I am a duduk-player and have been making home studio-recordings for releases with my Motu M6 and Macbook for the past 5-6 years. I'm on a limited budget, which doesn't allow me to buy the very expensive studio condenser microphones, so I have been trying out some of the more budget-friendly options.
My very first recordings were done with a Scarlett condenser microphone that came in a bundle with my previous audio-interface and later I tried a bit with a Rode NT1. Both sounded good to me back then, but I soon felt the need to upgrade, as they sounded a bit hard and cold compared to other recordings.
I recently tried the Shure SM7B and found that I got a nicer, warmer and richer sound with it, but also that you have to use it as a close-mike and thus loose a little bit of ambience that the duduk has from a distance.
My latest try is an AKG C214 and I am really happy with it so far. It gives me the most woody and warm sound I have tried so far while still keeping the airy space of the duduk-sound, as I can use it as an overhead with a little more distance from the duduk.
To my ears, the instrument sounds just as good, or sometimes even better, than a lot of the other recordings out there, and if you consider the price, this mike is a marvel for people on a limited budget.
