condenser mics on a budget

I also own two Studio Projects B3 mics, and they're a very nice mic and only about $150 each. Oh, and the difference between the Marshall MXLV67G and the MXLV67B, is the color... and the the MXLV67G has the gold plated round grill and distinctive vintage brass body design where the MXLV67B doesn't.
 
omni or not

yeah,

I agree the omni would be better...but here in NYC I'm so rarely in a decent sounding room I don't think it'll be a big deal. Every practice space I've been in has dicey acoustics & is really small. Plus, my new set up that I'm building will be used primarily in my apartment, close micing one or two things at a time.

So i'm gonna be thrifty and just get the B1. If this goes well, later on i'll upgrade to a C3.

The next item on my list are decent monitors!

Save that for the next thread....


Thanks again,

M
 
Mark, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.
Since I "just" sing, keep in mind my comments are on how the C1
and the Oktava MC012 sound on vocals.

The C1 is relatively more detailed than the MC012, and has a
brighter (but NOT harsh!) top than the MC012.
The MC012 sounds "thicker"/less transparent than the C1 in the
vocal mid-range. Both reproduce low notes well.
The C1 is more "flattering" (typically) on vocals.
The MC012 is more prone to "popping" as it is a SD condenser.
It makes more sense to buy a new B1 or C1, than getting one
from Guitar Center where they have "lemons" mixed in.
To sum up, the MC012 is capable of making fine vocal recordings,
however, my usual preference would be the C1. If the C1 was a
"10", the MC012 would be about "8" on a relative scale.

Also, many people record acoustic guitar really close up with an omni to minimize negative room acoustics so a B3 should work fine.

Chris
 
Mark, I agree that an omni as a room mic will probably suck if the room sucks. The omni as a close mic is a plan to defeat a room that sucks. Because you don't have proximity, you gan get it real close to an acoustic or other instrument while minimizing excessive bass boost. The close mic allows you to reduce gain, thereby reducing reflections and ambient noise. As near as I can tell, the B-1 and B-3 are pretty much the same mic, except that the B-3 has omni and figure of 8 polar patterns available. The B-3 does all of what the B-1 does, and a bunch of other stuff.
The C-1 does not appear to be a better mic than B-1, just different. Both are well worth the price. I also own an MK319, and I use it where my C-3 is too bright. It's a perfectly good mic, but I wouldn't call it versatile. I pull it out when nothing else works. It works great in combo with Oktava MC012 on acoustic. I believe the versatility and strong customer support on the Studio Projects mics makes them among the best option for your first condenser.
Right now, I'm deciding whether to sell my C-3, just because I recently purchased a B.L.U.E KIWI, which seems to be the mic C-3 wishes it was. It may have actually made the C-3 obsolete in this studio.-Richie
 
10-4

thanks Richard,

That confirms my feelings about bad sounding rooms. Don't fight it!

I know this would appall purists....but i'll just close mic and put a hall verb on it to give it distance.

Sometimes a bit of compression/limiter with the right verb will give ya a room sound. I just cut n paste another track and do that up panned away from the close mic and there it is....insta room sound!
 
Richard Monroe said:
Right now, I'm deciding whether to sell my C-3, just because I recently purchased a B.L.U.E KIWI, which seems to be the mic C-3 wishes it was. It may have actually made the C-3 obsolete in this studio.-Richie
Click to expand...

How much money do you want for your Studio Projects C3 mic?
 
Richard,
If you want to sell you Studio Projects C3 mic, and its in mint condition along with the included manual, spider shockmount, foam windsceen, and case... I give you $250 for it.
 
My ideal budget mics

Buy used microphones. There are about 3000 mics on eBay that someone thought would let them sound like artist x, y or z and now they are being sold at half price. To me these are the best deals out there. But the cheaper the mic the less of a deal you get.
 
Well Richard, I guess that means you don't want to sell right now to me, that's ok, I already have two C3's anyway. I wish you the best with your mic sell.
 
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