shotgun mic recommendations (NTG2, AT897)

[fluxmonkey]

i'm trying to record some VERY quiet sounds... almost microscopic scraping and tapping on prepared stringed instruments. contact mics get the sounds, but the noise (and sometimes stray instrument body sound) is unacceptable. regular mics i've tried (Rode NT5, AT4040) pick up too much room/ambient sound--also, getting in close enough interferes with musician's hands.

i've seen shotgun mics recommended in this kind of situation, and either th Rode NTG2 or Audio-Technica AT897 fit my budget... anybody have have experience with these (or similar), particularly in an this application? pros/cons of either one?

bbob

[norton]

I've got a Neumann shotgun and have used it both in studio and procuction-for-picture situations.

Like any shotgun....it's got a focused pickup pattern and will give you a ton of detail, but it won't really help with quiet sources.

I'd say a super powerful clean preamp would be much more helpful with that. A fast, clean powerful preamp with say...70db of gain and a fairly high output mic should do the trick. Maybe a sdc?

[jhharvest]

Cheap shotguns sound terrible if there are any reflections coming from off-axis. I honestly can't see a cheap shotgun picking up anything useful for you in a studio. At the very least, don't buy one unless you're guaranteed you can return it.