Shure KSM 44 - Acoustic Guitar Mic Shootout

[tracyeaves]

Cant beat KSM series mics, really like them

[jaegervand]

This is, perhaps, the biggest sleeper of them all. It`s super neurtral and transparent. Its transient response is in a different league and it can take a beating. "Problem" is; because of its flat character, it doesn`t sound as exiting or impressive pre processed as some of the competition. The level of processing you can apply without penalty in post production is quite something. Typical issues, such as blooming resonant frequencies on acoustic instruments are less of a problem on this than on most large diaphagms; mainly because of the tight and resolved character. I find that I don't have to bring the resonant freqencies down as much, which again reduces band ringing, which again makes for greater flexibility throughout the processing chain.
I know a couple of Neumann sponsored engineers who pull this one out of the drawer when no one's looking, and these guys can use whatever they want. This microphone is for the big boys, but the price tag suggests that it's a microphone for aspiring home studio owners - who of most don't have enough experience to pick up these qualities.