Live practice recording/mic placement

[mikgag]

So we record our practices/jams just for reference and capturing new riffs,etc. Right now we have 1 cheap Realistic Highball 2 omni-directional mic duct taped to a shelf L-bracket on the wall and fed into a 1980's Akai tape deck mic inputs(total cost of setup = $6 ). We were VERY surprised at the quality of the recording, but we are always looking to get a little better.

If you were going to just use 1 mic for this kind of application would it :

1) be a large or small condenser, and if you were going to put it in the middle of the room, would it be "upright" on a mic stand, or hanging down from the ceiling, or does it make a difference? Would getting a little mixer with 2 XLRs (for phantom) and mic preamps make a huge difference over going staight into the tape deck??

2) Would getting a couple of PZMs be a better option? If so, would these need to fed into a little mixer pres or Audio Buddy before the tape deck?

ya....we're ghetto, but we're 2 students, 1 unemployed and I've got 2 kids, so cheap = good enough.

 

[cpl_crud]

1) yes, although you might want to look into getting an omnidirectional mic, unless your room sounds really crap. Most music stores will let you test mics in the store, and exchange mics within a time period. So, in the store, have a quick listen to a few different mics, find one you like. Take it home, then try it in your room, and see how it sounds. If it's crap, take it back and try another. And, chances are any external preamps are goign to be an improvement over the ones in the tape deck.

2) Depending on the PZM, you may need to feed them through a mixer. Some have built-in or optional preamps. I'm not the biggest fan of PZMs, but they have their uses. However, I think you'll find a decent SDC/LDC or omni will serve you better in the long run.

 

[Dr Biscuits]

I'd recommend the condenser route too (small or large), and if you go with condenser you will need to provide phantom power to them somehow, it won't work without it (I'm guessing the Tape deck doesn't supply it ) so getting a preamp that supplies phantom is a good idea.
As far as a stand, it's not gonna alter your sound but a boom stand would offer greater placement flexibility. Just make sure to weight down the base if you're going that high, or you might end up putting a microphone through a cello like I did years ago

 

[mikgag]

What about pattern? If the mic will be in the middle of the room, it should be an omni correct?.... I've seen people recommend mics for this same application that were hypercardioid....will those work? Would I be better off getting 2 cardioid pencil condensers and sticking them at either end of the room or each in a corner??

 

[ermghoti]

Depends how the room is set up. If you have the sound sources on one side of the room, you could walk around until you find a spot with a decent sounding mix, and put a couple of cardiod condensors there, right at ear level. An xy pair configuration would eliminate any phase problems, and you'd probably be good to go.

X/Y = \ / with the capsules pointed towards the bottom of the page, and as close together as you can get 'em without touching.

 

[mikgag]

we're pretty much setup in a circle. bass, 2 guitars and drums...each of us in a corner, and the room is acoustically dead.

 

[ermghoti]

Hm. I'd try omni-directionals. Maybe start with one, Behringer ECM8000 are real cheap, yet effective, according to reliable sources. Tyring to get a stereo image will be impaired by the wide pattern, unless you space them far enough apart to get into deep phase trouble. Maybe get a dynamic for the kick drum, and use that for your second channel. I don't think the Audio Buddy can pan, so you'd be better served by a small mixer, so you don't end up with each mic panned hard left or right. This might be just what you need, a lot of options for a two-mic setup, although you will outgrow it in a flash if you want to upgrade in the future.

 

[Minion]

Omni"s are the best if you only have one or 2 Mics...I use Omni Condensers for Micing Cymbals and Guitar Cabs and they sound Great, well they sound exactly like what Is being Played and don"t add anything to the sound which is great if your Room sounds Good and everything sounds the way you want it but if your Room sounds Bad it will Pick up that bad sound, at least with the Condensers i use.....

As For Placement, if you only have One Mic try getting someone to walk arround the Room when you are all Playing till they Find the Sweet spot were they can hear everything as evenly as Possible and use that spot for Placeing the Mic... It sucks to have a Jam recording were the Guitar Overwelms everything or the Drums do or the Bass does ect...

I hear the Small Diaphram Condencers are better for this as they Don"t overload as easilly as Large Diaphram Condensers which can overload with as Little as 140db and in a small jam Room it can get pretty loud....

Cheers

 

[mikgag]

yeah....we're not exactly a "quiet" band So maybe for the time being a ECM8000 place in the middle of the room would be a quick solution, although I'm still reading great things about the PZMs.....

 

[Minion]

If you have an Old Radio Shack PMZ Mic then there are wireing Mods you can do to it that will Increase it"s sensitivity and Lower it"s Self Noise that aren"t that difficult to do...

If you are Interested in it I can send you some Links...

Cheers

 

[mikgag]

If you have an Old Radio Shack PMZ Mic then there are wireing Mods you can do to it that will Increase it"s sensitivity and Lower it"s Self Noise that aren"t that difficult to do...

If you are Interested in it I can send you some Links...

Cheers

thanks....but I already printed them out today at work I'm thinking about leaning towards the PZM route since they don't need phantom power, so I don't need to get a mixer or power supply.....But I'm wondering about mic placement for the PZMs(on opposite walls or on the ceiling ?), and if I'd need just 1 or 2 ??