OHs recommendations

  • Thread starter Thread starter thebigcheese
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thebigcheese

thebigcheese

"Hi, I'm in Delaware."
I've been using a cheapo Nady mic pack for a while and I'm looking to upgrade to something a bit better, but without spending a lot of money. Currently, I'm digging the Glyn Johns technique, but the OHs that came with the Nady pack have nothing buy high end. You can hear that if you check out my recording of "Shells" at www.myspace.com/nightlightmusic. The toms sound so... bleah. So anyway, I want a pair of OHs that are going to actually get some of the body of my toms, but still make my cymbals sound nice. My kick sounds decent enough (I'll get a D6 one of these days, I love that mic) and the snare sounds snarey, so I'm not too worried about those right now. What can I get for relatively cheap without sacrificing a lot of quality?

For reference, I'm using a Gretsch Renown Maple kit with Zildjian As. I'm looking at getting a pair of MXL 990s because I've heard some good things about them. That's about what I'm willing to spend.
 
+1 on the naiant mics


cad gxl2200 is also a good choice being $70 a piece

im not to big of a fan of the mxl 990s
but i do like the mxl 992
 
I could afford the 992s. I don't know if I want to go with omnis, I feel like they wouldn't work very well in the room I have. I don't have any treatment or anything. For more reference, I play mostly rock, often with tom work (which is why the tom sound is important). I like the concert sounding drum sounds, like in Feed My Frankenstein. Earthworks mics have been nice when I've used that at my school's studio, but are way, way beyond my reach (and like I said, they're omni, so I dunno how well that would work).

The naiants have a nice price point, and I've read that a lot of people here love them. How much will them being omni effect my recordings?
 
scrubs said:
on a tight budget, get some of the naiant omni mics (X-Q): http://www.naiant.com/studiostore/microphones.html

If you can spring for it, CAD M179s are great as OH for capturing deep tom sounds (also work great as close tom mics).
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Get the X-T, MSH-2 or X-S. The X-Qs are great, but don't have a high enough threshold(well drums can peak around the threshold. Not a good idea).

Consult the naiant micropohne application matrix for recommended mics for each application. I suspect that it is is order of recommendation, so Jon recommends the X-T, then MSH-2, and so on.

The matrix does recommend the X-Qs for OHs at moderate levels, but it really has to be moderate levels!
 
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pandamonk said:
Get the X-T, MSH-2 or X-S. The X-Qs are great, don't have a high enough threshold(well drums can peak around the threshold. Not a good idea).

Consult the naiant micropohne application matrix for recommended mics for each application. I suspect that it is is order of recommendation, so Jon recommends the X-T, then MSH-2, and so on.

The matrix does recommend the X-Qs for OHs at moderate levels, but it really has to be moderate levels!
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Does anyone have a sample recording with either the X-Ts or the MSH-2s? The MSH-2s are cheaper, so are a more appealing option, but I'm wondering how they really compare to more expensive mics. I can always compliment the OHs with tom mics, but I like not having so much to mix.
 
thebigcheese said:
Does anyone have a sample recording with either the X-Ts or the MSH-2s? The MSH-2s are cheaper, so are a more appealing option, but I'm wondering how they really compare to more expensive mics. I can always compliment the OHs with tom mics, but I like not having so much to mix.
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Sorry, i think the samples on the site are MSH-1s(like X-Q). Check them out anyway. The X-T is a transformer version of the MSH-2 i believe. I think it has internal switches for changing the sound... check up on that though
 
pandamonk said:
Sorry, i think the samples on the site are MSH-1s(like X-Q). Check them out anyway. The X-T is a transformer version of the MSH-2 i believe. I think it has internal switches for changing the sound... check up on that though
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Is there an advantage to having the transformer?

On a side note, I see this forum helped spawn the creation of the mics. Cool.
 
thebigcheese said:
Is there an advantage to having the transformer?

On a side note, I see this forum helped spawn the creation of the mics. Cool.
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I assume there is an advantage, yeh.

From soundonsound, "Matching transformers can introduce benign coloration, and the mechanisms by which they do this are wrapped in almost as much mystique as the alleged sound of valves. For this very reason, some users will insist on the transformer version of a mic simply because they like the tonal character of the microphone. Subjectively, transformers seem to produce a warmer, more comfortable sound than transformerless circuits."

You will see the creator and owner of Naiant, MSHilarious(Jon), around these parts. You will probably hear of his MSH series of mics which have now been discontinued(MSH-2 still for sale at a reduced price) and the new x-series released as an upgrade from the MSH mics(which have very good reviews).
 
So if the MXL 990 and the X-T are going to run me almost the same price, which is a better value for the money?

Or, if we're saying that transformers tend to sound better (well, the added warmth might be nice), should I just go for the MSH-2T instead? EDIT: nevermind, those are out of stock.
 
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thebigcheese said:
Currently, I'm digging the Glyn Johns technique, but the OHs that came with the Nady pack have nothing buy high end.
Click to expand...

Yup. Been there, done that. Replaced them with Oktava MK-012 mics and never looked back. A million times better sound. They really bring the toms forward in the mix without making the cymbals sound dull.
 
dgatwood said:
Yup. Been there, done that. Replaced them with Oktava MK-012 mics and never looked back. A million times better sound. They really bring the toms forward in the mix without making the cymbals sound dull.
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I can't find links for these, but they seem to be generally way out of my price range. I kinda like the idea of spending under $150.
 
pandamonk said:
I assume there is an advantage, yeh.

From soundonsound, "Matching transformers can introduce benign coloration, and the mechanisms by which they do this are wrapped in almost as much mystique as the alleged sound of valves. For this very reason, some users will insist on the transformer version of a mic simply because they like the tonal character of the microphone. Subjectively, transformers seem to produce a warmer, more comfortable sound than transformerless circuits."

You will see the creator and owner of Naiant, MSHilarious(Jon), around these parts. You will probably hear of his MSH series of mics which have now been discontinued(MSH-2 still for sale at a reduced price) and the new x-series released as an upgrade from the MSH mics(which have very good reviews).
Click to expand...
Are they really an upgrade? It looks like the MSH-2 has considerably better frequency response...

Listening to the Naiant recordings, it sounds like they'd give me sort of the same flappy sounding toms. Does anyone have any demos recorded with some of these other suggestions?
 
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thebigcheese said:
I can't find links for these, but they seem to be generally way out of my price range. I kinda like the idea of spending under $150.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say that they are way out. I spent about 200 for the pair. It just takes a little eBay hunting. Buy them used and find sellers who have "or best offer" ads.
 
I went with the X-Ts. The 012s are all rather expensive, even on eBay right now... Anyway, if anyone's interested, I can post some sample clips when I get them.
 
thebigcheese said:
So if the MXL 990 and the X-T are going to run me almost the same price, which is a better value for the money?

Or, if we're saying that transformers tend to sound better (well, the added warmth might be nice), should I just go for the MSH-2T instead? EDIT: nevermind, those are out of stock.
Click to expand...
The X-T is the upgrade to the MSH-2T i believe.
 
thebigcheese said:
Are they really an upgrade? It looks like the MSH-2 has considerably better frequency response...

Listening to the Naiant recordings, it sounds like they'd give me sort of the same flappy sounding toms. Does anyone have any demos recorded with some of these other suggestions?
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Maybe your flappy sounding toms are a tuning issue and not mic. How do they sound normally? No matter what mic, if they don't sound good, they'll never sound good. Maybe you'd be best close-miking toms...

It is definitely an upgrade. You'll need to talk to Jon about the details. A flat frequency response isn't always the best idea.
 
thebigcheese said:
I went with the X-Ts. The 012s are all rather expensive, even on eBay right now... Anyway, if anyone's interested, I can post some sample clips when I get them.
Click to expand...
That'd be great thanks. Maybe let Jon put them on the site, he'll be needing new sound clips. If you're gonna let us hear it, obviously make sure it's a raw version.
 
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