Best Microphones For Miking Ukulele

The ukulele is perhaps the most famous Hawaiian instrument in the world (though it technically has Portuguese roots). It's known for its nimble, gentle sound.

So what's the best way to capture this nimble, gentle sound? It all starts with the microphone, so let's talk about my two top recommendations for ukulele mics:

Neumann KM 184: The Neumann KM 184 (link to check the price on Amazon) is a small diaphragm condenser microphone that works incredibly well on string instruments at close and distant mic positions. This microphone sounds particularly fantastic on nylon-stringed instruments like the ukulele.
Shure SM81: The Shure SM81 (link to check the price on Amazon) is another excellent small diaphragm condenser microphone that I'd recommend trying on ukulele. This microphone is less expensive than the KM 184 and sounds nearly as awesome on the ukulele.

We’ll get to the specifics of each of these mics shortly, but first let’s talk a bit more about the sound of a ukulele.

Related My New Microphone articles:
• Top 11 Best Online Resources To Learn How To Play Ukulele
• Top 11 Best Ukulele Brands On The Market

Disclaimer:

“Best” is a dangerous word. There is really no such thing as a “best microphone” for any situation. The microphone(s) listed in my Recommended Microphones And Accessories” page are simply my recommendations. These recommendations are based on my own experience and are mindful of budget. It would be easy to suggest an ELA M 251 or U47 for most scenarios. However, these tube mics are very expensive, putting them out of a hobbyist's price range and making it difficult for professionals to make their money back on the gear.

Another important note is that the microphone or equipment you choose is not the most important part of recording audio. In fact, there are many factors that are arguably more important than the choice of microphone. These include:

Performer (whether a musician, speaker, or otherwise)
Instrument
Microphone technique/placement
Number of microphones used
Natural sound of the room
Content (whether that's the song, discussion, or otherwise)
Signal chain (including mic cable, preamplifier, console, and/or interface/computer)

With that being said, some microphones and gear suit some instruments better than others, prompting this series of articles under “Recommended Microphones And Accessories.”

What Does A Ukulele Sound Like?

When choosing a microphone for any application, it's to our great advantage to know the characteristics of the sound source. So what does a ukulele sound like?

The ukulele is a string instrument with 4 nylon strings.

Though the ukulele does produce both even and odd harmonics, the nylon strings do not produce a great amount of overtones, which yields the warm, mellow sound of the ukulele.

The ukulele has an outer shell, a hollow body and sound holes that provide natural amplification. The outer shell helps to project the higher frequencies of the ukulele while the hollow body and sound hole amplify the lower, fundamental frequencies.

There are various types of ukuleles that differ in size and pitch, though the soprano ukulele is the most common.

The sound of the ukulele is, of course, more than the notes played. There's also the characteristic sound of the strumming of the ukulele as well as string noise as the player moves positions.

Frequency Range Of Soprano Ukulele

Overall Range: 262 ~ 15,000 Hz
Fundamentals range: 262 Hz – 1,047 Hz (C4-C6) standard 4-string 15 frets
Harmonics range: 524 Hz ~ 15,000 Hz

So we want a microphone that will accurately capture the true sound of the ukulele. Knowing the fundamental frequencies and the harmonics of the ukulele is a great place to start. On top of this, there are a few more criteria to keep in mind when choosing the best ukulele microphone.

What Makes An Ideal Ukulele Microphone?

Let's discuss a short list of the critical specifications that make up a great ukulele microphone:

Flat frequency response: Choose a microphone with a flat frequency response to accurately capture the sound of a ukulele. Although the harmonic content of uke strings isn't very strong in the high-frequencies, having extended high-end helps to capture the air and character of the ukulele and room it's in.
Low-frequency roll-off: The ukulele is a high-pitched instrument (the lowest fundamental of the common uke being C4 or ~ 262 Hz). Therefore, we shouldn't worry about capturing the low end when miking a ukulele.
Accurate transient response: It's always preferable to have a pronounced transient response when miking stringed instruments. There is a lot of information in the relatively fast transients of the nylon strings of the ukulele.
Low self-noise: Condenser microphones are often the best bet for miking ukuleles. These mics are active and therefore have self-noise. Choosing a quiet active microphone will help to further capture the subtle nuances in the sound of a ukulele performance. This is doubly important since ukulele are not very loud.
Directionality: Select a directional microphone to better suit the various miking techniques used in recording ukulele.

So the above points should be kept in mind when choosing the best microphone for recording a ukulele. Let's talk about how the Neumann KM 184 and the Shure SM81 compare to the above criteria.

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The Neumann KM 184

The Neumann KM 184 is one of my favourite all-time microphones. I've been fortunate to have had at least one pair of these mics in all the studios I've worked in. 184s sound clean, professional, and really allow the ukulele to “pop” out in a mix and as a solo instrument. Let's review the KM 184 according to the aforementioned criteria.

The Neumann KM 184 is also featured in the following My New Microphone articles:
• 50 Best Microphones Of All Time (With Alternate Versions & Clones)
• Top Best Vintage Microphones (And Their Best Clones)
• Top Best Solid-State/FET Condenser Microphones

Neumann is featured in the following My New Microphone articles:
• Top Best Microphone Brands You Should Know And Use
• Top Best Studio Monitor Brands You Should Know And Use

Frequency Response Of The Neumann KM 184

The frequency response of the Neumann KM 184 is given as 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz. The KM 184 frequency response graph is as follows:

The KM 184 has a beautifully flat response in the range of ukulele. This means a clean, accurate capture of the instrument's harmonic content.

The gentle boost in the high frequencies helps to ever so slightly accentuate the upper harmonics of the ukulele's sound. A boost like this makes for a bright, clearer ukulele sound.

The slight roll-off in the lower frequency range helps to naturally remove rumble from the ukulele signal without causing a thinning of the sound.

For more information on microphone frequency response, check out my article Complete Guide To Microphone Frequency Response (With Mic Examples).

Transient Response Of The Neumann KM 184

Other than thin diaphragm ribbon mics, small diaphragm condensers (SDCs) offer the most accurate transient response.

Some SDCs even overshoot, producing an exaggerated transient response. However, the KM 184 is nearly spot on in capturing the true sound of the ukulele.

There’s so much information in the fast transients of ukulele strings (both in the fundamental frequencies and harmonics). The KM 184 provides a beautifully accurate reproduction of this sonic information.

Self-Noise Of The Neumann KM 184

Speaking of nuances, self-noise is an important specification to look out for when choosing a ukulele mic. The quieter the mic, the better it’s suited to capturing all the finer details of the ukulele.

The Neumann KM 184 has a self-noise rating of 13 dB-A. Although this isn’t extremely quiet, it won’t be noticeable in most iso-booths (unless the sound dampening is top-notch). This means the mic will work wonderfully in picking up the quiet sounds of the ukulele.

For more information on microphone self-noise, check out my article What Is Microphone Self-Noise? (Equivalent Noise Level).

Directionality Of The Neumann KM 184

The Neumann KM 184 is a cardioid microphone. Let’s look at its polar pattern:

Cardioid patterns work amazingly well when miking ukuleles at close range or at a distance.

For more information on the cardioid microphone polar pattern, check out my article What Is A Cardioid Microphone? (Polar Pattern + Mic Examples).

Pointing the KM 184 at a ukulele from a distance (about 4-8 feet) will capture a clean, full sound of the uke with no worries of an exaggerated bass response (due to the proximity effect). The 184 will “hear” the ukulele similarly to how our ears do naturally.

When close-miking a ukulele with a KM 184 (or any other directional mic), it’s common to point it at or near the 12th fret. The slight off-axis colouration of the 184’s cardioid pattern will help reduce the high frequencies coming from the sound hole (lower resonances) while still picking up the full character of the uke. The helps to reduce the proximity effect and capture an accurate sound when close-miking.

For more information on microphone placement, check out my article Top 23 Tips For Better Microphone Placement.

The Shure SM81

The Shure SM81 reproduces the sound of a ukulele very closely. When positioned correctly, the SM81 captures the sound of a ukulele just like our ears would in the same space.

The Shure SM81 is featured in the following My New Microphone articles:
• 50 Best Microphones Of All Time (With Alternate Versions & Clones)
• 11 Best Small-Diaphragm Condenser Microphones Under $500
• Top 11 Best Solid-State/FET Condenser Microphones

Shure is featured in the following My New Microphone articles:
• Top Best Microphone Brands You Should Know And Use
• Top Best Headphone Brands In The World
• Top Best Earphone/Earbud Brands In The World

Let's talk about this fantastic mic in more detail:

Frequency Response Of The Shure SM81

The frequency response of the Shure SM81 is given as 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz. The SM81 frequency response graph is as follows:

Image from the Shure SM81 Specification Sheet

The first thing we'd notice when looking at the graph is the 3 options we have with the SM81. There are 2 different high-pass filters (HPFs) we may engage: one gentle slope starting around 300 Hz, and a steep slope starting around 120 Hz.

For more info on high-pass filters, check out the following My New Microphone articles:
• What Is A Microphone High-Pass Filter And Why Use One?
• Audio EQ: What Is A High-Pass Filter & How Do HPFs Work?

The second thing we may notice is the “1 Meter” written below the line. This is the frequency response graph the microphone portrays at a distance of 1 meter from a ukulele (or any other sound source). This is important since the proximity effect of the SM81 means the bass response will increase as the microphone is moved closer to the sound source (due to the directionality of the SM81).

I'd suggest engaging either of the HPFs when using the SM81 on ukulele. Remember that the uke's lowest fundamental in standard tuning is 262 Hz, so engaging a HPF on the 81 won't really thin out the ukulele sound. The HPFs will, however, remove a lot of unwanted low-end rumble and hum from the ukulele signal.

More importantly, the frequency response of the SM81 is flat. This makes for a very accurate capture of the ukulele!

Transient Response Of The Shure SM81

When it comes to transient response, ribbon diaphragms are the best. However, small diaphragm condensers aren't far behind in accuracy. The Shure SM81 is nearly spot on with its responsiveness to transients.

There's so much information in the transients of the ukulele (both in the fundamental frequencies and harmonics). The SM81 captures this nuanced information accurately.

Self-Noise Of The Shure SM81

The self-noise rating of the SM81 is 16 dBA. This is noticeable in the quietest of studio rooms. However, if you're recording in a hall or chamber, the self-noise shouldn't be an issue.

Though not the best rating, the Shure SM81 is more than “quiet enough” in the vast majority of situations.

Directionality Of The Shure SM81

The Shure SM81 is a cardioid microphone with the following polar pattern diagrams:

Cardioid patterns work amazingly well when miking ukuleles at close range or at a distance.

Pointing the SM81 at a ukulele from a distance will capture a clean, full sound with no worries of exaggerated bass response (due to the proximity effect). The SM81 will reproduce the sound of the uke similarly to how our ears would naturally.

When close-miking a ukulele with an SM81, the microphone does an excellent job of “hearing” the uke while rejecting the extraneous background noises and instruments.

Let’s Recap

So these are my two top recommended microphones for ukulele. Of course, there are many microphones that sound amazing on the uke, but in considering price and setting, these are my top 2 recommended ukulele mics. Let’s recap:

Neumann KM 184: best ukulele microphone
Shure SM81: second best ukulele microphone

Honourable Mentions:

AKG C 414 XLII
Rode M5
Rode NT5
Shure SM57

For all the My New Microphone mic/gear recommendations, please check out my page Recommended Microphones And Accessories.

More Recommended Microphones

Here is a full list of my recommended microphones for instruments and sources other than ukulele with links to check out more in-depth articles on each:

This article has been approved in accordance with the My New Microphone Editorial Policy.