hixmix
Halibut, North Dakota
Oh, the boundless ingenuity of women.
MrZekeMan
New member
Sorry,
But I'll have to still respectfully disagree. I can see the importance of creating an acoustically noiseless recording environment. And I'm not willing to give up on trying to do that. I did some recording in Rick Kneppers home studio last Monday. He had his tracking room set up in a rather large closet, acoustic treatments on the walls. It was dead, to my ears extremely dead. But he's still not satisfied. He's moving into a new place where he can have an even better environment, with two rooms dedicated for track and control room.
The stuff he records is incredibly quiet compared to what I record. And I learned a lot from his set up about what direction I need to be taking.
I guess you can either live with noise and crappy sounding recordings, or you can work to eliminate it.
And yes, he used a shock mount.
So use one or not, it's up to you. I'll definitely use one, because it's one piece in the puzzle for me to achieve what I want to achieve in tracking quality.
Zeke
But I'll have to still respectfully disagree. I can see the importance of creating an acoustically noiseless recording environment. And I'm not willing to give up on trying to do that. I did some recording in Rick Kneppers home studio last Monday. He had his tracking room set up in a rather large closet, acoustic treatments on the walls. It was dead, to my ears extremely dead. But he's still not satisfied. He's moving into a new place where he can have an even better environment, with two rooms dedicated for track and control room.
The stuff he records is incredibly quiet compared to what I record. And I learned a lot from his set up about what direction I need to be taking.
I guess you can either live with noise and crappy sounding recordings, or you can work to eliminate it.
And yes, he used a shock mount.
So use one or not, it's up to you. I'll definitely use one, because it's one piece in the puzzle for me to achieve what I want to achieve in tracking quality.
Zeke
mixmkr
we don't need rest!!
MrZekeMan said:
I guess I am going to have to give up on my thoughts....
:-(
you certainly can't tear apart reasoning, for trying to better your sound, and using what is available.....more power to your efforts. I can only commend you for your goals. Sounds like you're on a good road, and I hope that you'll be able to hear your [studio building] efforts in the quality music you hope to make in the future.
I'll bow out and say:
Marshall Electronics goes to the drawing board.....thinking about guys impressed with a studio in a closet, Marshall Electronics then invisions a spiffy looking mic setup....a home studio engineer gets respected results [not because of the equipment, but most likely because they own a pair of "experienced" ears....] and the rest of the story is history.....
they do look cool...don't they?? (wink)
Last edited:
MrZekeMan
New member
mixmkr,
Maybe I'm naive. I suppose I might read some of my posts in a year or two from now and cringe.
But I was impressed with the closet. It was a rather large walk-in type closet. It may not have been ideal but the results it produced was pretty incredible compared to the noisy crap I was producing.
I have no doubt that it's the experienced ears that makes him able to get such good results from a closet. I'm sure the $3,000 Neumann doesn't hurt either. He does engineering in a commercial studio part-time too, so he know's what he's doing.
I still maintain that a shock mount's usefulness goes beyond looking cool. I'm hard headed that way. I can't help it. I just believe it.
Zeke
Maybe I'm naive. I suppose I might read some of my posts in a year or two from now and cringe.
But I was impressed with the closet. It was a rather large walk-in type closet. It may not have been ideal but the results it produced was pretty incredible compared to the noisy crap I was producing.
I have no doubt that it's the experienced ears that makes him able to get such good results from a closet. I'm sure the $3,000 Neumann doesn't hurt either. He does engineering in a commercial studio part-time too, so he know's what he's doing.
I still maintain that a shock mount's usefulness goes beyond looking cool. I'm hard headed that way. I can't help it. I just believe it.
Zeke
David
New member
I'm no pro, expert etc., but if for only "one" reason you might wanna use that shockmount, is...say some goofball with size 15' shoes comes strolling thru your hard earned studio and just by accident knocks over that mic stand with the $$ mic attached to it, you might be saying to your self...wow! glad I had the old shockmount around that $$ mic, or I might have had to kill you. Happened to me once...and that's all it takes. Anyway's carry on...
J
Jan
New member
Not only would I use a shockmount, I even attach my pop filter on a different stand then my microphone! A sudden strong movement of air stopped by a pop filter can create such huge vibrations on a mic stand, that even a shockmount can’t absorb it!
darrin_h2000
Banned
God I wish I had walk-in closets now my wifes clothes would be so out of there.
I would generally prefer to use a shock mount (I hope to get one with the mic I soon will upgrade to). But getting one for a nady 900 isnt very cost effective.
I would generally prefer to use a shock mount (I hope to get one with the mic I soon will upgrade to). But getting one for a nady 900 isnt very cost effective.
X
xtremedb
New member
I've always used shockmounts. I can't see any reason this wouldn't solve all your vibration problems. The obvious drawback is it'll be a pain to get the mic positioned the way you want it. I like to use a blueberry as a distance mic on kit. If you don't get it just right, you may as well not waste time using it.
If I had to move it by tacking it up to the ceiling every time, it would take hours to position that one mic. I like results, but I'm a little too lazy for that!
On the other hand, you'd get a hell of a workout walking back and forth from the control room ;-)
darrin_h2000
Banned
You have blue mics as well? are they as good as they are expensive? How do they sound compared to say a Neumann u87?
hixmix
Halibut, North Dakota
"There's a whole lotta shakin' goin' on".
dgatwood
is out. Leave a message.
The only time I've found it absolutely necessary to use a shock mount is on the end of a mic pole doing movie shoots. In that case, the boom handling noise (even if you're using a large, stand-mounted boom) is enough to totally screw up your recording if you don't have one. That's the primary purpose for shock mounts....
For the most part, assuming you aren't in a room that is on top of a long, unsupported wooden span (e.g. the room above a large living room/dining room), a relatively new carpet pad with plush carpet will do a lot more than a shock mount ever could. (This doesn't apply to tight weave industrial carpets. That stuff's good for nothing, IMHO.)
Usually, if there is appreciable floor rumble, there is also enough through-the-air noise to make the room unusable. That said, I've never lived in a skyscraper apartment or in a home overlooking a freeway. Those are the sorts of places where it might be an issue. Ditty for any concrete structure if you're near a mechanical room. If none of those sound familiar, I doubt a shock mount will make any detectable difference in the sound of your recordings, honestly.
As for protecting mics from impact, it still doesn't protect them from the air blowing past the sensitive ribbon or diaphragm on the way down. If you really want to protect a mic from those size 15 shoes, get a better mic stand. Good mic stands don't fall over when you cough, and if you're mounting an expensive microphone on a stand that does, your money would be better spent on a decent stand rather than trying to reduce the amount of potential damage with a shock mount, IMHO.
The mic stand we used when I was doing a movie shoot a few years ago was so beefy that I stood up under it, hit my head on the counterweight, and you couldn't hear it in the audio track. (Yes, there was a shock mount involved. The point is that the stand didn't even shake much.) Now -that's- a mic stand.
For the most part, assuming you aren't in a room that is on top of a long, unsupported wooden span (e.g. the room above a large living room/dining room), a relatively new carpet pad with plush carpet will do a lot more than a shock mount ever could. (This doesn't apply to tight weave industrial carpets. That stuff's good for nothing, IMHO.)
Usually, if there is appreciable floor rumble, there is also enough through-the-air noise to make the room unusable. That said, I've never lived in a skyscraper apartment or in a home overlooking a freeway. Those are the sorts of places where it might be an issue. Ditty for any concrete structure if you're near a mechanical room. If none of those sound familiar, I doubt a shock mount will make any detectable difference in the sound of your recordings, honestly.
As for protecting mics from impact, it still doesn't protect them from the air blowing past the sensitive ribbon or diaphragm on the way down. If you really want to protect a mic from those size 15 shoes, get a better mic stand. Good mic stands don't fall over when you cough, and if you're mounting an expensive microphone on a stand that does, your money would be better spent on a decent stand rather than trying to reduce the amount of potential damage with a shock mount, IMHO.
The mic stand we used when I was doing a movie shoot a few years ago was so beefy that I stood up under it, hit my head on the counterweight, and you couldn't hear it in the audio track. (Yes, there was a shock mount involved. The point is that the stand didn't even shake much.) Now -that's- a mic stand.
noisedude
New member
I'm assuming there's a really good reason why you felt compelled to add to this thread for the first time in four years.
Any chance of telling us what it is?
Any chance of telling us what it is?
R
Richard Monroe
Well-known member
The bitch of it is- everybody in this thread is right, and they still disagree. Yes, it's a marketing gimmick. Yes, mic stands have resonating frequencies, like a wind chime, and the shock isolates the mic from those transmitted frequencies. Yes, dumbass singers and bass players tap their feet. Yes, you can make perfectly good recordings without a shockmount, assuming nobody does anything stupid. Yes, there is low frequency rumble, especially in live studio situations. Yes, it has a psychological effect on the performer, because it reminds them of every picture of a pro studio they've ever seen. But- I'll tell you this. When some dumbass tips over a mic stand, trips on a mic cord, smacks your Neumann with a drumstick, or whatever, and you are standing there looking at a damaged shockmount and a mic that's perfectly fine, you'll never record without one again. The dumbass you save could be yourself.
I can tell you, an H100 shock mount probably saved my violinist's life- from me.-Richie
I can tell you, an H100 shock mount probably saved my violinist's life- from me.-Richie
dgatwood
is out. Leave a message.
noisedude said:I'm assuming there's a really good reason why you felt compelled to add to this thread for the first time in four years.
Any chance of telling us what it is?
That would be that I followed a link from a recent post and then proceeded to post in the wrong thread.
noisedude
New member
LMAO @ Richie!
Dgatwood ... don't worry ... we've all been there ... plus I was in a pretty grumpy mood last night.
Dgatwood ... don't worry ... we've all been there ... plus I was in a pretty grumpy mood last night.
giraffe
i love negative rep
shock mount is probably a good idea at any time (it couldn't hurt)
but if i can ever afford something like a neuman i'll probably get some generic shockmount to go with it.
that's gotta be like a 5000% mark-up.
but if i can ever afford something like a neuman i'll probably get some generic shockmount to go with it.
that's gotta be like a 5000% mark-up.
A
acorec
Banned
Buck62 said:
A shockmount is something you use to prevent a problem. It is nice that some people will say they never need one, but it kind'a sucks when a great take is ruined because there was not one there.
The same argument can be used for those power strips with surge protectors. They do nothing at all *until* you get a nasty power spike. Then, you would be very happy it was there.
