How does diaphragm size/polar pattern relate to mic applications?

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Mack is the coolest. One day during an album he and Tommy were picking songs, so we threw up a few mics and he ran through different tunes for hours. It was a nice private all-day concert!

(sorry to be off topic in this post...)

Actually, the mics were:

Voc: 67 into a Neve (I think 1073), into an SSL tape monitor (rather than the VCA)
Pno: Schoeps into Focusrite mic pre (no eq), into a pair of SSL tape monitors
A little bit of a stereo plate with a short pre-delay (PCM42) on a send

Straight to DATs with no compression
 
Hi Bruce an Harvey,
I had a question about Dr.John's CD titled "Dr. John Plays Mac Rebenach".I have always strived to get that quality of Piano sound that was obtained on that CD.Do either of you have any info on those sessions? Such as mics and setup. I would imagine it was expensive vintage mics of some sort.It sounds as if it was close miked.Do you think these were omnis.The bass really sounds rich.
 
Harvey, I lived in Denton for 7 years (as it turns out, my old bosses at the Flying Tomato live out in Sanger!) and I wish to God I had known about the existence of a microphone super ninja that close by before I moved up to Colorado. Ever recorded any of them Denton bands? Some damn good musicians there, but a good number of those recordings could sure use some help! Thanks for everything you did here, and hopefully I'll get a chance to meet you whenever I head back that way. And hey, if you're not up to it there's always KT's video, right?
 
printed and read whole thread

Just wanted to let you know i Really appreciated and enjoyed it! Very helpfull. Thanks!

Guhlenn
 
Baccala,

The problem with doing something like that is the sheer volume of mics that are out there and all the new ones coming out almost daily. I thought it would be best to keep this thread free of specific mic recommendations to avoid the information becoming dated. Most of the info here is timeless and applies to everyday recording situations, regardless of whether you're a seasoned pro, or you're just starting out.

I have recommended specific mics for some situations in other threads, or tried to turn people on to patterns other than just cardioid, but that gets tricky when you try to explain why to use something, without seeming to be biased towards the product.

There are very few unusable products out there; the biggest problem most people have is in understanding the relationship between mic placement and sound. Two people with identical mics can record the same band and wind up with totally different sounding recordings.
 
Thanx a million

Hey Harvey,

This thread has been a great experience and all the information has been invaluable. I'm only half way through the postings and the information is sticking (more so than any Hal Leonard-ish publication I've ever read)!

Just wanted to add to the chorus of thanx and give mine. When I catch up on all the info here, hopefully you'll still be willing to answer a question or two from me! :-)

-Karl
 
A Compilation Of This Thread Part 1- - Thank You Harvey

Harvey,

Like so many who have read this thread before me, I wish to show my gratitude and thank you for so much helpful and wonderful information. Thank you for taking the time to explain all that you have done here and answering so many questions.

I am a newbie to recording and I have gained a lot from your taking the time to share your knowledge with us.

I have compiled this entire thread into a 79-page document that I have attached. Unfortunately, do to size restrictions I had to split this paper into two halves. Please see the next post for the remainder of the paper.

FYI:
To whoever elects to download this and read it, below is an explanation of my editing, formatting, and text color choices.

I have compiled this in a way that directly suits me. Currently my No. 1 desire is to get the best sounding recording that I can from the two acoustic guitars I own: a 1995 Norman 6-string (with a Fishman preamp) and a 2002 Taylor model 355 12-string. You will notice that certain mics and techniques that are relevant to recording an acoustic guitar have been either bolded or bolded and colored red. Section headings have also been bolded.

I have removed what I have considered to be either chatter or off-topic text. I have also removed everyone but Harvey’s name from this document and replaced his or her names with “reader”. All questions from readers are in italics. I have attempted to arrange relative information into chapters. I have also included posts that Harvey has made from other threads.

Thanks again Harvey.

Warm regards,

John
 

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thx dude

tbh my eyes r so wide open after reading this i think there gonna pop :eek:


i learned more from this thread than i did from any AE book or even the year i done at college!!


im off 2 laugh like a mad scientist myself 2 sleep, now its 6am :D


thx harv..stallion bloke tbh
 
Harvey Gerst said:
Ok, that didn't work. I'm open to suggestions at this point. Is it possible to directly show that picture in the body of my post?
Click to expand...

??? I see a nice Bode plot in your post. Whassa prob?
 
ggunn said:
??? I see a nice Bode plot in your post. Whassa prob?
Click to expand...
Uhh, that was posted 4/30/01. I think he may have subsequently solved the problem. :)
 
crazydoc said:
Uhh, that was posted 4/30/01. I think he may have subsequently solved the problem. :)
Click to expand...

<red-faced> Yeah; I am a newcomer to HR.com, and this thread is just about the first one I looked at. I of course know everything there is to know about this type of forum (yeah, right), so I immediately jumped in with my $0.02 without looking at the creation date or the number of entries.

Anyway, it's taken me this long to get to the end of it, and it's been an intensely educational experience for me. Harvey is indeed Da Man, and he's even older than me, which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Cheers,
 
Here's a question: If omni mics work on an entirely different principle than cardioid, how come the Oktava MK012 can be switched to omni just by attaching a new head?
 
Metaxy said:
Here's a question: If omni mics work on an entirely different principle than cardioid, how come the Oktava MK012 can be switched to omni just by attaching a new head?
Click to expand...
Omnis work on pressure, figure 8's work on velocity; cardioids are an equal mixture of the two.

An omni is simply a mic with only oneside exposed to the sound, so that it responds to pressure, not direction. A figure 8 responds to velocity and the sound comes in equally from the front and back.

The back sound gets in thru a large opening behind the mic. As you shut off the back opening, the mic becomes more and more like an omni.

Look at the three heads on an Oktava MC012. The omni has no slotted openings, the cardioid has a couple, and the hypercardioid has more. Look at the pattern layout of any multipattern mic; it's always omni at one end and figure 8 at the other end. All the other inbetween patterns are just varying mixtures of these two patterns, with cardioid being equal proportions of both patterns and always in the center of pattern choices.

Here's the breakdown:

Omni = 100% Omni Pattern, 0% Figure 8 Pattern
Wide Cardioid = 75% Omni Pattern, 25% Figure 8 Pattern
Cardioid = 50% Omni Pattern, 50% Figure 8 Pattern
HyperCardioid = 25% Omni Pattern, 75% Figure 8 Pattern
Figure 8 = 0% Omni Pattern, 100% Figure 8 Pattern

Or you could say:

Omni = 100% Pure Pressure Pattern, 0% Velocity Pattern
Wide Cardioid = 75% Pure Pressure Pattern, 25% Velocity Pattern
Cardioid = 50% Pure Pressure Pattern, 50% Velocity Pattern
HyperCardioid = 25% Pure Pressure Pattern, Velocity Pattern
Figure 8 = 0% Pure Pressure Pattern, 100% Pure Velocity Pattern
 
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Just sing and play........inspiration .....forget about everything else...you'll get it.
 
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