J
James HE
a spoonfull weighs a ton
MC012? AT 3525?
Mainly for overheads. (and don't give me other options!
)I can't decide! I'm torn about which I should buy. I went to Guitar Satan and "auditioned" a MC012. I thought it sounded great, very accurate, and very natural. I didn't feel like I was listening to a microphone in headphones, but some other extention of my ears. If I went with Octava I'd get two preamp bodies and a matched pair of cardiod caps. ($450+ with a box from the Sound Room) After hearing so much about the MC012 I was very pleased to at least hear it (albeit in the store, snapping my fingers and saying "hey... hey, check" ) I was also checking out a AT 3525 at Mars. I thought this mic was exceptionaly warm sounding. I've heard that the 3525 dosent have a lot of output, and was afriad that this fact was what I was percieving as "warm". Regardless, I like the sound of the mic, my finger snaps weren't as natural sounding as on the 012, but it had character. I also really dug it with my voice, even better than the 414 right next to it. (wish I could afford a pair of those!) I thought it was as good as the 4033 on my voice, a little different, but still good. The 4047! oh my! that's what I want for my vocal mic! I think I like it better than the 4050! but I digress...
It seems they would both serve me well, The 012 very natual sounding, airy but not harsh, the 3525 seemed warm, and had a character that I really dug. Almost exact opposites huh? The 3525 also has a switchable hi-pass filter which is a plus. It would be much easier if I could try them out in my studio, but i'm left guessing and pondering... into abstraction...
I was listening to "This Years Model" by Elvis Costello the other day. The drum sounds on that perked my ears a little. I really dug the cymbal sounds, I was hearing the tape compression, what it was doing to the attack and the transients of the crashes, I want that sound! (not necessarly that analog sound but THAT sound) Tracking analog would be incredible, but it's out of my reach. I started thinking about the medium (analog/ digital), and how it treats certain sounds, and how to perhaps compensate for the differences, being that I record to disk at 24bit. This all lead me to consider the 3525's as overheads more closely, that something a little rounder, a little less accurate, but not bloated or heavy, may get me closer to what I'd like to hear on playback. But then again the natural sound of the MC012 is what I'd love to hear, but really the sound coming off the board and how it sounds on playback are two different things. Maybe that natural sound will sound not so natual through the converters and back. And on any playback system, the same thing. hmmm.... all this philosophical reasoning hasen't gotten me any closer to making a decision...
-jhe
Mainly for overheads. (and don't give me other options!
)I can't decide! I'm torn about which I should buy. I went to Guitar Satan and "auditioned" a MC012. I thought it sounded great, very accurate, and very natural. I didn't feel like I was listening to a microphone in headphones, but some other extention of my ears. If I went with Octava I'd get two preamp bodies and a matched pair of cardiod caps. ($450+ with a box from the Sound Room) After hearing so much about the MC012 I was very pleased to at least hear it (albeit in the store, snapping my fingers and saying "hey... hey, check" ) I was also checking out a AT 3525 at Mars. I thought this mic was exceptionaly warm sounding. I've heard that the 3525 dosent have a lot of output, and was afriad that this fact was what I was percieving as "warm". Regardless, I like the sound of the mic, my finger snaps weren't as natural sounding as on the 012, but it had character. I also really dug it with my voice, even better than the 414 right next to it. (wish I could afford a pair of those!) I thought it was as good as the 4033 on my voice, a little different, but still good. The 4047! oh my! that's what I want for my vocal mic! I think I like it better than the 4050! but I digress... It seems they would both serve me well, The 012 very natual sounding, airy but not harsh, the 3525 seemed warm, and had a character that I really dug. Almost exact opposites huh? The 3525 also has a switchable hi-pass filter which is a plus. It would be much easier if I could try them out in my studio, but i'm left guessing and pondering... into abstraction...
I was listening to "This Years Model" by Elvis Costello the other day. The drum sounds on that perked my ears a little. I really dug the cymbal sounds, I was hearing the tape compression, what it was doing to the attack and the transients of the crashes, I want that sound! (not necessarly that analog sound but THAT sound) Tracking analog would be incredible, but it's out of my reach. I started thinking about the medium (analog/ digital), and how it treats certain sounds, and how to perhaps compensate for the differences, being that I record to disk at 24bit. This all lead me to consider the 3525's as overheads more closely, that something a little rounder, a little less accurate, but not bloated or heavy, may get me closer to what I'd like to hear on playback. But then again the natural sound of the MC012 is what I'd love to hear, but really the sound coming off the board and how it sounds on playback are two different things. Maybe that natural sound will sound not so natual through the converters and back. And on any playback system, the same thing. hmmm.... all this philosophical reasoning hasen't gotten me any closer to making a decision...
-jhe