as a pair of Saramonic SDC from Amazon for $50 (SR-M500) that I got some time ago on a whim. Reference monitors are pair of Focal Shape Twin 5s, recorded through ProTools Carbon, no processing.
I tried the BG 4.1s first and liked what I heard, thought it wasn't a bad sound. Then I tried the PR37r's next and it sounded like the guitar opened up. The Shures sounded dull in the upper mids by comparison, bit of a blanket on the sound. Neither sounded harsh or tinny up high.
Next I tried the Saramonic's and they were closer to the Pro37s than the Shures. I was expecting them to be harsh and bright but it wasn't that way at all. If anything, they lacked a bit of clarity and sounded less complex in the upper mids, less definition, but I felt like I had to listen for it.
Between all those, I decided to use the pro37s for now until I can afford something better. These will be used for demo recordings more than anything. I used a set of KM184s a very long time ago and just don't remember what they sounded like - been too long.
Just wondering if anyone has thoughts on the pro37s for acoustic and what would be a good worthwhile "next step up" in the SDC condensor department for acoustics.
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Post by drumsound on Dec 4, 2023 10:56:31 GMT -6
I've used Pro 37s on acoustic guitars A TON of times. The sound great on acoustics, very lively sounding. I especially like them in a busy production, because they are voiced in such a way that the acoustic is present without any 'extra' work to make the poke through.
I often use an XY pair pointed at the 12-14 fret. They are great little mics. I think I have 4
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Post by jaba on Dec 4, 2023 13:43:53 GMT -6
I've used Pro 37s on acoustic guitars A TON of times. The sound great on acoustics, very lively sounding. I especially like them in a busy production, because they are voiced in such a way that the acoustic is present without any 'extra' work to make the poke through. I often use an XY pair pointed at the 12-14 fret. They are great little mics. I think I have 4 I second this. Great for busy productions (though I have a pair I would usually use a single mic in these cases). Not my go-to for leaner productions but it could certainly work, especially if the guitar was on the dull side. |
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Post by robo on Dec 4, 2023 14:40:21 GMT -6
Those are solid mics. You can get some nice recordings with them.
If you’re looking to step up, check out Serrano 84’s. Those are my favorite SDC’s on acoustics. The omni caps are great for strumming, and the “vintage” caps are great for a sparse arrangement when you don’t need as much cut. I’d take them over km184’s, and I might even take them over km84’s just for maintenance concerns.
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Dec 4, 2023 14:57:06 GMT -6
For the money, hard to beat. It’s not an 84 or Schoeps at a $170 new or $100 used you are not going to beat it. The only thing for me is a couple that I used really needed a shock mount, used when I looked at the years ago a good shock mount was almost as much as the mic, but these days you can probably find a useable shock on Amazon for less than $30. I don’t like used shock mount’s to often someone kept the mic in the mount and the elastic bands have lost their elasticity, and you either pay as much for new elastic band as a new one or are told to use hair band's.
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Post by ab101 on Dec 4, 2023 17:26:26 GMT -6
Samar MG32 or MG33 should be a consideration.
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Dec 4, 2023 17:41:14 GMT -6
Samar MG32 or MG33 should be a consideration. Definitely, I was going to suggest them, but when I looked at the current used prices of The AT I saw how much cheaper they are. The Samara looks like a steal, but you could get a new pair of AT’s for the price of a Samara! Plus I have a gut feeling Mark is going to have his hands full with the 31 and 32, mics that definitely can compete above their weight class and a Side address. Plus with the price to performance ratio of the Samara I see used prices for mics like the AT’s dropping because guys are going to sell them to get Samara. |
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Post by Ward on Dec 4, 2023 17:45:41 GMT -6
Samar MG32 or MG33 should be a consideration. Definitely, I was going to suggest them, but when I looked at the current used prices of The AT I saw how much cheaper they are. The Samara looks like a steal, but you could get a new pair of AT’s for the price of a Samars! By that measure, one could buy 10 MXLs for the price of one Pro37  LOL I'd prefer one Seranno 84 or one Samar MG32 |
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Post by knucklehead89 on Dec 4, 2023 18:03:39 GMT -6
Funny I just did a mic shootout on acoustic guitar today and this one of the mics lol I agree with what everyone said above. It actually may have one of my favorites if the track was a full rock song or production and needs to be a bit leaner and pop through. It’ll work great for and glad I finally tried it on acoustic. But I also agree that if the acoustic guitar is kind of the bed of the track and very important and needs to carry more weight, this won’t be my
Pick. Ultimately I went with a modded Apex 460 with a 47 style capsule, SM7 for a little nose, an ATM450 for that upper midrange/top end and just a bit of a Cole’s 4038.
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Post by knucklehead89 on Dec 4, 2023 18:05:32 GMT -6
Side note. Don’t sleep on the MXL 830 mics you can find super cheap then head over to Microphone Parts website and snag one of their capsules to screw on. They sound great. I would pick it over the Pro37 but they weren’t far apart
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Post by Ward on Dec 4, 2023 19:07:03 GMT -6
Funny I just did a mic shootout on acoustic guitar today and this one of the mics lol I agree with what everyone said above. It actually may have one of my favorites if the track was a full rock song or production and needs to be a bit leaner and pop through. It’ll work great for and glad I finally tried it on acoustic. But I also agree that if the acoustic guitar is kind of the bed of the track and very important and needs to carry more weight, this won’t be my Pick. Ultimately I went with a modded Apex 460 with a 47 style capsule, SM7 for a little nose, an ATM450 for that upper midrange/top end and just a bit of a Cole’s 4038. You needed 4 mics? Wow, that's a lot of work. |
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Post by copperx on Dec 4, 2023 21:26:44 GMT -6
For the money, hard to beat. It’s not an 84 or Schoeps at a $170 new or $100 used you are not going to beat it. The only thing for me is a couple that I used really needed a shock mount, used when I looked at the years ago a good shock mount was almost as much as the mic, but these days you can probably find a useable shock on Amazon for less than $30. I don’t like used shock mount’s to often someone kept the mic in the mount and the elastic bands have lost their elasticity, and you either pay as much for new elastic band as a new one or are told to use hair band's. You can find Oktava 012s for $100 if lucky. Are the Pro37s better than the Oktavas for acoustic? |
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Dec 4, 2023 21:33:05 GMT -6
For the money, hard to beat. It’s not an 84 or Schoeps at a $170 new or $100 used you are not going to beat it. The only thing for me is a couple that I used really needed a shock mount, used when I looked at the years ago a good shock mount was almost as much as the mic, but these days you can probably find a useable shock on Amazon for less than $30. I don’t like used shock mount’s to often someone kept the mic in the mount and the elastic bands have lost their elasticity, and you either pay as much for new elastic band as a new one or are told to use hair band's. You can find Oktava 012s for $100 if lucky. Are the Pro37s better than the Oktavas for acoustic? I have only used the stock capsule and wasn’t impressed, I find the AT more useable but it’s really a personal preference. I’ll admit the early MXL’s just didn’t do it for me, to each his own I guess. |
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Post by knucklehead89 on Dec 4, 2023 21:44:44 GMT -6
Funny I just did a mic shootout on acoustic guitar today and this one of the mics lol I agree with what everyone said above. It actually may have one of my favorites if the track was a full rock song or production and needs to be a bit leaner and pop through. It’ll work great for and glad I finally tried it on acoustic. But I also agree that if the acoustic guitar is kind of the bed of the track and very important and needs to carry more weight, this won’t be my Pick. Ultimately I went with a modded Apex 460 with a 47 style capsule, SM7 for a little nose, an ATM450 for that upper midrange/top end and just a bit of a Cole’s 4038. You needed 4 mics? Wow, that's a lot of work. needed? Absolutely not! Just for a little fun and to have options when I go to mix. 460 can make it happen with a little EQ |
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Post by knucklehead89 on Dec 4, 2023 21:46:36 GMT -6
You can find Oktava 012s for $100 if lucky. Are the Pro37s better than the Oktavas for acoustic? I have only used the stock capsule and wasn’t impressed, I find the AT more useable but it’s really a personal preference. I’ll admit the early MXL’s just didn’t do it for me, to each his own I guess. Agreed, The stock MXL 830 is not a good microphone. The microphone parts capsule completely changes the microphone. |
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Post by drumsound on Dec 4, 2023 23:51:29 GMT -6
For the money, hard to beat. It’s not an 84 or Schoeps at a $170 new or $100 used you are not going to beat it. The only thing for me is a couple that I used really needed a shock mount, used when I looked at the years ago a good shock mount was almost as much as the mic, but these days you can probably find a useable shock on Amazon for less than $30. I don’t like used shock mount’s to often someone kept the mic in the mount and the elastic bands have lost their elasticity, and you either pay as much for new elastic band as a new one or are told to use hair band's. You can find Oktava 012s for $100 if lucky. Are the Pro37s better than the Oktavas for acoustic? They are different. I mostly prefer the Pro37 in a production with electric guitars, and keyboard, lots of vocals ets. On their own, the Oktava is a little bigger sounding, so if the acoustic is the main chordal instrument, the Oktava might be better. That said, I've done a ton of acoustic based things with a pair of Pro 37s on acoustic and a U87 or AT 4050 in figure 8 as the vocal, and whatever mood I was in a pair of room mics. |
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Post by drumsound on Dec 4, 2023 23:52:52 GMT -6
Also, the Pro 37 is surprisingly good on high gain guitar setups. Usually at about a 45º angle to the speaker.
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Post by mcirish on Dec 5, 2023 7:10:34 GMT -6
I'm a pretty big AT fan and have many of their mics. But, if I could only have one acoustic mic, it would be the Oktava 012. Sounds exactly like a KM84 when close mixing. I got my pair cheap ($100) over 20 years ago. Really great mic that is fairly neutral but will bring the guitar a bit forward, like a KM84 does.
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Post by dok on Dec 5, 2023 15:15:18 GMT -6
I'm a pretty big AT fan and have many of their mics. But, if I could only have one acoustic mic, it would be the Oktava 012. Sounds exactly like a KM84 when close mixing. I got my pair cheap ($100) over 20 years ago. Really great mic that is fairly neutral but will bring the guitar a bit forward, like a KM84 does. I've never used a KM84 (or a 184) but after having dozens of other mics in here, I always come back to the MK012 pair on acoustics - it's the top end that does it for me, especially through a transformer coupled preamp. I keep TRYING to upgrade my SDCs but I guess I'm just used to what these do. |
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Post by jacobamerritt on Dec 5, 2023 15:40:20 GMT -6
I've used Pro 37s on acoustic guitars A TON of times. The sound great on acoustics, very lively sounding. I especially like them in a busy production, because they are voiced in such a way that the acoustic is present without any 'extra' work to make the poke through. I often use an XY pair pointed at the 12-14 fret. They are great little mics. I think I have 4 What are your thoughts on those Muro Acoustics SDCs?? |
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Post by drumsound on Dec 5, 2023 21:19:37 GMT -6
I've used Pro 37s on acoustic guitars A TON of times. The sound great on acoustics, very lively sounding. I especially like them in a busy production, because they are voiced in such a way that the acoustic is present without any 'extra' work to make the poke through. I often use an XY pair pointed at the 12-14 fret. They are great little mics. I think I have 4 What are your thoughts on those Muro Acoustics SDCs?? I like them so far, though I'm not a fan of the style of switches for HPF and PAD. I haven't had a chance to use them on acoustic for more than a few minutes (long story, pilot error...) but they sounded good for that brief time. I'm liking them on overheads and mandolin. Plus (and I know it doesn't matter) they're cool looking. |
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LOL 
