Condenser mic recommendations for flute

  • Thread starter Thread starter Spinney Lainey
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Spinney Lainey

Spinney Lainey

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So I recently bought an SE Electronics SEX1R ribbon microphone for my flute and would like to get a condenser mic, so I can record stereo. Any suggestions? Cheers :)

Price range - up to £200
 
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If you want to record stereo, just get a second identical mic. That'll give you proper stereo.

I've never recorded flute with a condenser (or flute at all for that matter) but because I was around flutes for years, I can tell you this....you'll want to stick with ribbons on them. One, they sound beautiful. Two, any bad thing about the flute (screechy high frequencies) will be averted by the ribbon.
 
You didn't mention any price range, but judging from your first choice, I am guessing you seek a mid-range price that performs well.

Your best value would probably be to buy a modified mic from one of the high end mod engineers. There are a few small companies that routinely take average stock mics, do focused upgrades to make them sound nearly like vintage classics, and then sell them as new. Prices range anywhere from $200 to over $1000, but their performance always far exceeds their price. I own a few modded Oktava MK-012's and they are absolutely gorgeous on instruments. That all-too-common harshness that cheap mics always seem to have in the upper-mid range is tamed to perfection and sounds completely natural. Just do a Google search for "mic mods." You'll find several.

EDIT: Some of those companies offer upgrade services to mics you already own. You ship your stock mic to them, for a fee they upgrade it and then return it to you.
 
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Unfortunately, I can't buy another SE Electronics SEX1R ribbon mic because they've been discontinued

The recordings I did at a friend's studio before I got my own mic involved using two different mics and it sounded good because they picked up different frequencies. Would you not recommend this, then?

So was thinking of mixing it with a condenser mic to get the best of both worlds.....I agree with what you're saying about the condenser mic potentially letting through screeching frequencies and the ribbon mic sounding lovely - that's why I chose it. However, I'm primarily recording flute for psytrance tracks, so am wondering if the condenser would help give it a bit more presence in the mix......
 
Bit surprised no one has suggest buying the best SDC cardiod the OP can afford and recording Mid-Side?

I am fairly sure you can do this with a standard 2 chann' AI and have Reaper sort the signals?
Will check that!

Hmm? Found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcD6MLkwKfQ but unfortunately I get no sound on the vid so I don't know WTF is going on!
Dave.
 
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Actually, I was thinking of recording mid-side but not quite sure how to do this. I am a complete newbie to home recording...........
 
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