I've been searching and reading everything I can find on all of these mics over the past couple of weeks, but I'm still not sure which way to go on this.
I've found all of these in pairs for about the same price 199 - 229.....which is at the high end of my buget for 2 mics in this application (Overheads and acoustic guitars)
I was sold on the 603s's, but it looks like they may be a bit harsh on the top end.
I've not really heard anything bad perasy on the B1's, and I've already got a B3 and a C1.
The C4's look very "flat" on the chart, and come with changable capsuls.
I just don't know what to do...........advice please!!!!
I have had no expierence with those mic's but have heard a lot of good things about the c4's. Not sure if you want another opinion, but it seems KEL audios hm-1's get overlooked. I know a lot of people like them for OH's. Theirs mixed feelings about them on Acoustic guitars, but I really like the sound I get out of mine.
I've been happy with MXL603's as drum overheads but they're the only SD mics I've ever used so mine is not a very experienced opinion. Compared to a C414 on acoustic guitars the 603's are narrow, hollow sounding and crispy. Big difference in price btwn those two though. Not sure if this helps you much!
I have a pair of C4s. They seem to give a fairly accurate and focused account of my acoustic guitar & seem like decent value for money to me. Often they are more suitable for recording acoustic guitar than my Shure KSM32 & KSM44 - significantly more expensive mics (though these are large diaphragm mics). But I don't have experience with other SDCs, though, so take this opinion with a dose of salt.
I also have a friend who has a B1. The B1 is obviously going to be a bit more versatile than the C4s, since you can use it with acceptable results on vocals. My friend's recordings with the B1 on both vocals and guitar sound quite good IMO.
If you have a small room, I wouldn't want the B1s as overheads. I always thought that mic was sorta of "boomy" like the MXL 990...in other words it sounds really cheap. I'd buy another B3 or C1 if you want to use LDCs as overheads. If you don't have a pair of SDC, then get some, because I think they sound better on acoustic guitar then a LDC...although when I pick up my Oktava MK-012-01 today I might try that and a KSM32 together. If you found a pair of C4's around $200, I'd buy those, since they sell most places for $300. The interchangable capsale are a big plus, expecially when recording drums in a small room. I wish I'd known more about them before I bought my Rode NT5s. I'd like to try the 603's, but I've never seen them anywhere except on ebay.
B1s are very easy to place, you can slap them up anywhere and get a good sound. I haven't found anything my B3 sucks on yet ... however, if I have a nice-sounding acoustic and a good room, I'd want to use the C4s to capture that sound more accurately. The B1 is a touch more 'flattering', depending on the source of course.
I haven't used the MXL 603s, but if they're as similar to the Joemeek JM27 and SE Electronics SE1 as is claimed, they're good value, but I wouldn't think they'd be preferable to the C4s in many cases.
So in conclusion, it would be easy but a bit silly to overlook the B1 ... however, the C4s really are a good mic IMHO, and worth a punt. Plus, they come in a better case than the boxes the B1s come in.
Well I don't have any SDC's, but I could get another B3 and use them.......Or go with the versatility of a pair of B1's.......but then I still don't have any SDC's.
I seems I can get the best deal on the C4's as they are much higher priced normally........but more expensive doesn't always mean "better"........and then there's that whole "sounds better to me" side of things....
Still thinking.....
OK, who's gonna come break me out of the nutty house when I go crazy tring to sort this one out???
If you can get a good price on the SP C4, grab a set for both overheads and acoustic. I get the best results on acoustic guitar with a combination of a SDC a foot off the the 12th fret sweet spot and coming down from a boom - so it's at 90 degree angle from the fretboard at or near the neck/ body joint area, and a LDC placed about 2 feet away picking up body signal. My mic combination is either an SP B1 and an MXL 603s when playing live, or the same setup substituting a SP C3 for the B1 when recording. I'll use the C3 live if nobody's wandering drunk around it.
The idea is to have a large and a small diameter mic combination; pick yer brand and experiment.
For drum overheads, all I've used so far is a pair of 603s pointed at the throne above from R and L sides, together with a complement of mics on the rest of the kit. It works but there is so much that can be done with a drum kit it's hard to know where to begin. I've been experimenting with a PZM mic inside the kick drum with great results until I set it up at Jamfest5, where my beloved little trapezoid was delivering me all kinds of distortion. We replaced it with one of JGourd's Beyers, I think, and we suddenly had a hell of a kick going. Better mic + a suggestion from a guy with experience = the sound we wanted in the first place.
I'm at the "getting a signal" stage of it all where a case full of $600 mics would be wasted on me. But "getting a signal" can still really clean house when you're producing live, so everybody stays happy...
That was actually pretty cool!! Not normally my cup of tea, but lately I've been diggin' this folky/bluegrassy kind of stuff..........wierd coming from a 80's metal guy huh?!?!?
