CHeap Overhead Mic's Poll

  • Thread starter Thread starter JPXTom
  • Start date Start date

Which OH Pair?

  • Audix Fusion 15

    Votes: 5 7.4%
  • MXL 604

    Votes: 17 25.0%
  • Behringer ECM8000

    Votes: 8 11.8%
  • MXL 993

    Votes: 5 7.4%
  • Other(Please post)

    Votes: 33 48.5%

  • Total voters
    68
...

Naiants are f l a t. In this case, being flat is a good thing...

Cool, inexpensive, nice sound for a great price. I'm not saying my 414s are on the same level, but the Naiants are good for the typical home studio guys.
 
Two used Oktava MK-012 mics. Definitely. No question. You should be able to get them for $200 for the pair on eBay if you work at it, $250 at most. It's worth scraping up the extra $50.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Naiants, but they are omni mics, which makes them not nearly as good a choice for overheads, IMHO. I much prefer having my drum kit actually having some stereo spread coming from the overheads instead of just sounding like everything is panned almost dead center. It's a lot easier to get that with cardioid mics than omnis. If you're doing the Recorderman technique instead of an overhead X-Y, using cardioid mics is less critical, but even still, cardioids are highly recommended to reduce bleed and room reflections.

With omnis, you have to do either a spaced pair or a Jecklin Disk to get anything remotely approaching stereo. I've never liked the sound of widely spaced stereo miking, and a good Jecklin Disk will run you over your budget by itself. As a result, with cardioid mics, you're in control of the mics; with omni mics, the mics are in control of you.

Naiants would be my instant first recommendation for guitar or for low-cost recording of piano. I've also used them on flute and cello in a live sound reinforcement capacity with great success. But they definitely wouldn't be my first choice for overhead mics.
 
2 ldc's (cad gxl2200) work nice for me as drum overheads. versatile for other things too
 
I wouldn't recommend any of them for that, as using omnis significantly limits what modes of stereo recording you can do. You're better off with a cardioid mic, which can be used in any stereo configuration. Also, I find the MSH series to be a little too flat for overheads. IMHO, mics with a flatter response tend to sound harsh on cymbals, hence the reason I like the MK-012 mics for that use.

I love the MSH mics, and normally I'd be the first to recommend them, at least for general miking... but for drum overheads, they wouldn't be my first pick.
 
I wouldn't recommend any of them for that, as using omnis significantly limits what modes of stereo recording you can do...

... and omnis also need great sounding rooms, in you average garage/homestudio cardoids will sound a lot better.
 
Gobos and baffles are your friends. :)

Gobos and baffles usually aren't available to people looking for "cheap overhead mic's" (sic); people looking for inexpensive mics usually aren't looking to also spend lots of money redesigning their rooms. :D
 
You guys should really try a matched pair of Samson CO2 mics, I pay only 100 euros for the pair and these mics are very nice.
 
I like the Superlux DRK A 3 C2 set for live.
They sound awesome!!
 
I was thinking that...im just not too keen about buying things from small websites. For example, Avatar cabinets...now yes they are trusted like naiant, but instead of even having a paypal sort of check out thing, they want you to send ur email wiht ur credit card number..i mean, I would never want that stuff in the wrong hands...esp. something as big as my credit card. But, they are very good so i hear..and for 50 bucks for a pair..idk if you can go wrong. And also i do already have an MXL 990..i was wondering if i bought another and used them as overheads...or if i should just go new OH's all the way.

I have 3 of the Naiant mics. One mached pair and one single. I highly, highly recommend them. As I recall they use paypal so I wouldn't worry. Even if they accepted credit card info directly I would still use them.

I also own a pair of Behringer 8000 mics as well. They are good for the money and I don't regret buying them but if I had to chose the Behringers or the naiants I would chose the naiants.
 
I have 3 of the Naiant mics. One mached pair and one single. I highly, highly recommend them. As I recall they use paypal so I wouldn't worry. Even if they accepted credit card info directly I would still use them.

I also own a pair of Behringer 8000 mics as well. They are good for the money and I don't regret buying them but if I had to chose the Behringers or the naiants I would chose the naiants.

Alright..yeah...i did hear a sample of an mxl 993 through a firepod that i did like, but ive heard a lot more and better samples of these naiants...which of the new naints most closely resembles the MSH-10?
 
Thanks for this! :) I'm looking into buying some overheads at the moment.
 
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