Which Condensor Microphone?

[Paj]

Originally I was looking at the MXL 990 mic. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about the MXL 990 mic. I've read some reviews and apparently it is a very versatile mic. I'll be using the mic for mostly acoustic guitar and vocals. My voice is mid range but more hi than low and my guitar style tends to have a lot of low bass strings that ring in the background.

cberal:

I'd keep looking---I have a pair of MXL 990 mics and every other condenser (and dynamic!) I have is more versatile. I think that it's a good mike for overemphasizing midrange. I would love to find an application for it that it does better than any of my other mics. Maybe it would be magic for you but I suggest that you continue to compare the 990 with some other mics before you buy.

Good luck,
Paj
8^)

 

[pdadda]

In response to an earlier question, the bass roll-off switch has been handy for me. When I record vocals with my Beh B1, I stand in front of the microphone. I tend to move a bit when I get into it. You still have to keep your mouth in front of the mic, but if you are a "swayer" or other kind of mover, the bass roll-off is a very handy feature.

 

[Innovations]

ahhh i see. do you like the 990 otherwise? what type of voice do you have? when you say a harsh quality..what exactly do you mean. I really like the 990 and wanna make sure it is versatile enough to take on acoustic guitar/jembe/and vocals.

In general folks like the capsule and electronics in its MXL603 packaging than in the 990 packaging. Not really sure why. In neither case does it seem to be a popular vocal choice.

 

[cyberal]

b1

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I think I'm gonna try out the SP - b1. I talked to the guy in the PA department and he said he could put a 5 day exchange thing on it so I can try it out and if it doesn't work for me I can return it within 5 days to exchange for a different one. Only thing is, I won't have anything to compare it 2! I'm damn sure it's gonna sound better than my 10$ logitech mic. Maybe I'll record something with the SP b1, return it, try out another and then compare. The one thing I do like about the beringher is that it has that roll off switch, comes with a case, and a shock mount...all of which the studio projects does not . (the mxl 990 also comes with all these minus a rolloff switch) why exaxtly is the studio projects better than the beringher? ooo im picking up my tascam us-122 and the mic today after work..i cant wait!!!!!! im never gonna leave my room again now..
much luv,
al.

 

[crazydoc]

The one thing I do like about the beringher is that it has that roll off switch, comes with a case, and a shock mount...all of which the studio projects does not . (the mxl 990 also comes with all these minus a rolloff switch)

You won't need the rolloff switch for voice and acoustic guitar - use mic positoning. Same with the pad. The case looks nice, but the box will work as well unless you're on the road. A shockmount is nice to have, but the SP B1 has its own internal shock mount of sorts. You don't even need one if the floor the mic stand is on is a concrete pad, as is found in a lot of construction. However, if you're on a wooden floor not backed by concrete, it's a necessity.

why exaxtly is the studio projects better than the beringher?

Because it SOUNDS better.

 

[cyberal]

thx so much

thanks for all the help everybody, esspecially crazydoc! i decided to go with the sp b1 and...........I LOVE IT...the mic has incredibly low self noise, it sounds great on my acoustic and my voice sounds decent through it too. well compared to my logitech mic it is a HUGE impovement. thank god for the reverse engineering of asia! lol.

i got a 5 day exchange on the sp b1 so that i could try it and then try another one, perhaps the mxl or the beringher. but honestly, im so happy with the results of the sp b1 that i don't wanna bring it back! in fact, im probably not gonna bother. and i think someone else posted that Studio projects has great support, which is a plus. i was gonna post an example on my website if anyones interested in seeing how it performs. good lord home recording is soooo fun - there goes my social life...

thanks again,
al.

 

[cyberal]

correction

actually just to correct myself - the sp b1 actually does come with a shock mount, and some replacement cords, and it comes with a nifty little leather case - its not a hard case but hey, its something!

 

[crazydoc]

thanks for all the help everybody

actually just to correct myself - the sp b1 actually does come with a shock mount, and some replacement cords, and it comes with a nifty little leather case - its not a hard case but hey, its something!

You're welcome.

I got mine about 2 years ago when they first came out - it never came with that stuff - where'd you get it and what price?

 

[noisedude]

thank god for the reverse engineering of asia! lol.

Lol, but be aware that Studio Projects mics are original designs only (Brent Casey is their chief designer). An SE Electronics mic I have looks worryingly similar to another more expensive mic though

If you want support, then SP would seem to be the company. I suggest signing up on the recording.org forums because PMI (the company who make SP, Joemeek etc) have their own forum on there which Alan Hyatt and Brent spend a good amount of time on, discussing techniques and issues. I don't own any PMI stuff, so this ain't a sales pitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take it easy, try not to think too much about your social life.

 

[cyberal]

sp b1

i got it at steve's music in toronto, it was about 120 canadian. they knocked a few bucks off cause i got the tascam 2.

thanks for the tip on the support noisedude, and yes i will take your advice to neglet my social life . im also happy that my mic is somewhat of an original design. it certainly looks original....speaking of which, have you seen that crazy luna mic? from m-audio? id like to try that one, but its a bit more cheese. i actually heard it was pretty nice sounding.

i really do like this sound projects mic. i had a question about eqing and compressing of the sort. when you're adding effects to a track, the order of the effects obviously has a big effect. i tend to bounce all the tracks down, then eq it, and maybe hard limit it. is hard limiting a good way of keeping the levels up. i also tried compressing it but i find the settings confusing. sometimes ill add a little bit of reverb to the final mixdown to kind of fuse the tracks together.

this is a short black crows cover i did, just to try out the mic, i found the mic to be very neutral sounding, so that it did sound a little fuller with eq in the low and hi end. little delay and verb on there 2,

 

[noisedude]

That Luna ... it's a funny looker, but its big brother, the Solaris, seems to be an astonishing mic. Massive Master/John Scrip posted up some clips of a pair through Behringer preamps recording a whole orchestra/big band thing ... they were pretty amazing IMHO!!

 

[cyberal]

re

cool! i was originally gonna check out the luna, but it was just too much

 

[noisedude]

Aren't they all????????

 

[cyberal]

mic

indeed they are...hey, do you have any pointers for recording vocals?

 

[noisedude]

Yeah, don't let them be as rubbish as mine!!!

My experience is that it's mostly in the performer. Quite often I've overdone effects such as compression and delay to mask the fact that my voice isn't up to much. This is ok as an occassional sound, but after a while the listener works out why you use it all the time

 

[cyberal]

vocals

very tru. i've been trying to use some compression lately, but have had trouble getting a natural sound. what sort of work do you do in recording? are you an artist yourself?

 

[noisedude]

I guess I'm an artist in some sense, I write songs although I am currently without a band cos my best friend, co-writer and drummer moved to the other end of the country about a year ago

He did most of the recording so I've spent a year working stuff out, but as I have no piano in my current house it's been a bit tough. I guess I should work harder on my guitar playing!

Tell us about you - what kinda music are you making etc?