What would improve my arsenal?

  • Thread starter Thread starter whattaguy
  • Start date Start date
W

whattaguy

New member
The mics that I currently have are:

1 - Shure SM58
1 - Oktava MK219
1 - MXL V57

I play acoustic guitar (Larrivee DV-05E FYI) and sing.
I want to keep the price within reason...at about $300. I was looking to purchasing a stereo pair of the MXL603s, and a SP B1 condensor mic. Or I can get pair of MXL603s and an SM57. Any other suggestions? Sell the MK219 and V57?

Thanks.
 
a pair of the 603s and a V67g for vocals will get you in at about $300. Not sure what kind of money you'd get for the mics you already have.
 
As your mic cab grows, I think you'd find the MK219 getting some uses where it is the best mic for the job. I like it for hand percussion.

Anyhow, I'd look at getting pair of the Oktava MK012 small condensers. Guitar Center sold them last month for $99 a pair. I know some stores apparently will still give that price and others will not.

I'd also probably put an Audio-Technica AT3035 in there as a vocal condenser. Full Compass sometimes sells them for as low as $149.

Steve
www.mojopie.com
 
Thanks for your recommendations! I have another question, though. I sing in the II Tenor range comfortably, and I wouldn't call my voice thin or thick. After a little research, I found that the V67 which Bob recommended is good for darkening up the voice. What exactly does that mean? Does it add depth to a thin voice? I found out that the SP B1 is a more natural sounding mic and accents the highs a little more, so it's good on the baritone or thicker voices...and also good at acoustic guitars. Am I right? But I couldn't find anything on the AT3035 per Ozraves recommendation. What kind of voice is that one made for? I realize that my mic cabinet will eventually benefit from all these mics, but which one should be first on the list?

As for the instrument condensors, I'll wait a little more to see if GC has the MK012's for sale again. If not, I'll probably get the 603s stereo pair. Thanks for all your help.
 
whattaguy said:
The mics that I currently have are:

1 - Shure SM58
1 - Oktava MK219
1 - MXL V57

I play acoustic guitar (Larrivee DV-05E FYI) and sing.
I want to keep the price within reason...at about $300. I was looking to purchasing a stereo pair of the MXL603s, and a SP B1 condensor mic. Or I can get pair of MXL603s and an SM57. Any other suggestions? Sell the MK219 and V57?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I think the Marshall Electronic MXL603SPR is the best budget mic deal on the market right now for recording acoustic instruments like acoustic guitar... get the Marshall MXL603SPR. Then, save up your money... and start getting some higher end mic's and preamps.
 
Oops! I should've mentioned that I have an Aardvark DP2496 for my pre's. I "think" it whould do fine for right now. Does that change anything?
 
Both the MXL 603s and MC012 are excellent on acoustic guitar. If it were me I'd go into GC right now and get two MC012s for $99. I wouldn't wait. $200 left. Then I'd sell both the MK219 and the V57, for $50 each (if I could get it). Add that $100 to my existing $200 and buy an AT 4040. Now I'd have three "quality" mics and have all my vocal and AC bases covered.
 
tdukex said:
Both the MXL 603s and MC012 are excellent on acoustic guitar. If it were me I'd go into GC right now and get two MC012s for $99. I wouldn't wait. $200 left. Then I'd sell both the MK219 and the V57, for $50 each (if I could get it). Add that $100 to my existing $200 and buy an AT 4040. Now I'd have three "quality" mics and have all my vocal and AC bases covered.
Click to expand...

Good idea. Wise words from Tdukex.
 
I doubt you'd be able to get $50 for the V57, considering they go for that new. Probably more like $30. I'd hang onto that one, I've found it to be very useful.
 
Just spent part of my evening at GC and picked me up a pair of mk012's. I spent quite some time listening to them, and picked up the two that sounded most like each other with similar sensitivities.

Well, I just tried a sample track in the XY config on my guitar, and it sounded incredible. So I layed down another track to an existing song to compare with the other mics. What a difference! The mk012's sounded more up front and real.
I was able to talk the sales dude down to $110 for the pair...not $99, but close enough.

Now I gotta see if I could get my vocal mic...we'll see if I could sell my 219 and v57. tdukex, thanks for your suggestions...and everyone else. You guys rule!
 
Whattaguy--

My suggestion is to try the Oktava MK012 on your voice. Get a Stedman pop filter and go to town. You might be surprised. Someone told me tonight that there was a mic shootout where the Oktava MK012 came out as one of the best on voice. It's just a thought.
 
whattaguy said:


Well, I just tried a sample track in the XY config on my guitar, and it sounded incredible. So I layed down another track to an existing song to compare with the other mics. What a difference! The mk012's sounded more up front and real.
Click to expand...

XY is my current favorite for AG. You may also want to consider getting a LOMO head for one of the MC012s, They run about $389.

http://www.oktava.com

:D I see darrin and I are thinking alike.
 
Last edited:
$389's a bit too steep. Is it worth $100 more than getting a AT4040 as recommended? I "think" I could haggle down AT4040 the AT4040 to about $250 or less...GC employees are friendlier around the holidays!
 
For the stereo pair I think you would be happy (now and 20 years from now) with a nice pair of Shure SM57's.

You are just starting to build a mic selection, why not start with a very solid foundation.

Another direction would be to look at the SP C3. I have one and love it for many things. The variable pattern would be nice too for you. I have recorded acoustic in an S-M set up with the C3 in figure 8 and a SM57 or Beta58.

Hope this helps.

Jim
 
jdier said:
For the stereo pair I think you would be happy (now and 20 years from now) with a nice pair of Shure SM57's.
Click to expand...

This is awful advice for acoustic guitar recording. I don't even know why you'd buy a "stereo pair" of SM57s. It's handy to have more than one, but I would never use SM57s for stereo recording.
 
when buying the pair from GC, is it being a matched pair really important? I plan on using them as stereo OHs and on acoustics.
 
dietcookie said:
when buying the pair from GC, is it being a matched pair really important? I plan on using them as stereo OHs and on acoustics.
Click to expand...
I think it's pretty important to have them be fairly close, but it's not absolutely necessary to use a matched pair. What I did was bought 10 on a credit card and matched a pair myself and returned the rest. What I did was try to match the level and tonal characteristics. It was really subjective, but the pair I ended up with is working well for me, and they were only $75 a piece.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top