best mic for the buck

  • Thread starter Thread starter amonte
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Very nice, Tom. I still think you'd do better with the "over the shoulder" mic technique (about ear height and 6 - 8" out in front of your ear, pointed straight down, kinda skimming the front of the guitar). You'll pick up even more detail without the slight puffiness. It sounds better to most guitar players, since you're recording it from where the guitar player normally hears the instrument.
 
Thanks for the tip Harvey.
I'll definately try that position.And special thanks for a whole lot of other home-wreckers like me for your pro input in the forum.

Tom
 
Hey Harvey (or anybody else who knows)

Re. the over-the-shoulder technique. I recently experimented briefly with this using this with my new v67. When you say "about ear height and 6 - 8" out in front of your ear, pointed straight down, kinda skimming the front of the guitar" I assume that this means out in front of my face and not out to the side of my head? And by "skimming" do you mean kinda on the same plane as the guitar face?

I was trying to elimate some of the pick-noise that I get when using this mic with the guitar. I'd rather find the sweet-spot before recording, but maybe I just need to try to dial that out with EQ after recording? Maybe this isn't the best mic for acoustic guitar...


Thanks!

Niels
 
Reqs.

If a "picture is worth 10,000 words", here's about 20 k worth:

miking_guitar1.gif


miking_guitar2.gif
 
Fantastic

Thanks a ton Harvey. I'll try that with my v67, but I'm afraid it'll be too top end heavy from that distance. In my brief time experimenting it seemed pretty bright and I had to get in close to get any real low end, but I think I need to experiment with placement more.

So much to learn...

-Niels
 
Reqs,

I think you'll be surprisingly pleased with the sound. When this method works, it works very well. Remember the V67G will be mounted about horizontally, parallel to the floor, with the capsule pointed at the rug. Most of the top end comes off the face of the guitar. You're just lightly skimming the face so you get some highs, no boom, and very little finger and fret noises.
 
Great

That's exactly what I thought. OK, this is dumb but I have to ask: do you have the stand in back of the guitarist simply for her convenience? I ask because it's just me micing myself, and its tons easier to have the stand in front rof me rather than behind.

Oh, and you can call me Niels. I don't know why I picked a pseudonym...

Thanks!
 
First, they're not "playing to the mic", which can cause level change nightmares. Second, it get's a lot of the hardware and wiring out of the way by having the stand behind them. Third, it keeps the one main support leg of a tripod stand out of the way of their foot.
 
Just throw some weight on the base of the mic stand. I'm going to get a few small sand bags made up for around the studio.
 
Good idea. I've thought about using some old weight-lifting weights.
 
hey harvery what would be the best mic setup to record acoustic guitar and vocals all on one ecm8000? I bought one of these for a friend who likes the live vibe.

It worked really well with my ntv when I recorded his record. Now he's into laying stuff down at home and this should be better than the single seinheiser dynamic he has, correct? Do you think this mic will give him acceptable results?

(The ntv is mine and it's staying here...this is just something for him to document his songs)
 
"Best mic for the buck?"

The RODE NTK....

I can't undestand why everyone else would answer a question that's specifically directed at me! :D :D :D
 
I have heard that the mxl v57m mic is excellent for only $80 at Marsmusic.

great for vocals
 
Executivos said:
hey harvey what would be the best mic setup to record acoustic guitar and vocals all on one ecm8000? I bought one of these for a friend who likes the live vibe.

It worked really well with my ntv when I recorded his record. Now he's into laying stuff down at home and this should be better than the single seinheiser dynamic he has, correct? Do you think this mic will give him acceptable results?

(The ntv is mine and it's staying here...this is just something for him to document his songs)
Click to expand...
Well, it won't have that "bigger than life" sound but it should give him a pretty accurate picture of what he's doing.

Setup is simple, move it around till he gets the right balance between voice and guitar, then hit record. Closer makes it louder with less room noise, and further away makes it softer with more ambience.
 
Using an OMNI pattern mic for this purpose can be tricky. Placement will be the key factor as Harvey said, but be careful when you try to ask one mic to do it all. Combinations of an Omni and a LD may work better, but an OMNI and Figure Eight through an M/S encoder is my choice. Stereo micing is something you all should look into.

For the record, the capsule Behringer use in the The ECM8000 is from Taiwan. All the Behringer dynamic and electret condenser mics are made in Taiwan, so I am pretty sure it is not a Panasonic element. This is not to take away from the mic and its performance, but only to set the record straight.

Alan Hyatt
PMI Audio Group
 
Damn Alan,

Are you sure about the capsule? I can't believe that Behringer wouldn't use the WM-60 capsule since they're so damn cheap and plentiful. I thought Panasonic had a headlock on that whole market. Now I'm gonna have to tear into these suckers to check it and I hate tearing into these really tiny mics.

Shit, they even use those Panasonic capsules in cheap ass Taiwan answering machines and speakerphones. It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me for Behringer to try to market a reference mic and skimp on one of the cheapest part in the whole damn mic.
 
Maybe not, Niels.

Alan said he's "pretty sure", but that's not the same as "I know for a fact it is not a Panasonic".

It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me for Behringer to mess around when they were trying to promote this as a "reference mic" by taking a chance on uneven capsule response, when the Panasonic capsule is so damn cheap. Especially when you consider this mic was selling for close to $100 a few months ago. They had more than enough margin built in to go with a good Panasonic capsule.

(Don't tell anybody, but we're talking about under a buck here - way under - like 35 to 50 cents!!)
 
So, you're gonna go a diggin'? Let us know what you find out!
 
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