Microphone Basics

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trey

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Can someone explain a few things about mikes please?

I went to a shop some time ago and asked for the best mike for home recording, on a budget of about $960. I ended up buying an AKG tube mic. Is this good?

And whats the actual difference between tube and condenser mikes? I know tubes are supposed to have a warmer sound.

Also, believe it or not, the mike didn't come with any decent instructions. So I don't know what the switches are for on the power unit. From memory, there's a "line" switch or something on the back. One of these switches is for preventing hum? I really don't know.

While I'm here :) I may as well mention pre-amps too. The sound level from the mike is VERY low. I got around this by putting it through a Zoom, which adds a little compression and reverb too. I also bring the instrument levels down in Cakewalk when playing back, or I wouldn't hear the vocals (I normalise them later). So really I need to get a pre-amp.

Someone mentioned ART pre-amps as being pretty good? I'd really prefer one with inbuilt reverb, just to get a basic recording before adding software effects later.

Your advice is appreciated.
 
You must be joking. You do not buy a tube mic for $960 and the run it through a zoom. This gotta be flame bait. Is it sonusman making a joke?

For $960 you can get half a homestudio...

In case it isn't a joke:
No, you won't want a preamp with built-in reverb. And you want a better preamp than the Tube MP to make justice of that mic. The Behringers and Joe Meek are commonly recommended.

A tube mic is a consenser mic with a built-in tube as an amplifier.
 
LOL
I can see how that post looks like a wind-up.

But no, this no joke. I'm deadly serious. But let me explain a few things.
First and foremost, I am a musician, not a technician. I can play a mean guitar, but my knowledge of recording equipment is poor. Especially where vocals are concerned.
Yes, it's an expensive mike, but it wasn't bought in the USA and was therefore more expensive. I bought that mike as an investment. I don't have the equipment to complement it yet. That will take time due to financial constraints.
I know very well that the Zoom isn't suitable, that's why I asked for advice on preamps!

Why won't I want a preamp with reverb? Is it detrimental to the sound or something?


I'd like to know more about how the tube works. Anyone?
 
trey

Is the mic you brought the solidtube?
If so then you got yourself a nice mic. Enjoy it.

As for the tubes - there is tons of information on the web just do a search. If you can't come up with something then I'll post a reply.

For me a pre is a matter of taste and of course budget.

If you have $2200 :) you can get the AvalonVT-737.

I won't recomend a pre becuase it really depends on your subjective opinion. Deciding if you want a transparent sound or a colored sound will help you narrow it down. Take your mic with you and plug it in
and listen.
Reverb is better off as a dedicated unit but you can find a decent pre with EQ-compression-gating.
 
Actually AKG mics are not especially cheap in the US...

Anyway, I don't even know if there are any preamps with builtin reverb, but in any case, it's a bad idea, because:

1. You want to add the reverb when you mix.
2. You might not want reverb at all, but delay. :)
3. The best reverbs do not have preamps, and the best preamps doesn't have reverb.

Heres how a tube works:
http://www.svetlana.com/docs/tubeworks.html
 
Tell us more...

Please give us a little more information:

What is the brand and Model number of the Mic?

What kind of cables and connectors are you using?

Do you have Phantom Power available?

Does the mic have it's own power supply?

Is it plugged in?

ETC....

Dom Franco
 
Phantom power, that's important... I would suspect that mic needs to have power for the condenser elements through the XLR cable, so you need a mic pre that supplies this power. Most have it. Might have something to do with why the signal through the Zoom is so low ;) ...
 
<---------- giving Alchuck the prize for this weeks audio quiz
 
It it is the AKG solid tube, one of the switches is a 20 dB attinuation pad, the other one a 12 dB per octave roll off at 100 Hz.
They normally all come with a spec sheet etc. - so I'm still not sure we're not being taken for a ride here.
Who buys a mic they don't know how to use????

If you paid 960 for it, its cheap.
 
whoa, hang on again! Noones being taken for a ride.

I bought this good quality mike because the PZM I used to use didn't deliver a warm sound. So I decided to shell out some money on a mike recommended to me by a shop assistant. I put my faith in them to help me because I know nothing about mikes (as you have obviously noticed!).

The PZM (Pressure Zone Mike) didn't have any of the switches this AKG has (the AKG does have a dedicated power supply though).

I'm at work right now, but when I get home much later I'll post the exact model number. I believe it is a solid tube, and they told me in the shop that I was getting it very cheap (can't remember why).

Bear with me here...........
 
Yeah, I just checked. It is called a "Solidtube". There's no model number, it's just a name. The 20db switch is there, and the power unit has a "ground lift" switch to reduce hum caused by electrical currents.
What do they mean by solid tube? I can't imagine a solid vacuum tube.
If it is the AKG solid tube, one of the switches is a 20 dB attinuation pad, the other one a 12 dB per octave roll off at 100 Hz.
What does attinuation and octave roll off mean?


Disclaimer
All posts by trey in this forum are genuine newbie questions. Your knowledge is appreciated
 
The octave roll off is what most people call "bass roll off"

The reason you might want to roll off bass is if the sound is to boomy or thick.

A common roll off on mics is at 60- 80-100-150Hz.
Take a 80Hz roll off. If the cut is at 12dB per octave so
that would mean that at the first octave lower you get a 12 dB cut. At the second lower you will get a 24 dB cut.
A bass roll off will cut every thing below the stated freq
(in your case 100Hz) at the stated amout of dB (in your case 12dB).

As for the pad - in order that you dont overload the mic with a strong signal, you can reduce the signal by (in your case) 20dB.
 
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