Been given a Neumann TLM 170 - is it really necessary?

Now I'm curious. What are "newky browns"?

To the OP: Use your ears. Record with both mics, compare. Take your time. And have some newky browns :D
 
Now I'm curious. What are "newky browns"?

To the OP: Use your ears. Record with both mics, compare. Take your time. And have some newky browns :D

newky browns = Newcastle Brown Ale.

Dave is renowned for his argot. You get used to it in time.
 
Like the humour :)

Played back some audio last night and seriously, I teared up a little. Not joking there. The sound I now have is just perfect. I can hear nothing but my pure unadulterated voice. The clarity is exceptional and I'm now hearing the subtlety I didn't know was missing.

As you know, I came into this a cynic, but am now utterly convinced that this microphone was made for my voice. That's also something I used to scoff at; I mean, how can one bit of metal with a grill over the end be so different to another? I guess that I'll always be happy to not know the 'why', and just appreciate that it works.

Is it really possible that microphones are like marriages made in heaven, they rarely happen, but when they do... wow! I'm now adamant that the Millennia STT-1 Origin can wait. I've told them to keep it for now. I'm afraid that any change will alter the sound. Rather like putting new varnish onto a Stradivarius violin. I'm changing nothing. Also, the Millennia has too many knobs and buttons. I'll end up doing something stupid.

I think that I mentioned this earlier: I expected it to pickup more background/room. This has not been the case. My recording space is a very thin, long oblong, with two large - tall as a person - professional sound baffles front and rear. [Edit] Each baffle is nearly as wide as the short side of that oblong. The best sound to my ear is using the DB setting on the knurled dial. DB... what is that? You silly people, it stands for dog bone, because that's what it looks like on the TLM170 dial.

So, dog bone it is.

Any mods, please feel free to move this thread. It was not my intention to drag it out for so long. Please feel free to move it to a more appropriate place on this forum.

And thanks everyone here. I was that close to passing up on the Neumann. So glad I didn't.

Bubba
 
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S0 glad you are SO happy Bubba!
Now, pretty sure the reason you are not getting the oft quote "too much room effect with a LDC mic" is..you are doing things right! Just about every week I or someone like me on HR tells a newb they need an absorber (aka "duvet") behhind the mic and another one behind their back and for a really bad room, one over the top.

The "baffles" you speak of (pickky?) are, I am certain, acoustic panels designed to absorb incident sound.

Keep up the good work. Touch nothing!

Dave.
 
Yes Dave, you are correct, they are acoustic panels. Wood on the outer edges, filled with something dense, then a fabric covering. Bought, not home made. I also have - and I do realize they absorb nothing - some five foot tall structures of pointy acoustic foam. They exist simply because I have them, and sit on either side left/right of the acoustic panels. As I mentioned, the space is very narrow indeed, yet quite long. The ceiling also has varying height, becoming taller just above the microphone. The front acoustic panel sits directly behind the microphone; the rear one about a foot behind my back. There's a space for me to sit very low, placing my feet in a sort of well. The rear acoustic panel towers over me; the front one a little less so. The rear panel has to be swung aside for me to walk anywhere, as they almost extend the full narrow width.

So, what we have is a grown man, crying at what he hears. Never thought that would happen. And I am being deadly serious. The words mean so much to me.

Bubba
 
Yes Dave, you are correct, they are acoustic panels. Wood on the outer edges, filled with something dense, then a fabric covering. Bought, not home made. I also have - and I do realize they absorb nothing - some five foot tall structures of pointy acoustic foam. They exist simply because I have them, and sit on either side left/right of the acoustic panels. As I mentioned, the space is very narrow indeed, yet quite long. The ceiling also has varying height, becoming taller just above the microphone. The front acoustic panel sits directly behind the microphone; the rear one about a foot behind my back. There's a space for me to sit very low, placing my feet in a sort of well. The rear acoustic panel towers over me; the front one a little less so. The rear panel has to be swung aside for me to walk anywhere, as they almost extend the full narrow width.

So, what we have is a grown man, crying at what he hears. Never thought that would happen. And I am being deadly serious. The words mean so much to me.

Bubba

C'mon, do us a smudge!

Dave.
 
Ah! I really meant a pic' of the recording setup? Baffles and such.

I strongly advise you to use some form of shield on those mics. You may not "pop" but you will spit and that can build up on capacitor mics and cause crackles and ultimately death. If nothing else, just chuck a clean, white, man's hanky over it!

Dave.
 
The answer to the title of this thread kind of has answered itself, now, hasn't it. I'd assume the answer is "yes". Or maybe not so much of a yes, but maybe "preferred".
 
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