M
musenji
New member
Okay, so I spent an hour writing the original post, and it was lost because the server timed out. Have to re-learn to write long posts in a text editor...oh well, this post is much, much better organized.
Also, I've just now learned that my links won't work because I don't have 10 posts yet. Oh well. I can make do.
I am an amateur classical guitarist. My setup is a $10 Logitech mic, $10 webcam, and a $1400 Alvarez Yairi CY-140. Possibly a little unbalanced. I do have a rather large room to work with. Obviously I want to get a better mic setup, and I've thusly dipped into the waters of the recording world. Here are some of the alternatives I've become aware of, and what I think/know so far.
****condenser vs dynamic****
I pretty much universally read (here in the FAQ, and elsewhere) that classical guitar recording calls for condenser mics due to the need for picking up the broadest range of frequencies.
****SDC vs LDC****
I read that small condensers are purportedly better for recording instruments that don't have sustained tone--because they are smaller, they respond faster. What I'm running into a lot is the recommendation to have two matched pencil mics, though someone mentioned the possibility of having one SDC and one LDC.
***USB vs XLR***
When I started looking, I obviously hadn't done much research. I started out looking at Blue's Snowball (USB) because I liked a friend's recordings that utilized it, and actually considered getting it. But then I heard some audio comparisons between it and the Yeti (also USB), and the Yeti seemed to be better and have more options, including several polar setups and latency-free monitoring. But lots of people say USB just isn't the way to go, because eventually you'll have to cave and go the XLR/interface route. Also, with an interface, I could be a lot farther away from any source of noise, if I needed to be, where with USB I only get 6 feet away. Though my laptop is very quiet.
At first I wasn't considering XLR/interface, but now I am. But my budget is severely limited--I would feel excessive spending more than 300 dollars, and would honestly prefer to spend less than 200. I don't record that much. I might record more with good equipment, however.
***Inherent to the mic, or fixable?***
For the majority of my researching stint, I was strongly leaning toward the Yeti. However, I found repeatedly that the test recordings people were making had a certain tinniness (where steel string guitar was involved) or high-end dryness (where the voice was involved). It was slight in some cases, more obvious in others. A friend told me that cheap condensers will pretty much always spike the mid-high end.
A review on recordinghacks compared the Yeti to the Yeti Pro, specifically counting off of the Yeti for being too tinny/sibilant-harsh.
The big question for me is, if I got the Yeti, could I adjust for the tinny highs/sibilants with equalization, or with a change in room/mic position setup? I assume that most of the people giving rave reviews on youtube about the yeti don't even notice the tinniness, so they are not trying to adjust for it at all.
A thought is to just go ahead and pop out that $120 since:
1. it's not that much money, well within my comfort range
2. it's way, way better than what I've got
3. I could record duets, which I am interested in doing
4. I can probably resell it with not too much difficulty
5. It could give me experience in fine-tuning the foibles of a particular setup
Meanwhile, on the classical guitar forums, the Zoom H2 line seems to be very popular, but for some reason my stupidly superficial brain doesn't want to record into a tiny little machine. Talk some sense into me?
There are one or two classical recordings with the Yeti on youtube, and they do sound alright to me, but I have to wonder if that's youtube's compression removing the highs.
In the XLR/interface realm:
The FAQ here included a recommendation for Studio Projects C-4 which is $350 for a pair of pencils and the stand. I'd have to get an interface on top of that. $500 total is too steep for me right now, but I could see myself getting it a year down the road if my recording habit grows more serious, or if I start playing gigs (which is a ways off for sure). Most of the "proper" classical guitar setups I've seen people recommend are $800 and up.
Basically, I'm looking for any thoughts that could either:
1. Dissuade me from buying the Yeti, such as an XLR/interface setup option that would be of better sound quality but not exceed 300 dollars, or
2. Confirm that I could deal with possible brittle aspect of the sound with equalization or by setting the room or mic properly. (I've read that the room is as important as the mic, for classical guitar, and I do have a quite good-sized room.)
Or any thoughts at all on my thought process, any direction you could point me to gain more knowledge with which to make my decision. Thank you for your time!
[edit] PS, if anybody wants to hear the audio samples I had selected (me playing on my setup, examples of the yeti's high-end spike/tinniness, examples of decent sounding classical recordings on the yeti), let me know here and I can PM you?
Also, I've just now learned that my links won't work because I don't have 10 posts yet. Oh well. I can make do.
I am an amateur classical guitarist. My setup is a $10 Logitech mic, $10 webcam, and a $1400 Alvarez Yairi CY-140. Possibly a little unbalanced. I do have a rather large room to work with. Obviously I want to get a better mic setup, and I've thusly dipped into the waters of the recording world. Here are some of the alternatives I've become aware of, and what I think/know so far.
****condenser vs dynamic****
I pretty much universally read (here in the FAQ, and elsewhere) that classical guitar recording calls for condenser mics due to the need for picking up the broadest range of frequencies.
****SDC vs LDC****
I read that small condensers are purportedly better for recording instruments that don't have sustained tone--because they are smaller, they respond faster. What I'm running into a lot is the recommendation to have two matched pencil mics, though someone mentioned the possibility of having one SDC and one LDC.
***USB vs XLR***
When I started looking, I obviously hadn't done much research. I started out looking at Blue's Snowball (USB) because I liked a friend's recordings that utilized it, and actually considered getting it. But then I heard some audio comparisons between it and the Yeti (also USB), and the Yeti seemed to be better and have more options, including several polar setups and latency-free monitoring. But lots of people say USB just isn't the way to go, because eventually you'll have to cave and go the XLR/interface route. Also, with an interface, I could be a lot farther away from any source of noise, if I needed to be, where with USB I only get 6 feet away. Though my laptop is very quiet.
At first I wasn't considering XLR/interface, but now I am. But my budget is severely limited--I would feel excessive spending more than 300 dollars, and would honestly prefer to spend less than 200. I don't record that much. I might record more with good equipment, however.
***Inherent to the mic, or fixable?***
For the majority of my researching stint, I was strongly leaning toward the Yeti. However, I found repeatedly that the test recordings people were making had a certain tinniness (where steel string guitar was involved) or high-end dryness (where the voice was involved). It was slight in some cases, more obvious in others. A friend told me that cheap condensers will pretty much always spike the mid-high end.
A review on recordinghacks compared the Yeti to the Yeti Pro, specifically counting off of the Yeti for being too tinny/sibilant-harsh.
The big question for me is, if I got the Yeti, could I adjust for the tinny highs/sibilants with equalization, or with a change in room/mic position setup? I assume that most of the people giving rave reviews on youtube about the yeti don't even notice the tinniness, so they are not trying to adjust for it at all.
A thought is to just go ahead and pop out that $120 since:
1. it's not that much money, well within my comfort range
2. it's way, way better than what I've got
3. I could record duets, which I am interested in doing
4. I can probably resell it with not too much difficulty
5. It could give me experience in fine-tuning the foibles of a particular setup
Meanwhile, on the classical guitar forums, the Zoom H2 line seems to be very popular, but for some reason my stupidly superficial brain doesn't want to record into a tiny little machine. Talk some sense into me?
There are one or two classical recordings with the Yeti on youtube, and they do sound alright to me, but I have to wonder if that's youtube's compression removing the highs.
In the XLR/interface realm:
The FAQ here included a recommendation for Studio Projects C-4 which is $350 for a pair of pencils and the stand. I'd have to get an interface on top of that. $500 total is too steep for me right now, but I could see myself getting it a year down the road if my recording habit grows more serious, or if I start playing gigs (which is a ways off for sure). Most of the "proper" classical guitar setups I've seen people recommend are $800 and up.
Basically, I'm looking for any thoughts that could either:
1. Dissuade me from buying the Yeti, such as an XLR/interface setup option that would be of better sound quality but not exceed 300 dollars, or
2. Confirm that I could deal with possible brittle aspect of the sound with equalization or by setting the room or mic properly. (I've read that the room is as important as the mic, for classical guitar, and I do have a quite good-sized room.)
Or any thoughts at all on my thought process, any direction you could point me to gain more knowledge with which to make my decision. Thank you for your time!
[edit] PS, if anybody wants to hear the audio samples I had selected (me playing on my setup, examples of the yeti's high-end spike/tinniness, examples of decent sounding classical recordings on the yeti), let me know here and I can PM you?