Are there any glaring holes in my mic closet?

Muddy T-Bone

Muddy T-Bone

New member
So far I've been very happy with the various mics in my closet. I record vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, resonator guitar, electric guitar, various percussion instruments, like shakers, tambo etc.

Are there any glaring holes in my mic closet? I will say I am considering another SDC (possibly Pro37) for X-Y recordings.

Shure SM57
Shure SM 58
Marshall MXL 910 -MDC
AT Pro37 pencil-SDC
AT 4040 -LDC
AKG C414 XLII

I feel like the only thing I'm missing is a nice pair of SDC's in cardioid pattern to record XY. I could buy another Pro37, however they only go out to 15k, so I'm not sure about another one. Having said that, the mic is just fine in the applications that I've used it for.
 
If the mics you have are doing the job and you're happy, save your cash.

If you do look for a decent pair of SDCs though, try shure sm81s or oktava mk012s.
I don't feel the need to upgrade my sm81s at all; I love 'em.
 
i'd second the sm81's, great mics and even better as a pair. Maybe also consider something like an ev d868 for bass amps, drums/perc, etc. but also as already stated, if you don't feel you're truly lacking anything or unable to get what you want with your current mics, then save your money for other things music or non-music related.
 
BigJoe said:
i'd second the sm81's, great mics and even better as a pair. Maybe also consider something like an ev d868 for bass amps, drums/perc, etc. but also as already stated, if you don't feel you're truly lacking anything or unable to get what you want with your current mics, then save your money for other things music or non-music related.
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OK, that's 2 votes for the SM81. I'll have to research those, thanks.

Most of mine work really well for me. So far the only good use of the MXL is to use it as room ambience mic. It's not good for anything else that I have found. The Pro 37 is decent, but I'm still up in the air about buying a second one for XY. I need to look at the SM81's

Thanks guys.
 
Steenamaroo said:
If the mics you have are doing the job and you're happy, save your cash.

If you do look for a decent pair of SDCs though, try shure sm81s or oktava mk012s.
I don't feel the need to upgrade my sm81s at all; I love 'em.
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Steen,

What do you typically record with the SM81 and MK012's?

Also, you said SM81's, so you have 2? Do you use them in XY?
 
Steenamaroo said:
If the mics you have are doing the job and you're happy, save your cash.

If you do look for a decent pair of SDCs though, try shure sm81s or oktava mk012s.
Click to expand...

I pretty much agree with this. The only thing i'd add is if you've got some money burning a hole in your pocket i'd be tempted to add a ribbon mic to that list. For things like acoustic guitars and electric guitar they're just ace! In fact i read an article the other day from the guy who recorded Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" and he said all the percussion parts were recorded with ribbons mics, even though the norm had been to use condensers. He said he preferred the sound of the transient response of ribbons. Then again, you need a lot of clean gain on your preamps for ribbon mics, and if you're happy enough with what you've got it's certainly far from an essential purchase.

Although i only have very limited experience with the SM81's, i've had lot with MK012's in various stereo micing applications and love them to bits for acoustic guitars and drum overheads. I don't use them in X-Y very often because i normally prefer a spaced pair, but when i have used them in X-Y they've produced great results, offering a focused sound with just the right amount of space
 
sE Electronics sE1A are lovely mics and fairly affordable. There's a stereo pair option though I find their quality control is good enough that I find I can just pair up any two of the six I own.

Highly recommended.
 
I 2nd the ribbon mic. I just got the MXL 860, I love it (though I have never used any other ribbon) use it on just about every thing I track with, guitar cab, acoustic, & experimenting on ambiance micing on drums.
 
fuzzsniffvoyage said:
I 2nd the ribbon mic. I just got the MXL 860, I love it (though I have never used any other ribbon) use it on just about every thing I track with, guitar cab, acoustic, & experimenting on ambiance micing on drums.
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Oooohh, i've been waiting for someone to pick up the MXL 860 to hear their opinion of it. I saw the "Mic locker" set appear recently and the 860 was the one from the bunch that caught my eye. Did you get the set or just the ribbon? How are you finding it? Any clips you'd care to share?

And i'd 2nd bobbsy's sE1a suggestion. Great workhorse SDC's and very reasonably priced. We've got three in our mic cupboard at work and although we bought them at different times and never as a matched pair, we've never had any problems using them in stereo micing applications :)
 
I agree that you need a stereo pair. If you're happy with the one you have, by all means, get another. I like the idea of a ribbon, but I'm not a big fan of the cheap Chinese ones, like Cascade Fathead. I wouldn't get into ribbons until I was ready to lay out the bucks for AEA or Royer. I don't see a dedicated low frequency mic, or a top of the line dynamic, which limits your options on guitar cabs and percussion, and for that matter, vocals. But- note that you *do* have a stereo pair for MS stereo recording- the C414 and the Pro37 should work rather well together, or the C414 and the AT4040.
 
Richard Monroe said:
I agree that you need a stereo pair. If you're happy with the one you have, by all means, get another. I like the idea of a ribbon, but I'm not a big fan of the cheap Chinese ones, like Cascade Fathead. I wouldn't get into ribbons until I was ready to lay out the bucks for AEA or Royer. I don't see a dedicated low frequency mic, or a top of the line dynamic, which limits your options on guitar cabs and percussion, and for that matter, vocals. But- note that you *do* have a stereo pair for MS stereo recording- the C414 and the Pro37 should work rather well together, or the C414 and the AT4040.
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Richard,

I've tried MS with all 3 combinations and it sounded terrible. I went back through my notes and found out why. I failed to duplicate a track from the c414 and flip one out of phase. Now I want to try this again.
 
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