Cheap and plentiful vs. expensive and scarce

[rcarden2]

I read a post similar to my thoughts on this matter and I wondered what everyones opinion would be. Is it better to have many cheap mics that offer different colors and sounds or one high end mic that does one sound superbly?

 

[dgatwood]

I read a post similar to my thoughts on this matter and I wondered what everyones opinion would be. Is it better to have many cheap mics that offer different colors and sounds or one high end mic that does one sound superbly?

IMHO, it's better to have a few quality, moderately inexpensive mics. The key is in choosing the -right- inexpensive mics and avoiding -cheap- mics.

 

[jkokura]

I agree. A few mics will give you flavours to choose from. If you're working on a project and have one mic, everything will sound the same. True it might sound wonderful...but it's like always ordering the same thing at McDonalds - Sooner or later it tastes like crap, and you detest it.

I find that more often than not, I'm not looking for a perfect sound. I don't want exactly transparent pres or mics...I want flavour, tone, voice!

My two pennies...which are worth less up here in Canada...take it or leave it.

Jacob

 

[4-Man Takedown]

It depends, if recording a metal band live I would rather have more cheap mics. If I was recording a bluegrass band live I would rather have one sweet mic.

 

[LP2006]

I would think you would benefit from having a few good, inexpensive mics around rather than just one really good one. This is mostly due to versatility. Firstly, a variety of 'flavors' to choose from never hurts. However you must take into consideration that everything isn't going to sound good on just one mic. Just because you have a sweet $1000 condenser thats sweet on vocals doesn't necesarily mean its going to be just as good on a guitar amp or other instruments.

There is just way to many different sounds out there just to choose one mic and call it "the best".

 

[pohaku]

As others have opined, there is no one mic, no matter how expensive or high end, that will be great on everything. There is a middle option. I think you do want good mics. But some are expensive and some are not. I would go for a couple quality mics that meet various needs that you might have, rather than a bunch cheap mics (even though they may have different sounds or applications) that you will ultimately want to replace. The mics you get don't have to be Neumanns or Gefells or RCA ribbons to be good. For example, the AT-4040 is a very good all around LD condensor that is not very expensive (better and more useful than the 4033 IMHO). If you can spend a bit more, get the AT-4050 instead since you get a better mic and multiple patterns. A Beyer M201 can be picked up for @$125 or so on e-bay. Use where you would otherwise have used a SM-57 (snare and amps, etc.) and for acoustic guitar. It is a very nice, better than an SM-57, dynamic mic. A pair of the Oktava SD condensor mics would be very useful for overheads and for acoustic instruments and you would continue to use them. An EV RE15, RE16 or RE18 can be a very nice vocal mic and they can sometimes be found for less than $100 on e-bay. Good enough for Elvis. An AT-4054 is a great handheld vocal mic (uses the same capsule as the AT-4050 but is cardioid only with bass roll off) that goes for @$150 used because it has been supplanted by the newer AE5400 that has a roll-off switch. Same capsule though. The SM7 is about $350 new and is one of the most useful rock and roll/country mics around (need a decent preamp with some gain though). It's ugly (IMHO), but great on vocals and guitars.