Samson VR88 = Cool Recording Mic for Acoustic Guitar

[billv]

Howdy! I've been wanting to add an inexpensive ribbon mic to my little mic collection for some time and saw the Samson VR88 on sale at ZZounds. I got 2 to try out.

Although I got it more for micing guitar cabs and other such things, I decided to try it on my Tacoma baritone acoustic guitar. Here's the test recording I made:

I just put up the 2 mics quickly, stood in front and played the first thing that came to mind.

It has a smooth, almost dark sound. Some might say a bit dull, but I added 2db at 7k and 12k for a little more "air" and the sound really opened up. The recording also has just teeny bit of reverb, and a skootch of limtiing to catch the peaks.

Overall, I was really pleased with the sound of the recording. This mic has some great possibilities! I am going to work with it some more...

Here's a pic of the mic:

 

[Sonixx]

That's a very nice tune. Did you write that?

How did you have the mics setup? If you have not already, try a Blumlein config.

 

[billv]

thanks on the tune. Just some ideas that might turn into something someday.

As far as Blumlein config goes, I've never heard of it prior to your comment. I assume you are referring to the techniques in this article?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blumlein_Pair

Looks interesting. I looked up some images to see what the positioning looks like, and there appears to be a vertical bar that the mics are mounted on.

Do you think a more standard X/Y position would work for this type of mic?

 

[billv]

oh yeah, and the mic spacing on the recording was just a spaced pair. Literally, I just put them up and hit the record button. No repositioning...

 

[Shadow_7]

Looks interesting. I looked up some images to see what the positioning looks like, and there appears to be a vertical bar that the mics are mounted on.

The technique involves mixing the two mics, therefor the mics need to be the same distance from the source and the mic elements as close to each other as possible. To avoid any phase cancelation issues that would be present if the mics had a different orientation. Hence the vertical bar to have one mic upside down to keep the mic elements close.

 

[billv]

ok. I tried faking a blumlein config, but I just couldn't get the mics positioned correctly with the stand I have. So I decided to try something else.

I placed a pair of Oktava MC012s in an x/y configuration with one VR88 position in the middle:

I then recorded a little ditty on my Lowden acoustic guitar (complete with sump pump in the background!!). I felt the combination of the 3 mics worked well together, with the Samson providing some extra body to the overall sound. Here are 4 mixes that demonstrate the difference in tonality:

All 3 mics

Samson VR88 Only

Oktavas only

All 3 mics with reverb

In addition to reverb on the last mix, I also added just a wee bit of compression, and adjusted the eq, adding 2db at 6.8k, all on the master channel of my DAW.

You can hear the additional body in the 3 mic mix on the last low D that I played. The low end really comes through. Also, I wasn't hearing much in the way of phase cancellation.

Are there any downsides to this configuration?

 

[Shadow_7]

Are there any downsides to this configuration?

Fewer tracks for drums.

Phase issues probably kick in with more complex environments, like a full symphony orchestra. Or more complex instruments like Organ with those low lows. For that track, you might only notice it on attacks and releases, which might not even be noticeable until you start playing faster / more complex stuff. Or it might only be evident on certain notes. It's not like you'll be completely out of phase and completely cancel out two tracks. But if you zoom in on the waveforms, you might notice a few 1/1000's difference between tracks. Which might make a noticeable difference if adjusted. How much of that is mic placement, DAW, or interface, who knows. And since you're not recording while moving around in circles around the mics, you're probably not running into the worst of the worst possibilities.