The microphone thread.

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i thought I'd start a thread for people to post about what microphones they have and what they use them for and any advice you have from your experience with different Mic's. I have become quite interested in different Mic's and would like to read about others experiences and advice on differing models and their uses. So what do people use and what are you GAS'ing for?

i have a Shure SM57 and a rode NT1-A I have yet to decide if I want/need another (GAS is dictating that I do!). I look forward to reading your posts.
Tomorrow will be a good day.
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Comments

  • StuckfastStuckfast Frets: 2393
    I may possibly own one or two too many microphones.
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  • zepp76zepp76 Frets: 2534
    Stuckfast said:
    I may possibly own one or two too many microphones.
    What are your favourites? And what do you use them for? Recording or live use?
    Tomorrow will be a good day.
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  • StuckfastStuckfast Frets: 2393
    Recording mainly, though I do quite a lot of live recording.

    My favourites aren't always the ones I use the most -- the older models can be a bit temperamental or noisy. But I tend to buy them because they're cool and they hold their value.

    I guess that for the usual things my first choices would be something like:

    Drum overheads: AKG C414 or a good pair of ribbons (they say the new 414s are not as good, I haven't compared them)
    Snare: Neumann KM84 or AKG D224
    Kick: still looking for a really great kick drum mic, I quite like the Beyer Opus 65 though
    Toms: AKG D19 or D224
    Male vocal: varies, but a Neumann U87 is usually a good starting point
    Female vocal: likewise, but I'll often start with a C414
    Acoustic guitar: depends, but a 414 is a pretty good bet
    Electric guitar: Sennheiser 409, Beyer M160/M260, or U87 if it's not super loud

    I also have various stereo mics that I like and often use.

    I should really stop buying microphones... but at least they are smaller than guitars and don't need restringing.
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  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378
    Oktava MK-012 are really versatile condenser mics - with a handy set of modular heads you can swap.

    SM57/8 ok, but only for loud singists/amp recording IMHO.

    Thomann do a great range of budget mics under their T-Bone brand.  My £50 big diaphragm is on (semi-permanent) loan to my God-son.
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

    Feedback
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  • PolarityManPolarityMan Frets: 7273
    Superlux are awesome value for money, ive got 2 Sennheiser 609clones and an NT-1 clone from them that are ace and also a boundary mic thats not a million iles away from a shure 91A.
    ဈǝᴉʇsɐoʇǝsǝǝɥɔဪቌ
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  • IMC1980IMC1980 Frets: 141
    Great thread idea! I have a collection of cheap entry level mics and use them for:

    SM57 - Guitar cab (dual mic in phase with a condenser)
    SM58 - Guitar cab (dual mic with 57 and grille removed)
    MXL990 - vocals (been superseded by the 4400a)
    Pure XIX - vocals and acoustic guitar
    SE X1 - not taken it out of the box yet...
    SE 4400a - vocals, guitar cab, acoustic, I love this mic.

    I also had a Rode NT2A which I sold as it had a very harsh metallic sound on my voice, sounded very nice on guitar cabs though. 
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  • CirrusCirrus Frets: 8481
    I like advocating for decent dynamic mics.

    A dynamic like an SM7b or RE20 (the two I own) but also including things like the MD441 is a lot more versatile than you might imagine - great on voices, acoustic guitars, drums, amplified stuff.

    If you want ultra-fast transient response and sizzle, there are better options. But it's important not to equate quality with frequency/ transient response - sometimes that slightly slower response makes things sound subjectively bigger, weightier, generally suits the sound better.
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  • spark240spark240 Frets: 2073
    SE3300
    SE2200
    SM58 Beta
    SM57
    Rode NT5 pair 

    Thats it...


    Mac Mini M1
    Presonus Studio One V5
     https://www.studiowear.co.uk/ -
     https://twitter.com/spark240
     Facebook - m.me/studiowear.co.uk
    Reddit r/newmusicreview 
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  • MusicwolfMusicwolf Frets: 3627
    zepp76 said:


    i have a Shure SM57 and a rode NT1-A I have yet to decide if I want/need another (GAS is dictating that I do!). I look forward to reading your posts.
    An SM57 and NT-1A are a pretty good starting point.  Either you got some good advice, did some research, got lucky or these aren't your first mics and you've achieved the result through trial and error =)

    As to the next mic (there will always be a next, there is no end to this journey), what applications will this mic be used for?  Do you need additional mics (recording more sources at once such as drums), specialist applications for which the existing two are not suitable or just getting something better?

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  • zepp76zepp76 Frets: 2534
    Musicwolf said:
    zepp76 said:


    i have a Shure SM57 and a rode NT1-A I have yet to decide if I want/need another (GAS is dictating that I do!). I look forward to reading your posts.
    An SM57 and NT-1A are a pretty good starting point.  Either you got some good advice, did some research, got lucky or these aren't your first mics and you've achieved the result through trial and error =)

    As to the next mic (there will always be a next, there is no end to this journey), what applications will this mic be used for?  Do you need additional mics (recording more sources at once such as drums), specialist applications for which the existing two are not suitable or just getting something better?

    Thank you for the encouraging words, I chose those two Mic's through some research and very sage advice from kind people on this forum. I'll be using the SM57 to record electric guitar, the NT1-A for vocals and I was thinking maybe a pair of small condenser Mic's (possibly the Rode NT5's) for recording acoustic guitar unless you could very kindly suggest something better for less spondoolies? I possibly don't need more Mic's and should make do with what I have but I've caught the bug and am enjoying the journey.
    Tomorrow will be a good day.
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  • MusicwolfMusicwolf Frets: 3627
    edited March 2019
    A pair of SDCs would seem like a sensible next step and, whilst I don't own a pair, the NT5's have a good reputation.

    I've found that I'm recording acoustic guitar a lot less these days and, when I do, I'm quite happy to use just a single NT-1 out of convenience.  A pair of NT-5s would probably give better results (although I'd get far more improvement if I just practiced with an acoustic more).

    A pair, either matched or just two of the same, are always useful to have as overheads.  If you are thinking of recording drums then a kick mic would need to go onto the list.  A pair of NT-5s, a kick mic and, if req, the SM57 on snare and you have a useful 3 / 4 mic Glyn Johns set up.
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  • zepp76zepp76 Frets: 2534
    Musicwolf said:
    A pair of SDCs would seem like a sensible next step and, whilst I don't own a pair, the NT5's have a good reputation.

    I've found that I'm recording acoustic guitar a lot less these days and, when I do, I'm quite happy to use just a single NT-1 out of convenience.  A pair of NT-5s would probably give better results (although I'd get far more improvement if I just practiced with an acoustic more).

    A pair, either matched or just two of the same, are always useful to have as overheads.  If you are thinking of recording drums then a kick mic would need to go onto the list.  A pair of NT-5s, a kick mic and, if req, the SM57 on snare and you have a useful 3 / 4 mic Glyn Johns set up.
    I won't be needing Mic's for drums as I'm just using an Alesis SR18 drum machine for simple beats (not really simple as I've yet to get my head around using the SR18!).
    Tomorrow will be a good day.
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  • Winny_PoohWinny_Pooh Frets: 7732
    edited March 2019
    It really depends on application and your budget.
    For vocals I use an SE Gemini ii, Pearlman Tm-1 or an md421. Same for acoustics but an SE voodoo ribbon in place of the md421.
    For guitar amps a general purpose condensor, baby bottle, E906 or a ribbon blended. 
    For drums, loads incl an RE20 for kick, beyer m201 for snare/toms. Budget SDCs sound too sharp for overheads so it's ribbons or LDCs unless I can get a pair of M-Geffels at some point. 
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  • revsorgrevsorg Frets: 874
    Surely this is relevant.  I had no idea how complex their mic setup is, and Mick says at one point in this video that they don't spend as much time on it as they'd like.  When he eventually demonstrates the mid side mic thing it's like - wow!


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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357

    We sold a lot of mics when I left the studio, keeping only the ones more suited to live recording as still do plenty of that. 

    Dynamic wise we still have loads of 58's and 57's plus the very under rated Behringer XM8500's . For kick and bass we have Shure Beta 52 and AKG D112.
    Condensor wise we have Shure SM81's, SE2200's ... Pulse boundry mics, home made mic's ... vintage ex BBC stereo XY mics and a few other bits and pieces. Complete set of Senn 9 series as well for drums and guitars plus 945 for vocals.

    In the early days of the studio we sometimes spent hours putting different mics into different positions around drums and using multiple mics as room mics. I remember dangling mics from the ceiling over drums and putting room mics 10 metres away at floor level and smashing the audio with compressors. 

    Basically I learnt what mic you use depends not only on what instrument your gonna record but what else is going on at the same time. So you won't go far wrong with a 57 on guitar if it's fairly loud and nothing else is playing but it your tracking a whole band a 906 is a better bet for keeping out the sound of drums and other instruments. 

    Drum wise I found the mic's were almost irreverent.  You could (and we did) stick 3k's worth of mics around a drum kit but if the drummer wasn't up to much it still sounded like a bag of shit. Get a good recording drummer and all you need are 2 overheads and a kick mic ... not even a kick mic sometimes if going for an ol'skool Led Zep or Radiohead vibe. 

    This is 2 SE2200A's used as room mics about 6 metres from the kit  ... around half a metre off the ground going into a Rane compressor ... love that sound

    http://www.2020studios.co.uk/Big_Room_drums.mp3

    Vocal wise I tended to have problems with the pre amps ... basically with no money left we were using the stock pre amps on the Tascam DM4800 which were clean but suffered with noise at high gain levels and could run out of headroom and clip ... to the point I would record one rough take of the vox and then use that as a visual to what was gonna be coming in and I then rode the gain on the pre amp rather than compress on the way in. Almost all vocals were done with the good old  SE2200A condensor .... absolute belting mic for the money


    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • CirrusCirrus Frets: 8481
    Mid Side is amazing, and can be a total mind-fuck when you're trying to work out the way the M & S components interact with each other in the reality of there just being a left signal and right signal (ie, no matter what, you're *listening* to 2-channel stereo).
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  • StuckfastStuckfast Frets: 2393
    @Danny1969 I'm curious about your ex BBC stereo mics, what are they?
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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357
    Stuckfast said:
    @Danny1969 I'm curious about your ex BBC stereo mics, what are they?
    They are in the lockup, not been used in years but I think they are Philips ... EL something maybe. They have a Y cable and switchable pattern which is extremely effective when used as drum overheads. They take batteries. 

    The BBC actually etch BBC in the metal body of the mic ... that's how I know ours are ex BBC :)
    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • StuckfastStuckfast Frets: 2393
    Intriguing! Would love to see a pic if you have one. I have a lovely ex BBC stereo mic that was made by Pearl in Sweden, quite possibly my favourite of the lot.
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  • The mics I use in the house is 57 for electric guitars and vocals when recording acoustic at the same time, an Oktava 012 for acoustic and an Oktava 319 for vocals. 
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