starting collection - adding mics

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o-ron

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Currently have 1 AKG-C1000S (usually borrow a 2nd C1000)
Will most likely buy a 2nd C1000 to match.

I need some more good universal mics. I record mainly acoustical instruments (piano, violin, organ, harp) and classical voice, but will occasionally do small rock bands as well.

Looking for suggestions of what to get and how many of each.

Initial budget: <$300 to start with

I'm totally ok with buying used.
 
A shure SM81 is a little over $300, I think. But it'll make you throw rocks at that C1000S! I own both of these mics, so I've done a comparison before.
 
Marshall V93 and/or 2003.

Very nice, flat response, neutral character. Transformerless. Perfect for percussion or other accoustic instruments you want to record with little coloration.

Pair of Behringer ECM 8000.

Same as above, but even more so. Beware of omni-directional pattern -- folllows a whole different set of rules. Might not be an ideal choice, though, if you have less-than-adequate accoustics. Price makes it well worth the risk, though.

Oktava mc012. I don't know why I mentioned these. I guess I will just always like them.
 
AT4033!!

You can get an AT4033 for around $300 shipped from FullCompass. Really nice all purpose mic!! I have 2.
 
what kind of problems would i run into using omni's?

I'm used to using cardoid or even hypercardoid patterns - they seem to work well. How does setup differ w/ omni's?

Thanks
 
These are great

Anything in the price range of <$300/pair ?? (again, used prices can apply)
 
I agree with Micheal Jones.. SM 81..If you look around you can find them used for about 200.00 a peice..I like the AT 4033 also but The SM 81 is flatter..I tend to go for that mic first for acoustic instr...But YMMV

Don
 
o-ron said:
what kind of problems would i run into using omni's?

I'm used to using cardoid or even hypercardoid patterns - they seem to work well. How does setup differ w/ omni's?

Thanks
Click to expand...

If you're recording several instruments at a time, there will be more bleed-through from other instruments. Also, they will pick up a little more room noise than cards, so you have to be careful about your room's accoustics. If they're good, then this will actually work to your favor, but if not, then you'll need to mic it as close as possible and try other ways to deaden your room sound.

There are also a few other indiosyncracies, like the inability to stereo mic in an XY pattern, and the increased likelihood of phase problems if they aren't placed far apart when stereo micing. Also, you're not supposed to point them directly at the sound source - placing them a bit off-axis works a little better.

The nice part about them is there will be almost no proximity effect, so you won't need to do a whole lot of bass cutting if you close-mic an accoustic guitar with it, for example. Plus, if you follow Harvey's advice like you should, then you will be getting an outstanding value - $35 for a mic that should cost several hundred. The freq. response pattern is very flat, so you get a "true," unhyped picture of your sound source.
 
The Oktava 012 is great, you could probably get a pair for <$300, but you may want to hear a bunch to select a pair from to get a good match.

A Beyer m260 would be great for the violin, a used one should be well within $300.

If you can go up in $, look at the AKG blue line
(SE300/CK91, I think), or even better, C480/CK61.

What do you have for mic pres?

regards,
Alan
 
Sell the C1000, get 2 Marshall MXL603S's.

Break even and sound better.
 
do other people concur?

Would I better off dumping the C-1000 for $150 on ebay and buying something else?
 
No, I don't concure. I have a pair of C-1000's and they're not a one size fits all mic but then again, none of the mics I have are. If you were recording NOTHING BUT acoustic instruments, they probably wouldn't be my choice but you say you might be doing rock bands too. C-1000's sound VERY good to my ears on rack toms and sometimes on guitar amps. The more mics you have to choose from, the more tonal possibilities you'll have. As far as overheads are concerned, the 603's and ECM8000's are cheap enough to get into without selling your old gear. Just my humble opinion. As always, YMMV.
 
Just passing along information, but the rec.audio.pro guys seem to cringe when the C1000 is mentioned...FWIW.


Would I better off dumping the C-1000 for $150 on ebay and buying something else?
Click to expand...

IMO, most definitely. With Marshall 603's going for about $70 each, you can't go wrong.
 
wow yeah.. some marshall 603's on ebay for around $50.


From marshal website:
Frequency Range: 20Hz-25kHz - Is this true??! (maybe that's +/- 10db or something..)

A couple more questions:

THe Marshall 2003 looks like it's around $180 and it looks really nice. Comments?

Also, when micing guitars, pianos, violins, etc. - you normally use 2 mics for a solo intsrument - correct? (this being for a classical solo/duet setting)?
Just making sure I'm not missing something here.

Thanks
 
The 2003 was out when I did my evaluation of the Marshall line, and I thought it was a pretty nice mic, although my son Alex thought it was a little on the bright side. But you're right - when I first heard the V67G, the sound really floored me. And it was the cheaper of the two.
 
in comparing the 603 and the v67, i notice that the v67 is only around $40 more than the going price for a 603. It's also a large diaphragm mic.

Generally speaking, I would want a mic that although the more universal the better, I want the highest sound quality out of solo violin, piano, choirs, and acoustic guitar. In that order.

I notice the v67 is shown as a 'less universal' mic on the marshal web site - is this something to be concerned about? Are there things I should be aware of when jumping into using large diaphragm mics?
 
The V67G is an outstanding vocal mic IMHO. I usually reach for smaller diaphragm mics when recording solo violin, piano, choirs, or acoustic guitar.

As far as when to use large and small diaphragm mics, I believe there's a thread somewhere in this forum that touched on it briefly. Here's the link:

https://homerecording.com/bbs//showthread.php?s=&threadid=27030
 
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