your first condenser, how did it feel?

  • Thread starter Thread starter cordura21
  • Start date Start date

What did you feel when you got your first condenser?

  • Big difference

    Votes: 381 80.9%

  • Not so big difference

    Votes: 37 7.9%

  • Realized you could have get same results with dynamics

    Votes: 27 5.7%

  • other (please specify)

    Votes: 26 5.5%
  • Total voters
    471
Like about half the thread here, it seems, my first condensor(s) were a pair of AKG C1000s's, lol.

It was interesting. They're great mics, and I still really like them - enough that I finally grabbed a C3000 as well. Both make my Martin sound absolutely godly. However, they also really made me appreciate just how good my trusty old SM57 is on an electric guitar amp - getting to play with something with a much broader frequency response range made me really value how much the "natural EQ" of something like a 57 up against the grille really works well to bring out the sound of a good amp.

But yeah, the openness you hear the first time you play back something you've recorded on a condensor... It's a cool feeling.
 
I voted for "big difference." My first condenser mike is my AT 4050. The really big difference was that at the time it was also my first mike to offer an omni pattern. The lack of proximity effect, clean high end detail and extended low end were quite a revelation at the time.

Cheers,

Otto
 
Mine was an MSH-1A. And I was impressed. Especially since before that I had to hook my guitar straight into the sound card...that was uninspiring...
 
I answered "big difference"

My first condensers were Audio Technica ATM33a's. In the 80's I paid ~$150 for each of them, and I thought they were great when using them to track guitar amps & vocals on my analog cassette 4-track. Brighter than my dynamic 57's & 58's, and seemingly clearer - but I was just a newbie to recording... Looking back with what I know now, they weren't applicable for what I was using them for.

Recently I've been getting into microphones a bit too far. I still can't afford a nice Neumann or a Blue, so I bought several models of the low-end MXL condensers, and some PZM mics and I thought they were WAAAY to bright. The highs are unnatural - especially since I've moved to Digital recording. I was bummed - My lowly SM57's sounded the best to me - I couldn't understand what all the condenser hype was about.

Then I started hearing about and reading about modern Ribbon Microphones... So I designed my own and built several for myself that cost under $100 each - and they perform exceptional for voice and guitar. (www.rickshawrecords.com/ribbonmic)

I love my ribbon mics, but I still use my 20-year-old ATM-33a's for overheads on drums. I probably won't buy another condenser unless I become exceedingly rich and can afford a nice one.

So, my take is: It depends on what you are recording. Ribbon Mic's are unquestionably my favorites now, and they help temper the ear-bleeding high-frequencies common in modern digital recordings made with modern condensers.

Best,

Rickshaw
 
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When i recorded my vox/accoustic with my mxl 990 instead of my crappy dynamic mic, it was like a breath of fresh air...even though the 990 is a lower end mic, it still sounded so much more open and wide than my dynamic...and listening back, i love the results ive gotten with it on my vocals/accoustic guitar.
 
My first is the AT4033a, and it is currently my only mic. Characterized as a bright mic, but it doesn't seem that way to me. It sounds grand on Tuba and Bass Trombone, but not as grand on tenor Trombone or any of the higher brasses. I'm really craving a ribbon as my second mic.

So far my experience with condensers and loud brasses is that you either need to be 3+ feet away from the mic, and/or keep your preamp on it's absolute lowest setting. And your soundcard at about 10% or more shy of it's most sensitive setting, or it will clip. While there is a bit of room detail in the recording, with such a loud sound source, it's not as noticeable as ya'alls sangin.

But I mainly bought the AT4033a as a room mic. And for the small Drum and Bugle Corps that I record with it, it's sufficient. Pickups the corps fine, and still captures the relatively soft instructor as well. Even though I have to keep the Mobile Pre between Dots 1 and 2 out of the 27 dots on the gain knob. Should the corps get bigger, I'll probably have to put it down to the first dot or lower.
 
I picked "big difference". All dynamics I had used, which included most Shure, Sennheiser, Peavy and a few others never captured my voice the way a condenser does. The first time I heard my voice in a Neumann I thought I was in heaven. Just a clear representation of my voice. Very detailed.

This thread is old, but there seems to be something odd about it too.

It stated on the main page:

4 Minutes Ago
by Shadow_7

But the last post was dated 12-09-2007 02:14 by Shadow_7.

What gives???

Earl Green
 
Dunno what it means.

I still don't know how I felt with my first LDC since I've only just bought one and have not tested it yet. Used SP C1. My guess is that it will be nice and bright, and will fill a niche not covered by my ribbon, dynamics, ceramic harp mic, old electret, and sdc's.

I'll let you all know.
 
Kinda hurt. Wouldda felt better if I'd remembered to use some lube...
 
Sennheiser said:
Yeah, it does suck. As I stated before, because of my room acoustics and environment I will not buy or use a condensor at this point.

I feel for those who have bought them only to find out that they are not only recording the instrument or vocal, but everything else in the mic's range of pick-up as well.

I've been using a Sennheiser MD-441U for damn near everything for almost as long as I've been recording. Can you imagine; a brand new in-the-box MD-441U running into a $375 (1984 dollars) four-track machine? It actually made a difference in the recording from the crappy RatShack mic I started with the week or two before.

I've been stuck on these mics ever since. Every time I upgrade my gear this mic sounds better and better. I still probably have not heard it's full potential yet. The preamp that is going to be a future purchase will get me another step closer. I still don't know which one that will be yet.
Click to expand...

Build some DIY gobos and try a condensor...you will not be sorry!!
 
Confused and disappointed.

My first vocal condenser was an AT4033. Combined with my ADAT and Mackie 1604, lets' just say I was confused. Confused at how terrible the combination sounded on my voice. I HATED it. I spent countless hours working with that mic to try to tame the hashiness of it.

Of course, it made me think placement and so in the end I guess it was good experience.
 
Well, a condensor was my first REAL mic - before that i had used really crappy dynamics into a karaoke machine.

so it was a BIG difference - however looking back at it, after having purchased an sm7b, re20, audix i5, sm57s - its really just DIFFERENT.

not better, really.

well except for the 57s - those are crap
 
jasonbmerrill said:
Well, a condensor was my first REAL mic - before that i had used really crappy dynamics into a karaoke machine.

so it was a BIG difference - however looking back at it, after having purchased an sm7b, re20, audix i5, sm57s - its really just DIFFERENT.

not better, really.

well except for the 57s - those are crap
Click to expand...

57s are great mics. Used all over the place with great results. Entire albums have been made using them. One of the best workhorse mics ever made. A staple in most studios.
 
1st "hands on" condenser was a discontinued Shure BG 4.0

I was complaining to a friend about the "boom" that my Beyer M500 ribbon mic was giving me on my 1947 J-45. No matter where it was placed - even at the 12th fret - it didn't sound "correct" - even with major tweeks of EQ.
He let me try his BG 4.0 and there is a noticeable difference...so much more top end and way more sensitivity than the M500 ribbon mic which I used to think was a jack of all trades.
After researching the web thru forums & google searches I decided to buy 2 pre-owned SM81's for $220 apiece for their well known stereo application.
Needless to say, I anxiously await their delivery and expect to be even more impressed with the outcome.
For electric guitar the M500 (in upclose) and 1 or 2 SM81's (as room mics) should create a nice blend as well.
Either way, I'm prepared to be impressed with the addition of these SDC's to my small but effective arsenal.
 
Started with Condenser

My first mic was a condenser mic: an AT P660. (Actually, two P660s. They were my basic stereo recording pair, and had the great advantage (given I was using them with a recorder without phantom power on the XLRs) that they accepted a AA cell in the barrel so they didn't need phantom power. I loved them for recording, and when I upgraded to a digital 12-track recorder with 4 input channels I got another pair, although at that time they were called MB4000.

The four of them, with 4 boom stands, provided a great setup for recording a choir: soprano, alto, tenor and bass into 4 tracks on the recorder. As I extended my recording setup, I got four more (now called "Studio" something or other.) In all their manifestations, they've been $99 apiece for 10 years or so, and they're great workhorse mics for recording just about anything. I've also used them in live sound gigs for micing guitar amps, congas, and cymbal overheads. Their wide linear response gives very clean results over a wide range of applications.

When I tried using them as vocal mics with my band, though, I was really disappointed! They really sounded harsh, and they were terribly unforgiving. Any roughness in the singer's voice was emphasized, and I couldn't seem to compensate with EQ. So I decided it was time to try dynamic mics that were designed for vocals. Surprise! Dramatically better results. I got a couple of inexpensive AT vocal mics and suddenly the singers sounded great. (You will have noticed that I'm partial to Audio Technica: superior products at very favorable price points.) When the band added three female backup vocalists, I got an AT vocal 3-pack--3 mics for $100 or so--and have been very happy with them.

I have a couple of condenser large-diaphragm studio mics (an AT 2020 and a Behringer B2) for special applications, a 4-mic drum kit, and a couple of CAD pencil-style condensers that I prefer for cymbal overheads and for micing acoustic guitars. But the main thing I've learned is that neither dynamics or condensers are universally "better." It depends on the application and the kind of sound you're looking for.
 
Vurt said:
"....you'll notice how they pick up everyfu*kingthing and present it back in such detailed and crisp/rich (depending on which one) form. You'll hear you and your walls breathing, your feet shuffling, bones creaking, and your buddy behind you lighting a joint will sound like something out of the movie 'Backdraft'.
Click to expand...

This was my exact reaction when I got my Blue Bluebird.

Roel said:
"... Then I bought a voice channel (symetrix 528e), decent preamp and compressor, and it opened a whole new world. I actually liked the sound I recorded..."
Click to expand...

This is very true! My Focusrite Trakmaster Pro (albeit minimally adjustable and nominally effective) gave me the control and dynamics I had been missing. A good preamp/compressor can make an average mic sound like a winner (comparatively, without one)
 
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