One REALLY good mic VS. two good ones...

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saxman72

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Okay everyone,

If you have a certain budget for microphones, would you rather get the best single mic you can afford, or two pretty darn good mics that will give you some flexibility? (for the same total cost)

I can make a good argument for either side, but I'd like to hear what any of you have to say. (In other words, I'm trying to make a decision and need some input!)

Thanks,
Saxman72
 
I guess it's kind of like 'Would you prefer one gorgeous babe' or 'pretty good-looking twins'.

Of course, the first answer is - 'all of the above'.

What are you going to be doing with this/these mics - and how much money is in the budget?

foo

... and Holy Smoke, I just noticed that's my 200th post!!

[This message has been edited by foo (edited 07-31-2000).]
 
yeah, no kidding! I was once dating a pretty good looking girl who had a twin sister, but I never got together with both of them... at the same time!

anyways, I'm looking for the best mic I can afford to record saxophones. I recently picked up a CAD VSM1 and a Neumann TLM193. Both are excellent mics. The CAD is a bit on the bright side, but has a real beautiful, lively quality to it. The 193 is an amazing natural sounding mic, and is really flat sounding, but I want something with just a bit more "air" in it. In other words I'm looking for something in between.

I was originally planning on just keeping one of them, but now I'm thinking that if I combine the price of both mics, I can get something REALLY nice. Yeah, I'd be going out of my budget, but if the results are gonna be great, I'll bite the bullet and go for it (maybe).

So I might be able to get a used Neumann 87a, or M147 instead.
 
Don't most folks recommend mounting a set of 'pretty good-looking twins' in an X-Y configuration?
 
There are women who enjoys that too you know. The above mentioned twins probably do.
 
In my pathetically remedial recording experiments, I have noticed that two mikes, panned left & right ALWAYS sound better than one mike, regardless of the mike quality (within reason...my cheapest mikes are two AKG D65S.....$80 per pair)
But I would still advocate getting as good a mike as you can afford, because, if you are anywhere near getting serious about a good sound, you will eventually want TWO HIGH QUALITY MIKES ! The human ear is an amazing instrument, and it really does seem to require a fairly High quality mike to even approach capturing the subtlety that we are capable of hearing. I recommend just swallowing hard and doubling your mike budget. :)
All it takes is $$$$

Peace,
Rick
 
I'd go along with what Rick said, but within the constraints of the original question, I'd go for two mics every time. Stereo miked sound is so much better than single-miked sound.
 
thanks for the replies, guys. I've heard that you can get great results by putting twins on BOTH sides of the source too...

well to let you know, I am returning the CAD VSM1. It's hard to do since it is an EXCELLENT mic. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great tube mic for under $800. (zzounds.com sells them for $799)

I'm keeping the TLM 193. It's a real warm sounding mic... almost too dark, but it's better for recording my saxophones.

So now, IF I double my mic budget, do I get another 193 to record in stereo, or do I get an even better mic? (like a u87 or M147)
 
Sweden ? !!!

Of course, it had to be the Swedish guy who came up with the 69 configration.

I'd go with the U87- there must be a reason it's the industry standard.

foo
 
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