Adk A51

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hotpotato

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My first condeser, bought on e-bay for $80. I've finally gotten around to trying this out and i am amazed by the sound as i think most people are when they've never used a condenser before.

My only bug with it and the reason i'm posting is because i play some very quiet acoustic stuff and i've noticed that if theres a gap in the playing, the background noise seems to come to the fore as the guitar fades out. I don't mean passing lorries, just general room ambience. Is there a way to stop this?

Is this a general problem with condensers?
 
Yep, it is.

Somebody flush a toilet in the house? You'll hear it.

Dog walking on the tile floor upstairs? You'll hear it.

Baby crying next door? You'll (probably) hear it.

It's amazing what a good mic will pick up...

PS-I have a couple of A-51's...they're nice. Don't get much press, but they do the job.
 
I've got a couple of ADK 51s 's too. I like them. Just figured out last night that they mic drum toms really well :)

You have to make your room as quiet as you can with a LD condensor. IF.... you can increase volume into the mic, and turn its gain down on the board without hurting the sound you want to achieve.... this will help you. Means playing the acoustic louder, or positioning it closer to the mic (without hurting the sound you want)
 
I use a little Gate from my console dynamics to stop the background noise. I usually set the threashold were as whoever is on the mic make any verbal sounds,, the gate will open and let the vox through.

one question though.

I had 2 ADK A51s and they were stolen.

I now have a v67g,B1,SM57s,and others.

How would another ADK 51 fit into my my collection?

Thanks

Malcolm
 
malcolm123 said:
I use a little Gate from my console dynamics to stop the background noise. I usually set the threashold were as whoever is on the mic make any verbal sounds,, the gate will open and let the vox through.


Malcolm
Click to expand...

Gating works well and is pretty easy to do with vocals. It's a little more difficult when recording a guitar. Often you want the sound of the guitar to die out naturally.... or to sustain naturally.... but when you gate it.... it gets clipped at some point. Obviously and adjustable point.
 
kjam22 said:
Gating works well and is pretty easy to do with vocals. It's a little more difficult when recording a guitar. Often you want the sound of the guitar to die out naturally.... or to sustain naturally.... but when you gate it.... it gets clipped at some point. Obviously and adjustable point.
Click to expand...

Agreed !


I forgot he mentioned acoustics.

Depending of the amount of noise, Gating may not be possible.
not sure though.

Malcolm
 
I'm gonna be using a VF80 shortly. Does this have any gating facility?
 
hotpotato said:
I'm gonna be using a VF80 shortly. Does this have any gating facility?
Click to expand...

If you are going to record an acoustic guitar.... you won't like it gated. I'll bet money on that. It is a matter of signal to noise ratio. You have to increase the desired signal into the mic above the noise level. If I'm fingerpicking softly .... I move in very very close to the mic. Inside the proximity effect point. So that it is recorded loud yet played softly. Then when you play it back you adjust the volume down as you need it... and if the proximity made it too basey or boomey.... you can eq it a little thinner at playback.

This will help your background noise problem a lot. If the gain is down on the board or recorder.... it does not pick up nearly as much background noise.
 
hotpotato said:
...i've noticed that if theres a gap in the playing, the background noise seems to come to the fore as the guitar fades out. I don't mean passing lorries, just general room ambience. Is there a way to stop this?...
Click to expand...
Are you running it through a compressor? If so, it will have this very effect. When you quit playing, it stops trying to compress the guitar and starts trying to compress the background noise.
 
That would have been my guess..theres a slight bit of compression coming from somewhere in the chain.

Adk A51 model V's and the earlier model III's are very good mics.They have a low self-noise and have a darker 'old-school' sound to them without sacrificing detail as some Sino- based mics do.The upper-end ADKs are simply stunning and probably the best bang for the buck going. No theres not a lot of press, and some folks opinions on them are based on here-say only.

For those of you who might happen to have an old U47 lying around, try an ADK Area 51 Commemorative Edition....right beside it...It will not REPLACE your U47 but the quality of the ADK sound will give you just another color in your pallette that you can trust to deliver in any session.

I am not now nor have I ever been associated with ADK other than as a user who now believes in what he hears.(<--- flame-retardent)
 
I'll add my 2 cents:

I've got an A-51 (type V) and an A-51TC (tube model), and I love them, especially the TC. The type V is supposed to be brighter than the type III (I've heard you should avoid the type IV) and I've found that it gives a nice airy quality to background vocals. I haven't had a chance to try it out for much else yet.

Before getting the A-51TC I used a V67 for my voice, and I did like its warm coloration. But there are a couple of issues with the V67 for me: it tends to highlight a throaty or "woody" quality that can be a little unattractive with my voice. The A-51TC doesn't do this at all. It's warm, but somehow smoother than the V67, without losing detail. I know these are descriptive terms that may not mean much to others, but I don't know how else to describe the sound. You'll just have to try it yourself.

Don Newmeyer

You can listen to mixes I made with the V67 (lead vocals and cello) and A-51 (background vocals):
http://www.newmeyer.org/Thisislove.html
 
Re: Re: Adk A51

Flatpicker said:
Are you running it through a compressor? If so, it will have this very effect. When you quit playing, it stops trying to compress the guitar and starts trying to compress the background noise.
Click to expand...

Yeah, i'm running it through my TFpro P3 pre amp. I've tweaked the output levels and it's starting to sound OK.

Further questions on the A51 model:

In your experience, what have you found works best on acoustic guitar and male vocals regarding mic placement?

I've found that for my vocal style (slightly croaky- Beckish), it works best close up singing directly into it. My voice tends to sound thin when standing back.

As far as micing the guitar what would you recommend? I've got an sm57 as well as the A51

Must say, its nice to find others that use and like this mic. I asked for opinions before i bought it a while ago and in most forums they went Huh?

I know it's not high end stuff but i like it anyway. I don't suppose theres much better for $80.
 
I've got a pair of type III's, and they sound wonderful on acoustic. For your case, try the 57 at the 12th fret and the A-51 over the shoulder of the guitar player. The 51 should add a nice depth to the sound. You could also put the 51 about 14 inches out from the guitar, about halfway between the sound hole and the tail of the guitar, with the diaphram pointed at the bridge.
 
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