Studio projects C1..or anything else?

  • Thread starter Thread starter sai
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Queue said:
hey riffing,
have you tried the SM58 into the Blue Tube pre?

what were you using as a pre before the BT?

Queue

(just curious...)
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You know, I haven't tried the SM58 into the Blue Tube. I think I will. I have a female singer in the cover band I'm in and the C1 into the BT didn't fit her voice. The C1/BT combo is good for my voice.

I was using the pres on the Digi001. :P Hey, that's all I had back then. Since then, I bought a Mackie 1402 and I'm digging its pres but I haven't tracked any vocals yet - just plugged in some headphones to make sure everything was working since I bought it from ebay. OK, enough about me. ;)
 
werd

I agree with Blue Bear Sound, but i disagree in a few ways. I dont really think he meant it as an upgrade, but just a more versatile mic than the C1. The AT4033 is a good mic to start out on because you can use it on just about everything. But of course it does not sound the same on vocals as a C1. It really depends on how versatile you want to start out with. I have yet to find a voice that the AT4033 doesnt work on, or anything else for that matter. But i do know that a C1 will probably still do a better job on vocals than a AT4033 but my guess is it will have a few voices it work on that the AT4033 will do better. Just my theory.

Save up the money and get both! Both those mic will work great in your beginning mic cabinet until you really need to start buying mics for specific jobs.

BTW, im trying to decide at the moment between the C1 and the TB1. Im leaning more towards the C1 because i feel more safe since it doesnt have a tube. But it sounds like the TB1 sounds very fun with the tube in it. Heh, but i still gotta worry about versatility in my studio.

What yah guys think?

Danny
 
Re: werd

darnold said:
I have yet to find a voice that the AT4033 doesnt work on, or anything else for that matter.
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I have a found a number of applications where the 4033 doesn't "shine", including several vocalists....

It's all about how much flexibility you need for what you're currently doing, if your studio is for yourself only, then you never need to worry about having mics/gear for any reason other than to accommodate yourself... OTOH, if you're recording others on a regular basis you need a wide variety of options so that you cover all the bases....
 
Bear is right on...

I too have found several things (including my own voice) where the 4033 doesn't cut it at all... not even close. My voice is deep and very loud... the 4033 tends to have too little mids and too many lows to fit into a mix for me without knob tweaking.

However... likewise... there are things that my C3 doesn't do well.

One big difference I have noticed is that the proximity effect on the 4033 is much more severe. Take that for what its worth... some of you might like that, some of you might not. For me, it made it hard to get consistent sounds out of a vocalist without regimenting that they had to stand X-ft from the mic and face 2 degrees due North etc.

Granted, you DO want the singers to be in the same place for consistency, but my C3 is a lot less picky about a few mm's here and there.

Plus when you have a singer with a wide dynamic range, who tends to back off of a mic for strong parts and lean into it for softer parts, mics with too much proximity will add to the tonal changes which makes your track sound funny :)

That same proximity effect however on the 4033 makes it shine for close micing electric guitar tracks...

Velvet Elvis
 
Heh i dont think i should disagree with Blue Bear Sound. He is much more experienced than i am and im sure you knows what hes talking about. Being that i havnt used the C1 nor very many condensers makes me a little weak on this subject. I have had some recordings done where the vocals didnt fit in the mix good, and it usually happens i noticed with low singers. However i have had good luck with women vocals and a few high male singers. However im sure there are mics that could make it sound even better. But all and all, i think the AT4033 is a very versatile mic.

Danny
 
Q and riff, thanks for noticing my mistake in thinking you were
having sibilance problems with the Shure.
Hope it will be easy for you to cure.

Chris
 
Cure the sibilance problem at the mouth, not at the mic! Simply be aware of your S's and F's, and cut them short. Turn your head to the side (off axis) when you hit them, especially at the end of words. Don't look for the electronic fix to microphone technique. Learning to sing into a condenser is hard work, requires practice, and awereness of every sound you make. Mostly, the only reason I use a pop filter anymore is to partially protect the capsule from the high water content in my breath.
That's my point, that a good condenser will force you to sing better, or have the fact that you suck recorded for all time! Bottom line, if you don't like sibilants, stop hissing, and don't blame it on the mic. A mic doesn't just turn your vocal sound into an electronic signal, like a distant overhead, it's a tool you have to learn how to use. If you put your finger on the wrong fret, would you get a different guitar to fix the problem?-Richie
 
In all fairness to "all you experts", I've only used the C-1 & AT4033SE on "MY" voice & acoustic guitars

The C-1 (most acurately capture the true sound of my voice), and that's why I don't love it on "MY" voice. The AT seems to add some color to my voice that I like.

I actually prefer the C-1 for mic-ing my acoustic guitars. It is crisp, clean & clear as a bell. (However clear a bell is.)

My experience with both mics is therefore very limited due to only using them on "me".

Peace,

CJ
 
Richard Monroe said:
Cure the sibilance problem at the mouth, not at the mic! Simply be aware of your S's and F's, and cut them short. Turn your head to the side (off axis) when you hit them, especially at the end of words. Don't look for the electronic fix to microphone technique. Learning to sing into a condenser is hard work, requires practice, and awereness of every sound you make. Mostly, the only reason I use a pop filter anymore is to partially protect the capsule from the high water content in my breath.
That's my point, that a good condenser will force you to sing better, or have the fact that you suck recorded for all time! Bottom line, if you don't like sibilants, stop hissing, and don't blame it on the mic. A mic doesn't just turn your vocal sound into an electronic signal, like a distant overhead, it's a tool you have to learn how to use. If you put your finger on the wrong fret, would you get a different guitar to fix the problem?-Richie
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Richie, from a technical point of view that all sounds like good advice... IF you are just recording your own vocals. Kind of reminds me of those threads where people say the way to get less HH or Ride Cymbal in the mix is to tell the drummer not to hit them so hard... again, good advice if maybe you are your own drummer... but risky to life and limb otherwise.

I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of singers (or drummers) don't want you giving them technique lessons right when they are trying to create an emotional performance. And if they have to think about that stuff, it can't help but get in the way of the music. It's up to us as engineers to be as unobtrusive as possible and figure out ways to get great sounds without hassling the artists.
 
You're right, of course, Littledog. That's probably why I'll never run a commercial studio. I think, however, that we let quick (or not) fixes developed to make people sound better bleed over to applying them to ourselves to avoid the difficulty of getting a track that goes to the board right the first time. Unless I'm mistaken, the original poster was recording himself, and in the end, improving microphone technique will give him better vocal tracks than trying to use devices to clean up the results of his technique.
I'm not suggesting that when you're tracking a customer who is not exactly Charlotte Church that you should begin the lengthy process of cleaning up his techniqhe while he's paying by the hour. What I am suggesting is that if we are having tracking problems caused by the signal itself, the best solution may not be to reach for a gear-based solution immediately. We're not disagreeing, we just have different problems that call for different solutions, and in my experience, very few singers actually understand the mics they're singing into.-Richie
 
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