Microphone Trends

[aaronmcoleman]

I was just looking for a new mic for acoustic guitar. So I read a ton of reviews from all over the place on different SDCs and various other mics people have liked. What I noticed was some mics are popular for a time, then hated for a time, then back again.

For example, in 2003 NT5, MXL 603, and Oktava Mk-12 were the big three in budget SDCs. People would go back and forth about which was better, but there wasn't a lot bad said about any of them. Now, the 603 is "harsh and unusable", the NT5 is "too bright", the MK-12 is "amazing, best thing since the Neumanns".

So, it seems like people's opinions are based on other people's opinions. I got a set of NT5s back then and liked them. Then I started to not like them so much. I gave them a try yesterday, and they are not bad at all.

All this to say, I wonder what mics we are in love with now that will be garbage in a few years, and what are the sleepers selling for $100 that will be $400 in a few year. And I wonder how much of this is real, and how much is just a bunch of dudes getting sucked into other's opinions.

Just a though.

 

[Steenamaroo]

I have to admit, i've always wondered about this.

I try to avoid taking advice that starts off "i've heard", and equally i try to avoid giving advice that doesn't come from 1st hand experience.

It's hard though! lol

 

[c7sus]

In the $100 range, who really cares and is that attached to one product over another?

In the old days we spent more than that on coke for an evening.

 

[Steenamaroo]

Boom!

rep for see-seven-sus.

 

[c7sus]

<takes a bow>

 

[MG Eddie]

Now there seems to be a big trend in every manufacturer trying to make a mic to compete with the 58'/57'

 

[chrisghost]

Interesting.

I think that because a big group of people just bought a mic, on budget, from the available selection at that given moment in time, this big group of people will be posting about these mics at that given moment in time. A lot of people buy new, on budget and they don't buy mics that aren't available, right?

These people may not really know what they're talking about. Most people have a hard time with the notion that they might be wrong. Posting your new buy on a forum may be more about seeking confirmation than anything else.

These people may have become more experienced and moved on to better mics, and they may be posting about this now. Naturally this is at a later point in time.

Oktava 012's might be a different story. They are good microphones. But if you do the Michael Joly mod on them, then they sound "amazing, best thing since the Neumanns". These are two different mics entirely.

And just to cover for myself: I might be wrong about all this

 

[aaronmcoleman]

I got the NT5s back then because that is what a lot of people were saying was the "best" of the budget SDCs. Now it turns out the Oktavas were probably the better buy, for me. Sure wish I could go back and pick them up for $99!

Right now a lot of people are into the budget ribbons. I have a pair of Fatheads that I really like for a lot of things. I wonder 5 years from now which one of these cheaper ribbons will be the "in" mic.

 

[mshilarious]

And I wonder how much of this is real, and how much is just a bunch of dudes getting sucked into other's opinions.

I don't post much anymore, and your latter option is the reason. This board isn't too bad because we had Harvey Gerst very early on setting the tone, and he practices what he preached--he can get a good sound out of any of the options you listed on just about any source.

Tastes do change as far as production, but 90% of what you read isn't just changing tastes, it's people who have no idea what they are doing. Every day I read statements that contain fundamental errors of acoustics, electronics, etc., and they get parroted over and over again, sometimes by people who should really know better. But most people don't know better. I am tired of correcting them, so I don't bother anymore.

Another problem is the flavor-of-the-month syndrome. A company can introduce a mic that sounds pretty much like 30 other mics on the market, and they will be the talk of the town for a while.

Sometimes you have to work a bit harder with a cheaper mic. If you are wealthy, buy Schoeps CMC with all the caps, then never read anything on the internet ever again, spend your time working on mic placement and practicing your instrument.

If, like me, you are a cheap man, then read Harvey's threads until you learn things like how you can use a mic off-axis to tame a HF peak you don't like on a particular source. Then spend your time working on mic placement and practicing your instrument.

In 2003 I thought the best thing in budget SDCs was a used SM81, which you could buy all day long for $200, and you still can. In 2004 I liked the KSM141 better, because it was multipattern ($350 used though ). All things being equal, go for the mic that is multipattern. And then make sure to try all of the patterns until you learn what their strengths and weaknesses are.

I think ribbons are massively faddish and the Fathead sounds terrible, but that's just me and my bias . . .

 

[brother rat]

So, it seems like people's opinions are based on other people's opinions.

This.

No one has enough money to have tried and compared every available mic. People with that kind of money just start at the top.
Then you have people who have either been around long enough to have used lots of different equipment or they have worked in a "professional" studio or as mic reviewers for a magazine or something like that, those folks get their hands on a lot of equipment.
Most everyone else, like you, tries to read up on equipment try it out if they can and make an educated guess on what will best suit their needs. If they like it, then they will tell you it's better than anything else. If they dislike it, they will try to tell you it was designed by terrorists. Then you have the folks who buy an SM57 and run ProTools and insist that it's the best setup because they are both "industry standards". Those folks are my favorite.

 

[aaronmcoleman]

Yeah, makes it hard to find the right stuff.

 

[brother rat]

It almost seems like trends go by manufacturer names rather than models. For example, I've seen lots of people asking about Rode mics lately. But, before, I saw lots of people wanting to know about MXL mics. And before that it was CAD.
I generally break things into three categories: junk, not junk, and out of my budget. I find that most of the "not junk" category works pretty well for me. I'm learning to use the equipment I have to it's fullest rather than looking for individual magical pieces of gear. And I've quit buying things until I know exactly what I need. When I already have an idea in my head of what I'm looking for, it's much easier to find and I have to rely less on others' reviews and opinions. Too much emphasis is placed on using the "perfect" microphone in the "perfect" room and "perfect" conditions - for a home recordist, none of that exists.

 

[mshilarious]

Yeah, makes it hard to find the right stuff.

There isn't "the right stuff". There is "a right stuff", or as brother rat said, "not junk". If you own something that is "not junk", buying something else that is "not junk" is largely a waste of money--unless you need to use more mics at the same time. But I'd just buy more of the same "not junk" mic I already owned, if the new mic was to be of the same type.

For fun try this: take two different "not junk" mics you have of the same type (operating principle, polar pattern, diaphragm size). Record something with those mics simultaneously. Using your favorite EQ, make the two match as closely as you can (use measurement tools if you want to cheat, or if you are just lazy. I am lazy.) Now, post those files and see if anybody can tell the difference. If they can tell the difference, is there a validly expressed preference? Or it is random? Finally, wonder why you bought two of the same type of mic, unless you needed to use them both at the same time.

For the purists that believe in mic/source matching, fine, buy 30 different LDCs, but then I expect you will never use EQ on any source, ever. For normal people, buy one "not junk" multipattern LDC and get on with it.

For people that believe that (especially transformerless) mics need to be "matched" with different preamps, I'd like to give you a beating but the legal system in this country precludes me from doing so. And anyone that ever says that some preamps are better at "driving" certain mics than others, well I'm just going to have to risk going to prison . . .

 

[Steenamaroo]

msh...do you feel strongly about this?

 

[omtayslick]

Then you have the folks who buy an SM57 and run ProTools and insist that it's the best setup because they are both "industry standards". Those folks are my favorite.

I like the '57. And I am not alone in this opinion. It has many uses and usually sits better in a mix than the average cheap condenser.

ProToolz however, I have little use for. Dongles, dedicated hardware, they cornered the market early and took advantage of the situation. I am surprised at the number of people who believe you can't make a "professional" sounding recording on any DAW except PT.

 

[omtayslick]

There isn't "the right stuff". There is "a right stuff", or as brother rat said, "not junk". If you own something that is "not junk", buying something else that is "not junk" is largely a waste of money--unless you need to use more mics at the same time. But I'd just buy more of the same "not junk" mic I already owned, if the new mic was to be of the same type.

For fun try this: take two different "not junk" mics you have of the same type (operating principle, polar pattern, diaphragm size). Record something with those mics simultaneously. Using your favorite EQ, make the two match as closely as you can (use measurement tools if you want to cheat, or if you are just lazy. I am lazy.) Now, post those files and see if anybody can tell the difference. If they can tell the difference, is there a validly expressed preference? Or it is random? Finally, wonder why you bought two of the same type of mic, unless you needed to use them both at the same time.

For the purists that believe in mic/source matching, fine, buy 30 different LDCs, but then I expect you will never use EQ on any source, ever. For normal people, buy one "not junk" multipattern LDC and get on with it.

For people that believe that (especially transformerless) mics need to be "matched" with different preamps, I'd like to give you a beating but the legal system in this country precludes me from doing so. And anyone that ever says that some preamps are better at "driving" certain mics than others, well I'm just going to have to risk going to prison . . .

There is a lot of wisdom in these words.

 

[brother rat]

I like the '57. And I am not alone in this opinion. It has many uses and usually sits better in a mix than the average cheap condenser.

I wasn't making a point against the 57 or against ProTools, for that matter. I was making a point against the farce of "industry standards."

I am surprised at the number of people who believe you can't make a "professional" sounding recording on any DAW except PT.

You see, we are in agreement.

 

[Steenamaroo]

psssh..everyone knows pro tools is useless without ns-10s.

 

[moresound]

psssh..everyone knows pro tools is useless without ns-10s.

Yup, just can't get the music to come out of the computer with out them.

 

[snow lizard]

For fun try this: take two different "not junk" mics you have of the same type (operating principle, polar pattern, diaphragm size). Record something with those mics simultaneously. Using your favorite EQ, make the two match as closely as you can (use measurement tools if you want to cheat, or if you are just lazy. I am lazy.) Now, post those files and see if anybody can tell the difference. If they can tell the difference, is there a validly expressed preference? Or it is random? Finally, wonder why you bought two of the same type of mic, unless you needed to use them both at the same time.

For even more fun try this with a 4047 and a 4050 on sources that have low midrange balls and air details. In general I agree with the logic of what you're saying here but some mics, regardless of what type they are, are voiced differently than others.

It would be interesting if people began to pay more attention to this than coming up with ideas like you NEED to use an LDC for vocals or whatever. If you can get better results with a dynamic, ribbon or (GASP!) SDC, what's holding you back? Internet misinformation?

For people that believe that (especially transformerless) mics need to be "matched" with different preamps, I'd like to give you a beating but the legal system in this country precludes me from doing so. And anyone that ever says that some preamps are better at "driving" certain mics than others, well I'm just going to have to risk going to prison . . .

Some preamps are better at driving certain microphones than others. The main operatives being clean, usable gain and headroom. Again, once you're past a certain level of quality it becomes a distinction between the "not junk" and "other" kinds. Transparency versus colour might be another consideration when selecting one of the many and various types of "not junk" preamp.

The idea of mixing and matching different preamps to different mics is also important. Back in the old days when there used to be recording studios, people would use the preamps in the mixing console.