About to buy...

[bean....]

for acoustic treatment, look into www.foambymail.com

Man, these prices are amazing. Have you ever looked at any of the Aurelex stuff. This hilarious man; all of the pics are pretty much identical (espesh the colors page - IDENTICAL) to the Aurelex stuff, and pretty much all of explanations are too. That is amazing. It would be crazy if this was the actual source of Aurelex foam.

Anyways, have you guys ever tried out the soundproofing 'volara' foam. This kinda belongs in the studio building/display section, but its relevant enough. How much work goes into soundproofing. I am not asking for the 'no work, easy, magic,' way, but would applying the volara foam to the walls of my room (pretty big, and kinda oddly shaped) do enough? The houses are kinda close together here, but the people are pretty cool (they're from Eugene, Oregon - they're gonna be cool). It doesn't have to be COMPLETELY perfect, and I really don't expect that, but will it kill it enough so that people won't kill ME. If I also added some of those bass traps, would that help (as the bass leakage is probs the biggest problem)? I really don't have the authority to, want to, have the money to or have the time to dig out my walls and rebuild them with 8 layers of mineral fiber and stuff - so does that pretty much screw me over? Also, how much of the sound goes through the windows? I heard someone once made really heavy drapes and lined them with really dense sound isolating foam - would that work at all?

Also, would this help at all for the sound, too? Or would I still need to get more foam - which is kiiinda takin' some money.

Anything, tips, facts, knowledge; would be most excelent.

 

[bean....]

I just found a site called, RealTraps, and the bass traps, though expensive, seem pretty cool. Do they work for isolation, too, or just for treatment? Would it be worth it to look into these? Has anyone tried anything like this? Is it better to build your own, or is it just worth it to buy one?

 

[DJL]

Considering that I am going to do mostly Ac. Guitar, El. Guitar and piano right now (drums/vocals probs in the future), would the one KSM44 be a better fit? I really wanted to get into stereo recording, and two of the same mic seems pretty necessary.

Get a nice matched pair of SDC mics first.

I just found a site called, RealTraps, and the bass traps, though expensive, seem pretty cool. Do they work for isolation, too, or just for treatment? Would it be worth it to look into these? Has anyone tried anything like this? Is it better to build your own, or is it just worth it to buy one?

The RealTraps are nice... they are for treatment, and not isolation... and if you need treatment the RealTraps are worth looking into.

 

[xstatic]

**Yaaaaa, I am an idiot. But if you were talkin' about the blues festival, that is 'understandable, man,' too. I am in total agreeance, but, I was just sayin' that it sounded good, and that I saw the mics, so they had to contribute something, right.

After working live with hundreds of bands in all sorts of places and on all sorts of PA's, mic selection has become the least of my worries. I always use the best mics I can, but like I said, thats the least of my worries. Tuning the PA and having enough power (not just enough amplifiers, but clean and plentiful AC power) are my biggest priorities. Next would be the monitors, then the console, then the reverb/delay units, then finally the mics. I have found that probably 75% of a good sound is due to PA tuning. A good system tech is worth 10 times his/her weight in gold. Not to say that the mics don't help, but I find that they really don't influence the overall sound nearly as much as most people think. I think in the studio they are a little more important (the studio SHOULD be a much more tuned and stable environment). Basically, give me a good PA with a good console, and I will run the whole show on 57's with no outboard, and there will be plenty of people who won't even notice the difference.

 

[chessrock]

•Two AT4050's

I kinda' like that option, too.

 

[Ronan]

I really wanted to get into stereo recording, and two of the same mic seems pretty necessary. Has anyone compared the AT4050 and the KSM32? I would really like to do it myself, but I am not sure about GC's return policy w/ mics and I don't know anywhere else here that would carry them. Would two KSM44's be overboard if I knocked somethin' off the list or saved up a little more? Or should I look at one KSM44 and another cheaper mic (I heard someone SM81). What if I got one KSM44 and two CAD M179 mics? Would that be a good deal?

As a bit of a veteran, I would suggest that while you are on a super tight budget that you not make stereo recording a priority. I do not know your music but stereo is a bit over rated and for most kinds of music its pretty unneccesary. (I am talking about individual instruments not the final mix) Even when I am doing a big budget record the only things I record in stereo are drum over heads and maybe a leslie cabinet. Often real strings or grand piano will get stereo recording as well. Given a choice, 10 times out of 10 I would rather rather record mono with one good mic than stereo with two cheap mics.

And by the way, YOU WORK WITH EDDIE KRAMER!!!! Ronan, you're like my god by association. Is he a cool guy? He seems like he's more into the music aspect of recording than the recording aspect (if that makes sense). I probably have no idea what I am talking about, but it's cool. You must be a beast yourself (along with everyone here, of course) to be working with such a big name. How'd you guys meet?

Eddie and I have never actually worked together, but we have met a couple times. Yes he is a cool guy and always been very generous about sharing knowledge. I have also seen him speak and while he seems very into the music, he also has a really deep techincal knowledge.

I was also briefly a member of a band he produced but after they finished the record. I met Eddie through the folks at Shure (Eddie and I both work with some famous musicians and Shure has been very supportive of both of us.) If you are at all intersted in any of my past you can check out http://www.venetowest.com It does not even compare to a legend like Eddie.

And another completely off-topic comment:
If anyone here lives near Portland, did they see the huge blues festival (I think last weekend?). On the stage that I walked by, it looked like they were using KSM32's or 44's for the drum OH's, and the drums sounded pretty nice.

I was not there, but the KSM 32s are my fave drum OH mics

 

[bean....]

Thanks Everyone,

Ronan, your work is amazing; how long have you been recording? Your wisdom along w/ everyone elses really makes me feel I'm in good hands, thank you all.

As a bit of a veteran, I would suggest that while you are on a super tight budget that you not make stereo recording a priority. I do not know your music but stereo is a bit over rated and for most kinds of music its pretty unneccesary. (I am talking about individual instruments not the final mix) Even when I am doing a big budget record the only things I record in stereo are drum over heads and maybe a leslie cabinet. Often real strings or grand piano will get stereo recording as well. Given a choice, 10 times out of 10 I would rather rather record mono with one good mic than stereo with two cheap mics.

With that said, what would you recomend I should do for one good mic? I completely forgot to add the AKG C-414 to the discussion, it looks incredibly versatile; would it be reasonable? Between the 414, 4050 and the 44, which do you think would suit my needs best?

I think I should throw in another MK012. Is Oktavas QC that bad? Would buying another be a waste of time? Also, does anyone know if the MK012s are creeping back into GC? If they are, is there any chance they'll be going for the 100 bucks I bought the other one for?

All help is apreciated. Thanks ahead of time.

 

[Ronan]

Thanks Everyone,

With that said, what would you recomend I should do for one good mic? I completely forgot to add the AKG C-414 to the discussion, it looks incredibly versatile; would it be reasonable? Between the 414, 4050 and the 44, which do you think would suit my needs best?
I think I should throw in another MK012. Is Oktavas QC that bad? .

I am not really up on the prices of all the mics so for my recomendations worth anything you will have to do a little research. For one mic the KSM44 would be a very good choice. The 4050 would also be a good choice but see if you can find a good deal and maybe spend a little more on a AT tube 4060 (you can find them on ebay), which is one of the best mics under $1000 I have ever heard. I was doing a record in Asia last year and it was the first time I tried the 4060. I fell so in love with it that I used it on almost every instrument on the album (except electric guitars and close drum mics). The mic blew me a way and the album spent a couple months in the top 10 and got nominated for the equivelent of a grammy award for engineering.

 

[bean....]

I fell so in love with it that I used it on almost every instrument on the album (except electric guitars and close drum mics).

Why didn't you use it on electric guitars? What did you use?

The mic blew me a way and the album spent a couple months in the top 10 and got nominated for the equivelent of a grammy award for engineering.

Dude, holy crap. That's awesome. What group was it?

 

[bean....]

Any other suggestions?

 

[AdrianFly]

Check this little tune I did..


Walker of Plains


The entire drumset was recorded with one Shure KSM32.


Naturally when I'm not using that mic to record my entire drumset, I'm using it to pound the ketchup bottle cap off or knock down bee's nests. Like the others here say.. it's not "awesome" for any one thing but does MANY things pretty darn well. Second thought, it does a great job on Bee's nests. Really pisses those little bastards off it does.

//AdrianFly

 

[bean....]

Thanks man, thats some pretty hot shit.

If you guys had to choose between the KSM32, AT4050 and the KSM44 for ac. gtr., el. gtr., and piano, which would you go for?

 

[DJL]

Thanks man, thats some pretty hot shit.

If you guys had to choose between the KSM32, AT4050 and the KSM44 for ac. gtr., el. gtr., and piano, which would you go for?

None of the above... most of the time I like dynamic's on el gtr, and SDC mics on ac gtr and piano... but if I had to pick one of the above it would most likely be the KSM44.

 

[bean....]

None of the above... most of the time I like dynamic's on el gtr, and SDC mics on ac gtr and piano... but if I had to pick one of the above it would most likely be the KSM44.

Well, with these mics complementing an SM57 and possibly 2 MK012's.

 

[DJL]

Those mics wouldn't be my first choice... but they will work.

 

[bean....]

Those mics wouldn't be my first choice... but they will work.

What would you suggest then?

 

[DJL]

For example... for guitar amps the MD421 and M88 are some of my favorite dynamics... and the C451, SM81, and C42 are some of my favorite SDC mics for acoustic guitar and piano.

 

[4-Man Takedown]

I wouldn't let people convince you not to get the KSM32's. Those are great mics and having a pair for drum overheads would be awesome. Plus, you're right they will work on a lot of other things as well.

I'm no expert, but it just seems like you made the right choice in the first place to me.

 

[DJL]

Bean, you really need to audition mics before you buy... my local music stores let me bring whatever I want home to test because I'm a regular. What I and the others on this bbs like best may not be what you like best. For example... MXL603S vs MC-012 on acoustic guitar... I like the MXL603S better on acoustic guitar and commingsecond likes the MC-012 better on acoustic... you'll need to audition both mics yourself to find out with one you like better on acoustic guitar.

 

[bean....]

I agree with you 100%, but I can't find a music shop anywhere (other than GC) that has access to these microphones, let alone having them in stock for me to play with. So right now, as I know if I ask 10 people, I'll get 10 different answers, I am just trying to see if there are any matching and reasonable ideas.

I saw that someone here lives in Vancouver, WA - NL5? (right next to Portland). I was wondering if you, or anyone else knew if there was a place in Portland that I could visit that would let me try some mics out for a weekend. Would any store let someone whos never been there before just walk in and take some mics for the weekend?

Anyways, thanks everyone for their ideas and opinions.