Condesor Mic on guitar amp?

[SouthSIDE Glen]

You don't read industry rags much, do ya?

Seems like a bazillion affordable ribbon mics popped out of the woodwork in the past 2 or 3 years, all at the sub-$500 price point, and a surprising number of them at the sub-$250 price point. Sampson, Nady, Thomann, DoodlySquat, etc. They're probably all the same Chinese guts rebadged by whatever company imports them.

Whether any of them are decent is a whole 'nother question.

Which is just one more reason why classifying mic choice by it's mechanical design doesn't make any sense. What does "ribbon mic" even mean anymore, other than what kind of transducer it uses? I haven't heard the new cheap ones yet, but I'm confident enough to bet that there are as many sonic differences between a Sampson or Nady and an AEA or Royer as there are in condensers between an MXL, a Rode and a Neumann. Hell, even within brands the differences are striking. An MXL 990 is as different from an MXL V69 as a Neumann TLM103 is from a U87.

It's just as OK or not OK to use a condenser as it is any other type of microphone design; the only question is if the specific mic you have in your hands will handle the environment and deliver the sound you want.

G.

 

[mattdee1]

Obviously you should just give it a go with what you have and if you like it, go with it.

That being said, I used to be in your exact situation and I did a bunch of guitar recording using the condenser mics I had available. I thought it sounded fine until a while later when I got my hands on a 57 and ended up re-recording everything I had done with the condensers because I liked the sound I was getting so much better. YMMV.

Matt

 

[Bob Ross]

Which is just one more reason why classifying mic choice by it's mechanical design doesn't make any sense. What does "ribbon mic" even mean anymore, other than what kind of transducer it uses? I haven't heard the new cheap ones yet, but I'm confident enough to bet that there are as many sonic differences between a Sampson or Nady and an AEA or Royer as there are in condensers between an MXL, a Rode and a Neumann. Hell, even within brands the differences are striking. An MXL 990 is as different from an MXL V69 as a Neumann TLM103 is from a U87.

It's just as OK or not OK to use a condenser as it is any other type of microphone design; the only question is if the specific mic you have in your hands will handle the environment and deliver the sound you want.

Right. To quote myself (from this thread https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=76037)

"[the question] presupposes that whatever generalizations one can make about the behavior of small- versus large-diaphragm mics [or ribbon versus condensor versus moving coil] will outweigh the particular characteristics of individual microphone make/models.

They won't."

 

[dodgeaspen]

I don't see why not as long as it sounds good.

 

[Sonixx]

Which is just one more reason why classifying mic choice by it's mechanical design doesn't make any sense. What does "ribbon mic" even mean anymore, other than what kind of transducer it uses?

are you implying the transducer does not matter or that transducer types do not have characteristics?

 

[Sonixx]

fat head versus r121

A decent Ribbon costs alot...Id have to wonder who is making an affordable one and what that price point is.

I have several fairly inexpensive ribbons which include a Trion 7000 pair and one Fat Head. I also have a R84 pair, R92 pair and one R121. the inexpensive ribbons get just as much use.

here's two clips. one is a Fat Head and the other is a R121. the mic pre is a TRP. care to pick? thanks to FlyAngus for the DI clip.

Clips:
S291
S292

Pics:
r121
Fat Head

 

[darrin_h2000]

You don't read industry rags much, do ya?
.

Ido...I just dont trust them that much...too much good reviews in those things...I think most of them are fueled by ad dollars...and if you want one from Shure it costs like $1600...hardly any of the other quality companies i trust are putting any out yet...I might get a Beyer if anything.