How would you use these mics - kinda silly...

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Nate74

Nate74

HR4FREBR
I realize this might be sort of silly, but I also realize that somebody out there may have an idea that could change the way I approach mic selection. :rolleyes:

So I'd love to hear thoughts on how you all would use this mic collection in recording, in the context of recording bands (drum kits, electric/acoustic guitars, bass, vocals, keys, etc.)

I'd also be curious if anybody sees and gaping holes in this collection...?

My collection and how I use them are as follows:

Rode NTK - almost exclusively on vocals
Rode NT1 (older Aussy model) - vocals, room mic on amps, acoustic guitar
AKG C2000 - vocals, acoustic guitar, room mic, hihat mic, bass cabs
Shure SM27 - vocals, upright bass
Shure Beta 52A - bass drum
Shure SM57 (several) - snare drum, sound hole on acoustic guitar, toms, guitar cabs
Shure SM58 (several) - nothing really in the studio, just live
Sennheiser e609 - guitar cabs, bass cabs
Nady CM90 - hihat, acoustic guitar
MXL-990 - paper weight, guitar cabs
Audix F15 (matched pair) - drum overheads, room mics on guitar cabs

If this thread is lame... I understand :confused:
 
So I'm guessing I should try this thread again and hope and pray this gets scrubbed?
 
A perfect example of someone who's 16, yet still acts like a 4 year-old!!!

Not gonna do it with quotes! Hope he really is banned!!!
 
Of course now that it all has been removed, it looks like everybody is upset over my original post... :)

But uh, now can we talk mics?
 
As for your Mic selection above, Nate, you're pretty much doing it by the book. Suggestions? Try every mic on every source. Why not? A) You learn a lot. B) You stumble upon gold. There's no reason you can't try recording your acoustic guitar with a bass drum mic. Just try and take notes on what you like and dislike.

Sorry to be vague, but in the time it would take for me to write a perscription and you to read it, you could already have experimented. Ooo ooo...try this. write down the names of all your mics on little pieces of paper. Then write down the names of all your instruments. Then put each pile of names into seperate hats. Then pic one name out of each hat and set up the combo.
 
Guess I never saw the offending post. Now, everybody that knows me knows I'm a big fan of the C2000B, for lots of stuff. I never even considered it on bass cabs-Wow. It's the only mic you own other than the SM57 that I am really familiar with . It's one of my cheap go-to mics. Your biggest gaping holes? A good pair of matched small diaphragms and a better dynamic. In the lower price range, I like Marshall MXL603, Oktava MC012, and Studio Projects C-4. For the dynamics, there's 3 that really stand out for me- Shure SM-7B, Electrovoice RE20, and Sennheiser MD441. The cheapest of the 3 is the Shure, which is a very handy mic.-Richie
 
I second the 603s, as I have 3. But they might be considered a little bright. I am seriously considering a pair of MK012's. I hear they are a little darker(ish) and fuller. These days I am really trying to avoid bright and brittle. I have 2 Oktava MK319's that I took the high frequency booster discs off the diaphragms. They are very dark and smooth now. I'm going to try them as overheads and see if the higher sizzle sound of the cymbals sounds is more controlled.
 
Richard,
So what do you use your dynamics for? Are you micing toms or cabs or???

I've been thinking about a second Rode NT1 for my overheads. Any thoughts on that idea?
 
You know, I picked one of these stereo jobs up for minidisc recording recently (HD mini disc records 16 bit uncompressed nowadays--for $200. It's a great little tool for samples, ambient, etc.) I set it up as an overhead above my drummer's cocktail kit and was VERY pleased with the richiness it lent to the recording. It isn't very good on acoustic guitar, however. It requires quite a lot of gain for quieter sounds. But, again, great drum mic, great ambient mic.

http://www.bswusa.com/proditem.asp?item=AT825
 
What do I use dynamics for? Vocals, voiceovers, snare, tom, kick, brass, djembe, doumbek, zarb. Right now I'm doing a 12 episode radio play which sucks up all of my best dynamics for simultaneous multiple voiceovers. With six live mics, judicious use of noise gating is necessary. Dynamic mics are simply one of the standard options for any kind of vocals. Condensers aren't always the answer. Dynamics are also good when there are issues with ambient noise and mic bleed.
Yo sonic idiot- if you want to hear a stereo mic that runs a lot hotter than the AT's (any of them), and *is* good on acoustic guitar, check this one out-

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=4563&Category=Microphones

I use it a lot with a Korg PXR4 Pandora. It's only stereo input is a 1/8" -10 line in, and the Sony feeds that just fine. After I figured out the boogered-up cabling to plug it into the 2 sides of my Avalon, it is a very good studio mic as well. The only weird thing is- it is a mid-side mic with a built in MS decoder, so the input and output on the 2 channels have to be identical, or you get a bunch of noise. It is a *very* handy mic. Don't leave home without it.-Richie
 
I guess since my first condensor (about 8 years ago), I've just stopped looking at 'em except for the old stand-by's (sm57, D112, etc.) Of course if I knew what a djembe, doumbek or zarb were... :rolleyes:
 
hey i know what a djembe is... as for the others... beats me.

i used to have a korg pandora... i absolutely hated it but it wasnt meant for what i was doing. You say you have an Avalon though? as in.. the $1000 dollar preamps? thats the only avalon i know of, but im thinking that that and a pxr4 dont really match up...
 
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