my wisdom or stupidity

[junplugged]

i have assembled my mic box. i'm not a gifted recordist. i don't have time to act like a detail-oriented engineer, to take the time and do the work to find the best mic for the job by auditioning them all on each source, and I don't already have a database in my head of how each of them sounds on each source from years of experience working as a pro engineer. so my box of nice mics is really a wasted expensive instrument in the hands of a beginner. the student with the stradivarious is no better than the one with the rouge/carlo (musicians friend low end brand/sam ash low end brand)

yea, it was a long diversion, studying and reading and forming an uninformed opinion here in mic land, but it really got me nowhere in the end. i have the box of mics, but whatever is already up, is what i use. the 4040 is in it's box bc i can't hear the diff and i don't want it to get dusty sitting there forever on the stand, so the two 603 clones are forever going into the dmg3 in xy position for acoustic guitar, the 4 mics on the kit are up there forever to the 2 audio buddies, mxl 603clone, mxl sdc in the ldc case, you know, the $69 one, the sm57 on the snare, and the KBM412 at the kik are forever in place. and the sm57 clone, ??57 ($29 ebay but solid build) on the floor stand for the electric amp will go to whatever pre is shifting around on the floor at the time, an art studio, or art v3 or electro harmonix twin toob thingy, etc. oh yea, a bunch of low end mic pres, theres another silly quest...

so if i could do it over, i'd stop at 2 mics past the sm57&8, and stop at 2 pres, the dual m-audio ss dual channel thing and the art v3, and do more recording, arranging, mixing, and writing.

 

[moresound]

I think your just a little to hard on yourself junplugged.

 

[junplugged]

I think you're right. I get so deep into stuff sometimes, I make myself miserable. I do step away and have tea, do a reset, and become more aware of these things, then it's better. But, that post was 3am when I felt like I haven't accomplished anything lately. So what will I do now? I'll prolly dig out my oktavia sdc and go play with it thru the vtb-1 and then the electro and find some cool and funky sound and record it. Moody? yea.

 

[Lt. Bob]

I think you're right. I get so deep into stuff sometimes, I make myself miserable. I do step away and have tea, do a reset, and become more aware of these things, then it's better. But, that post was 3am when I felt like I haven't accomplished anything lately. So what will I do now? I'll prolly dig out my oktavia sdc and go play with it thru the vtb-1 and then the electro and find some cool and funky sound and record it. Moody? yea.

at least you now have the stuff ..... as time goes on if you'll just do some recording you'll find out what they're all good for.

I'll buy stuff and it might sit in the box for 2 years until all of a sudden I'll be motivated and start using it. I have a Digitech Vocalist Live 4 that's like that. I've had it a couple of years and literally didn't even turn it on.
Now all of a sudden I'm working with it to program a preset so I can go play with bands and be an entire horn section.
Why didn't I fool with it sooner ? Dunno ........ just wasn't time yet.

Same with your mics ........ it's just not time yet ............ it will be sooner or later.

 

[Shadow_7]

You could always take a more scientific approach to understand what you have in your arsenal.

Use sox or some other application to synth tones at known frequencies and volumes. Play them on good monitors and record them with said mics. Compare the synthesized tones to the recorded ones and notice their differences. Mostly EQ aka the volume of a given tone. Take the one you're most familiar with and note how the others differ. Not a great test as it doesn't take into account the polar pattern(i.e. room). But it should give you something measure-able to use as a basis for comparison. And since you have the reference tones you can sort of guesstimate what instrument / part of a voice is most affected. And all this would be independent of the "published" specifications which might be a lie.

I guess that that would be more of a building of a database in your head. But I hear you, I have several mics and not much clue as to which to use. For now, I pretty much go with the convenience factor, or whatever has an appropriate noise floor relative to the source. When it comes to my reflexion filter, there's only one that I have (AT3035) with the right form factor. When it comes to a bad space, I only have one dynamic(i5). When it comes to not using a mic stand, there's only one that I have that operates hands free (ATM75). Otherwise I use just one set of mics for almost everything (STO2).

 

[hairylarry]

junplugged,

I read it more as wisdom. It's the music not the mic. Now that's wisdom.

I love buying microphones. I've collected them all my life. Now with ebay it's a kind of addiction. Always another new toy to try.

But still, it's all about the music.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

 

[moresound]

junplugged,

I read it more as wisdom. It's the music not the mic. Now that's wisdom.

I love buying microphones. I've collected them all my life. Now with ebay it's a kind of addiction. Always another new toy to try.

But still, it's all about the music.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

Exactly! Nothing wrong with as many microphones than you can shake a mic stand at.

 

[gecko zzed]

i have the box of mics, but whatever is already up, is what i use.

That is my typical work pattern as well. I want to record a guitar, I just grab the mike stand (or pair of stands if I'm doing stereo) and whatever happens to be sitting atop it and go for it. It may not be the match in heaven, but it usually works just fine. Who's to know what an 'ideal' sound is?

 

[gecko zzed]

Who's to know what an 'ideal' sound is?

As an important after thought . . . sometimes the results are bad. I was recording a double bass on one occasion, and stuck a mike in front of it (can't remember which mike now), and it sucked big time. So then I went through a process of trying different mikes until I found one that made that bass shine.

 

[hairylarry]

Another thought.

I read a lot. Mostly here on this bbs. I got a lot of great ideas from Harvey's threads. And I've done a lot of recording.

When I get an idea I try it. I get a lot of crazy ideas. Where do they come from? I don't know.

I got a second AKG D112. Then later in the week I was recording a song with Conga drums on it. So I got this idea to use a stereo pair of D112s and put the conga drummer back in this little hallway for separation and ambiance. I tried it. And it worked! Doesn't always.

I was recording my Silvertone twin tube amp while recording The Flying Hungarians. We're definitely a vintage Rock and Roll sound. I had an SM56 right on the amp. So I thought I would try an older EV RE15 above the amp and about 2 feet away. That channel really had a lot more grit than the channel with the 56. Some songs I didn't use it at all but on most songs I blended it in.

So if you get an idea, try it. It doesn't have to make sense. Your subconscious has been working away all this time and it's chipping in it's two cents worth. These ideas are a synthesis of what you've read and experience. And by trying them you're increasing your experience.

One of the advantages to home recording is you get to try weird stuff without having to worry about your client's studio time. And all it really costs you is your time.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

 

[moresound]

With out a doubt! For instance, who ever came up with the idea of putting a boundary microphone in a kick drum!

 

[Richard Monroe]

Yo Junplugged. I'd break that 4040 out of the box, put it up and leave it up. Put a plastic bag over it when you're not using it. Whatever dust it collects is minor compared to the loss of learning that will result from leaving your *best mic* in a box! Set the X-Y acoustic guitar mics aside for a while, and use the 4040. Mic position is everything, but you can learn to get excellent acoustic sound with that mic. -Richie

 

[hairylarry]

Sorry about getting confused. I believe the D112 is a kick mic. I don't have one. The mics I used are a vintage AKG D120E. A kind of a light small vocals mic. Not to say that a pair of D112s wouldn't work good on congas. It's just that I don['t have any so I never tried it.

Another thought.

I read a lot. Mostly here on this bbs. I got a lot of great ideas from Harvey's threads. And I've done a lot of recording.

When I get an idea I try it. I get a lot of crazy ideas. Where do they come from? I don't know.

I got a second AKG D112. Then later in the week I was recording a song with Conga drums on it. So I got this idea to use a stereo pair of D112s and put the conga drummer back in this little hallway for separation and ambiance. I tried it. And it worked! Doesn't always.

I was recording my Silvertone twin tube amp while recording The Flying Hungarians. We're definitely a vintage Rock and Roll sound. I had an SM56 right on the amp. So I thought I would try an older EV RE15 above the amp and about 2 feet away. That channel really had a lot more grit than the channel with the 56. Some songs I didn't use it at all but on most songs I blended it in.

So if you get an idea, try it. It doesn't have to make sense. Your subconscious has been working away all this time and it's chipping in it's two cents worth. These ideas are a synthesis of what you've read and experience. And by trying them you're increasing your experience.

One of the advantages to home recording is you get to try weird stuff without having to worry about your client's studio time. And all it really costs you is your time.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry