spanish guitar

[whatsnext]

I used the wrong term for the mic. The one I meant was a boundary microphone. Use that term on ebay and you can see all kinds of them. I saw a string quartet recently and that's how they were miking the performance.

 

[usekgb]

A good mic for recording guitar can be very expensive. You may want to consider renting if buying a quality mic is out of your budget. A few great mics I would suggest are:

Neumann KM84 or KM184
AKG C451B
AKG C391B
Geffell M300
Audix SCX1
Shure SM81
Shure KSM137
Shure KSM141

These are all small diaphragm mics that work very well on classical guitar and are less boomy than their large diaphragm counterparts. For large diaphragm mics, there are many more choices. Here are a few:

Neumann TLM103
Neumann U87
AKG C414B-XLII or TLII
Audix SCX25
Shure KSM32
Shure KSM44
Rode NTK
Studio Projects C3
SE Z3300A

I realize that many of these are rather expensive mics, but if you are going to get a great recording, you will need a great mic. If you are looking to get basic demo recordings, buy yourself something like a MXL603S. It will give you a good recording and won't break the bank. If you are looking to record something serious for release, either save up and buy a good mic, or rent one during your session.

As for sound cards, the M-Audio stuff is really hard to beat for the money. You may also want to look at the Lexicon Omega, or the Tascam FW-1804. The mic pre's on these are much better than the M-Audio stuff, and you can use your choice of software unlike the Digidesign M-Box.

Cheers,
Zach