SE Gemini

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gilwe

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I wonder if this mic will be a wise choice as an "all purpose" microphone.

OK, I already know that the answer of most of you will probably be "no" -
it's only cardiode and it's a tube mic.

But the main us for it will be my vocals, some acoustic guitars, drums ambient mic... maybe micing guitar amps as well, but again - vocals are the most important.

Can get it quite cheap - what is your opinion ?
 
Gilwe, what other mics do you have already? I've gigged with the Gemini before and right now one of my favorite "go to" condensor mics is an sE...but it's the sE Z5600A.

War
 
gilwe said:
Can get it quite cheap - what is your opinion ?
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...first off, how cheap is "quite cheap"?...
...secondly, if your "cheap" price applies to other microphones in the SE line, then may I suggest the Z5600A as a better "all around" mic than the Gemini...multi patterns would definately make it more versatile, and truth be told, many find it better/more natural sounding than it's costlier big brother...just my $.02

(jeez War...beat me to it!)
 
kidvybes said:
...first off, how cheap is "quite cheap"?...
...secondly, if your "cheap" price applies to other microphones in the SE line, then may I suggest the Z5600A as a better "all around" mic than the Gemini...multi patterns would definately make it more versatile, and truth be told, many find it better/more natural sounding than it's costlier big brother...just my $.02

(jeez War...beat me to it!)
Click to expand...

+1, this is where I was heading so I'll elaborate a touch more.

The Gemini has this HUGE low end presence, I mean this mic really sounds BIG. On a vocal, outside kick drum, bass cab etc...anything that needs some full bottom the Gemini is a great pick. There is a little upper midrange dip in the response of the Gemini that isn't going to work well on everything, it's either going to work or it's not.

The Gemini is more of a "flavor", the Z5600A = "go to" as it captures things in a natural way but has this better than real life thing going on. The Z5600A has a very pleasing midrange, tight bottom, and present upper-mid / high end response that just sits real well in a mix on vocals, drums, acoustic, room mic, lots of stuff. Multiple patterns (9 in fact) make it even more useful.

I would take the lesser expensive Z5600A in this case.

War
 
i once recorded a drum kit in my school studio with just one Gemini , a few feet out and above the bass drum and it sounded really good and it only took a few moments to set it up.
 
Interesting.

A friend of mine has the Gemini and it swears by it. But, yah, I guess I'll need some other "multi purpose" mic, such as the recommended Z5600A.
 
Gilwe, you have to remember that some of us are talking in context of having a larger mic collection. Sure, the Gemini would work as a "go to" mic for a person who has very few mics on hand. But by comparison, a person who has a couple dozen or more mics starts to look at mics as perfoming very specific jobs and some getting lots of work thrown at them. SM57 = snare, 421 = toms / kick, ribbon = guitar, etc.

War
 
That's obvious, I am talking about a situation of where you have to have one all-in-all mic for a home studio. What would be your pick then ? I got some rave reviews about the SE stuff, and I can get them for about half the price the are sold.
 
gilwe said:
That's obvious, I am talking about a situation of where you have to have one all-in-all mic for a home studio. What would be your pick then ? I got some rave reviews about the SE stuff, and I can get them for about half the price the are sold.
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...listen, since you seem to have the "hookup" for a great price, don't overlook the solid state SE mics for the kind of duty you're referring too...both the SE2200A and the SE3300A are excellent for multi-purpose duty...the 3300A offers pattern selection, so it's even more versatile...but I use my SE2200A on vocals, guitar cab, drums and more with great results...excellent mic for the price...highly recommended!
 
Yah but those are not tube mics right ? Picking up a mic without experimenting with it first is very much not idial, but I guess I don't have much of a chice. I guess that I'll eventually use that mic 90% for recoding my vocals, so isn't a tube mic the better choice ? Also I wonder how good/professional could those Z series get with a price as low as 300 pounds... Looks like the Gemini is at a totally different level (?)
 
gilwe said:
Yah but those are not tube mics right ? Picking up a mic without experimenting with it first is very much not idial, but I guess I don't have much of a chice. I guess that I'll eventually use that mic 90% for recoding my vocals, so isn't a tube mic the better choice ? Also I wonder how good/professional could those Z series get with a price as low as 300 pounds... Looks like the Gemini is at a totally different level (?)
Click to expand...

...the Z3300A and the Z5600A are very similar mics, one being a solid-state, the other a tube design...which will be better on YOUR voice is a very individual evaluation...my advice is to start with the most affordable (probably the Z3300A) and go from there...if your "price" is as good as you suggest, you'll have little problem flipping the mic here or on Ebay and recovering (or making a profit in addition to) your investment should you be disappointed (highly unlikely that you will)...depending on the other elements in your recording "chain" and your room acoustics, it's very likely that the 3300A will give you results not too different than the more expensive alternatives...the Gemini IMHO would be way overshooting your objective...I'd focus on evaluating the 3300A and 5600A as your first purchase..just my $.02...

some afterthoughts: keep in mind that tube mics require a "warm-up" period (20-40 minutes) before being ready for recording...not so with solid-state/FET mics...they also require a dedicated power supply and special cable (supplied with mic)...all of this makes setup a bit more time consuming than a solid-state mic which requires only 48V phantom power...also, tube mics benefit from a tube upgrade (the stock Chinese/Russian tubes tend to be inferior to NOS vintage equivalents)...more to be considered when chosing a mic...
 
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You say "first purchase" but I have no intention upgrading mics or buying one that will not suite my needs and sound preferences. But after all, it is for a mini studio.
 
gilwe said:
You say "first purchase" but I have no intention upgrading mics
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...that's what they all say...I said that (about 25-30 mics ago)...
 
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Well, do you think having a tube mic as an all-purpose mic, in general, would be a wise choice anyhow ? and how do the raved AT-4050 compare to these two SE's for the same purpose ?

Thanks
 
Warhead said:
Gilwe, what other mics do you have already? I've gigged with the Gemini before and right now one of my favorite "go to" condensor mics is an sE...but it's the sE Z5600A.

War
Click to expand...


Are you saying that you like the 5600 more than the Gemini ? All reviews say the Gemeni is even much better sounding...
 
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