Pg81

[sniixer]

(this post has no red thread, be warned)
I have to admit.. I dont what a good microphone sounds like. Or why a cheap microphone sounds bad. The same goes with converters. (I look forward to the day when I can explain why my Fostex converters sound bad, to me they sound fine)
TOday I recorded a saxophone/drum duo, an acustic concert. I placed 2 AKG c451b, 2 ,5 meters in the air, 2 meter in front of the musicians.(in an XY or ORTF) And 1 pg81 in front of the saxophone. (It was the drummers idea, I`m glad i was allowed to do this!.)The pg81 microphone sounds quite good. And I dont know if a Neumann mic instead would have made a difference!?

I used a fostex vf160ex recorder, and although I cranked the preamps quite high, there is almost no noise on the recording.(well, if I turn the volume up on quiet parts, there is some. But this doesnt bother me much.) The last concert I recroded had a lot of noise, even though I used better preamps. So I am thinking that the noise-floor of the recording equipment is not really that important, when it comes to live concerts, because the noise in the recording environment will usually be higher.
The recording sounds quite good, but no CD-quality (well, I have heard jazz-CD`s that sound worse)

 

[mshilarious]

The pg81 microphone sounds quite good. And I dont know if a Neumann mic instead would have made a difference!?

The PG81 could be well suited to a sax, since it's not very bright. You would definitely note a difference between the PG81 and a Neumann, but you might prefer either.

So I am thinking that the noise-floor of the recording equipment is not really that important, when it comes to live concerts, because the noise in the recording environment will usually be higher.

Yes, that's true. Noise in recording equipment is usually low. What makes the difference between an expensive mic and a low-end mic is not the noise floor, it's frequency response, transient response, off-axis response, distortion, things like that.

 

[dgatwood]

Yes, that's true. Noise in recording equipment is usually low. What makes the difference between an expensive mic and a low-end mic is not the noise floor, it's frequency response, transient response, off-axis response, distortion, things like that.

Depends on how cheap. I've got a cheap mid-side electret condenser that cost... I think my father said $20 in the late 70s or early 80s from Radio Shack. The noise floor is objectionable when I have used it for solo piano with vocals in a studio or classical concert recording in a hall. It's okay as long as I bury it in a sufficiently dense mix.

That said, for mics in the "don't suck" range, yes.