As I said in a similar post..... a pair of Josephson C42's

Markd102 wrote: As I said in a similar post..... a pair of Josephson C42's

Thats what I'd shoot for--even though I've never heard them.

And again, I also highly recommend the c42's. On acoustic they sound very rich and balanced without any unnatural sounding hyped frequencies.

OK thanks guys, I'm sold. I'll order a pair this afternoon. Do they ever go on sale or discount at any of the dealers?
As a follow up, if I may, what is your recommended positioning for acoustic guitar/

Thanks again,

LFY

again, does anyone drop a vote for the Rode NT5mp's?

They are okay but if you have the money it's a no-brainer to go for the josephsons.

Two methods that have worked for me:
1. Stereo pair X/Y configuration near the 12th fret, 6-12 inches away.
2. One at the 12th fret like above, the other over the right shoulder of the player. This has worked great when the song requires both solo and rythmic parts, beacuse I can pull up the shoulder mic to bury the guitar in the mix a bit more, then bring it down and the fron mic up when more attention is needed (for solos).

The josephsons are fairly bright mics, not as bright/brittle as the newer Nuemanns IME, definately not as bright as some of the other more popular SDC pairs used (shure, akg, etc...) I really really like them on classic finger-style guitar. Not so much on picked steel string guitar, for that I'd like a darker mic to tone down the noise, like a ribbon mic. The Rode nt5 is a mic that also may be a good choice if you like things relatively dark sounding, so I shouldn't be so quick to say no to it! I almost bought the NT5 when I was testing out different mics, but ended up with the Josephsons C42s instead. I too was looking at $1000 or less.

I like the sound I get with my AKG 391Bs (SE300B with CK91 Capsules). I go XY.

Came to the party late. For solo acoustic guitar, bare fingers, no nails, on high end instruments, the Josephson C42s would be fine, but perhaps not the first choice. The C42s are colored, they have a pronounced HF bell rise and fall. They're creamy and sound very good. Match that with a colored pre that the OP suggestd, a Sebatron, and that might over-color and under-represent those high end guitars being played fingerstyle with bare fingers and no nails.

Not that there are numerous other choices in the $700 to $1,000 price range, but the OP should at least consider SM81s, AT 4051s, AKG451Bs, Peluso CECM6. Might as well also hunt for used pairs of KM184s, KM84s, AKG480s, MG M300s.

Just some thoughts, given the stated application.

If you where the luckiest man in the world you would find a pair of used KM84's (not KM184's) for that price! I bought a pair for $1100 last year.
They smoke the C42's, might be worth spending some time looking for.

I'll second the KM84's...if you can pay a little more, simply one of the best non tube SDC mics you can find. KM85's are nearly the same and have a selectable HPF if memory serves correctly. They have a clearer smoother top than AT4051 and 451's I've tried.
Good luck in your search...

Those old KM84's are awesome. If you can score a pair of those in good shape then you'll be set. I also like the akg c480's and the akg blue line series.

I've heard of the K84s. Wonderful reputation.
Where do I find a set? What's a fair price?

With many major studio closings, be ready with cash in the bank
when the right deal comes along. Ebay is obviously a fair indicator
of values.

They were made as far back as early 70's, but you can check Neumanns website and its history, and once you get a pair or get a serial number....you can email Neumann, who has all of the shipping information and trips it made back to the factory which they will gladly inform you for free.

When you do a search, try KM84, KM84i, KM85, and KM85i..
Price range may start from $450 and go higher depending.....
Good luck once again,

Thanks again. I'll hold off on the Josephsons until I see what's available regarding the KM 84s. I did an ebay search and it appears there are none available at this time. I wonder if they are going to prove to be scarce. (?)
In any event, I again thank everyone for the input.

not to throw a wrench in here.. but!

you might also wanna try:

km74 (same as 84 except with t-power, not phantom)
km54,km56 (hah! just kidding.)

avenson st-1 omni pair for $500.. i've heard acoustic done with this and it sounds fantastic! you'd be suprised.

Pairs of 84s show up on eBay about once a month. Singles show up every couple of weeks. Pairs usually run into the teens, singles go for $500-750 or so, mostly depending (I would think) on stated condition.

Do check out the Peluso CECM6. You're in for a treat.

Saw this today on another newsgroup..maybe you can inquire about the KM84's.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.audio.pro/browse_thread/thread/6300a5c10f938480/a4e7169a5aa3149f?hl=en#a4e7169a5aa3149f

Best of luck