We All Hate Questions Like This...

[borntoplease]

... but im going to ask it anyway ... im stumped. building my mic collection and i have all my mics lined up except a sd condensor for my martin acoustic. i plan to do most micing with a sd about on the 16th fret with a 414 a few feet aout to get a good stereo image. if youve read any of my recent posts, you know i've been doing this at the studio in my school. ive really been liking the sound, but the only sd i have been using is the ksm109, and i dont have anything to reference it to. i am looking to spend no more than 250 bucks... would like to be closer to 200 but... my martin is heavier on the mids and the low end with not a lot of transients. im looking for something to capture that... i dont really enjoy the smooth and silky sound. i play folk music and want that natural sound. can i capture that without spending 1000 bucks? i want to stear clear of the mxl603s and oktavas... pretty much what i want to know is... should i spend a 100 bucks on a ksm109 or could i get a dramaticly better sound if i drop another 100-150 dollars? i know there isnt an easy answer, but i nudge in any direction would be great. thanks a lot.

 

[mshilarious]

... but im going to ask it anyway ... im stumped. building my mic collection and i have all my mics lined up except a sd condensor for my martin acoustic. i plan to do most micing with a sd about on the 16th fret with a 414 a few feet aout to get a good stereo image.

OK two things: first that is not going to give you a stereo image, it will give you a close/room sound, which is quite nice but not a left-right separation.

Second thing if you want a natural sound, check out a thread on the mic board the last couple of days about dynamics on acoustic. That coupled with your 414 could be what you are looking for, and the mics recommended are all well within your budget. Or if you have the rest of your mic collection planned, you might already have that mic.

 

[gvarko]

This is recommended all the time..

Have you tried the Sennheiser E609?

http://www.samash.com/catalog/showi...&Search_Type=SEARCH&GroupCode=nonetodaythanks

 

[borntoplease]

OK two things: first that is not going to give you a stereo image, it will give you a close/room sound, which is quite nice but not a left-right separation.

yeah it will. set it to bi directional. split the signal. run into 2 channels. reverse polarity of one, pan one hard left and the other hard right, and there ya have it. a great stereo image. ms micing.

 

[mshilarious]

yeah it will. set it to bi directional. split the signal. run into 2 channels. reverse polarity of one, pan one hard left and the other hard right, and there ya have it. a great stereo image. ms micing.

Kinda. In standard MS the mics are coincident. But if you like 'spaced MS', OK.

 

[borntoplease]

Kinda. In standard MS the mics are coincident. But if you like 'spaced MS', OK.

i know... but i like the sound of the spaced better, its a little less dramatic. really fills up the room when you listen to it.

 

[mshilarious]

i know... but i like the sound of the spaced better, its a little less dramatic. really fills up the room when you listen to it.

That's true, there would be less stereo separation. However you could achieve the same effect by reducing gain on the S mic.

One thing to be aware of is the phase difference you are creating. Traditionally spaced pair techniques are hard panned to avoid phase problems, which may become apparent when summed to mono. In your case, since the MS mics are summed, your phase problems will be apparent in stereo, but disappear in mono (which is M only).

Probably not a big issue with a single on-axis source, but if you extend this technique to a larger ensemble, be aware that might occur.