Ideal mic for small body Martin guitar/

[sirpicksalot]

My set up is this... Mac computer/Garageband, M-Audio MK2 Fast Track, Martin Guitar 000CXE which is a small body guitar. I have a low end dynamic Shure mic and a tube mic. Both of these have given me minimal results with much experimentation with mic placement etc. I have also tried blending the tube mic recording with the guitar directly plugged in to the interface. This sounds "ok".... Nothing spectacular. So now I'm on the market for a new mic in the 200 to 250 price range. After looking on forums a lot of people seem to speak highly of the RODE NT1 and the Rode NT5 mics. I also hear great things about the Oktava Mk012 but I can't find that microphone anywhere online for my price range. Plus I'm a little scared of buying that one because I read that there are a lot of fakes out there now and I don't want to get scammed. I mention the small body guitar because it isn't going to give the same results with mics as a regular full body. This is not a loud guitar. My recording results thus far vary from boomy, to muddy, to overly mid-range-y, to too thin. I just can't find a good balance.

I can't upgrade my audio interface at this point. So the M Audio Fast Track with its built in pre-amp is what I have to work with. I have no mixer. Its all going straight in to the MAC.

So can you please direct me to the magical mic that will solve all my problems and make it so I don't have to spend any more money??? ha! (Wishful thinking I know.)

(And the recordings will be primarily acoustic guitar with vocals. No other instruments)

(Any post recording tips for Garageband with acoustic guitar would be appreciated as well if you have experience with it.)

[Boswell]

See replies to your post on the same topic in Budget Gear.