your first condenser, how did it feel?

  • Thread starter Thread starter cordura21
  • Start date Start date

What did you feel when you got your first condenser?

  • Big difference

    Votes: 381 80.9%

  • Not so big difference

    Votes: 37 7.9%

  • Realized you could have get same results with dynamics

    Votes: 27 5.7%

  • other (please specify)

    Votes: 26 5.5%
  • Total voters
    471
My first condensor was a gift given to me by a friend - an MCA cardioid condensor. I thought it was pretty damn amazing, since my point of reference was 58's and 57's only. My first condensor that really blew me away was a baby bottle...still one of my favorite mics.
 
SonicClang said:
pohaku, that's a really funny story. I know what you mean about never having enough equipment. I'm FAR short of 80 mics... but it is funny how even at this point I'm already saying I want a second MXL 2003. But really I do, I need a matched pair for overhead drum micing. After that I won't need any more mics I swear!!!! :D haha.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I started out with guitars and then ultimately realized that my definition of GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) was far too narrow, and that Gear Acquisition Syndrome was more appropriate.

I need a twelve step program.

Hello, my name is Pohaku and I'm a gear addict. :D
 
my first condenser was a studio project B1. i noticed an incredible change in sound (micing guitar amps) from my old SM57. i'm not sure why it took me so long to get one. i'm still a "n00b" though, for sure.
 
My first condenser was the C1000s, and at the time I didn't know any different, so I was happy(ish). I thought that my voice sounded mince through it, though.

My second cond' is the NTK, which sounds lovely, but I hardly use it unless I am in the studio at college or I want the sound of cars passing by on my guitar track... :mad:
 
My first condensor feels like a paper-weight. Guess which one? :)
 
Oktava MK-219 - Finally an "affordable" LDC for $550 in 1994. This was considered a great sound performance / cost value at the time. After years of eyeing totally out-of-reach Neumanns and just-out-of-reach AKGs. The '219 opened the door for me to LDC recording.

Even with all the Chinese options available now, it still has a special place in my heart and studio.
 
Ah my first condenser, I remember it like it was just a few weeks ago. Wait, it was a few weeks ago that I got my first one. An AT3035. How do I like it? Well thanks for asking, I like it very much.
 
Even a crap condenser is better than 57/58 for vocals

Finally got the wifey and kids out of the house to record a vocal track with the AKG Perception 100 I just bought at guitar center ($149 and it came with a TubePre). This should be a crap setup according to this forum.

The mic is the cheaper Perception. The 200 has some switches on it and a shock mount. I don't know what to do with the switches anyway, so I thought I'd take a gamble and buy the crap recording package at guitar center.

TubePre was hard to get set so that it wasn't adding noise or distortion. Took a few tries to get a clean track. Maybe it is crap, but I needed the phantom power. I plugged my piezo bridge output from my electric into it and fooled around and it sounded better than nothing. I need EQ to get that sounding officially acoustic.

Condenser impressions? I suspected I was a better singer, and it turns out I was right. Vocal tracks with stage mics (shure 57/58) sound like shit. They are picking up such limied frequencies that my voice sounded weak and flat. the condenser is picking up what I thought my voice sounded like. I also can work the mic a bit during recording to get the dynamics and inflection that I use when singing w/ acoustic coffee-house-style.

So, the bottom line is even a crap condenser is better than dynamic stage mics. If you have a band and have been fooling around with recording using the mics you already have, scrape together a few bones and get a condenser. You won't be sorry.

I have no intention of producing a homespun album to distribute. I am recording songs I have written so I can capture the arrangement without having to write everything down. I'll give CDs to the guys in the band to learn the songs. I have to admit, I am juiced because it sounds so fricking good.
 
My first LD condensor was the MXL V67M that I bought at MARS about five years ago. I paid $200 for it at the time. What a change! I had used LD condensors before to do some recordings, but I had never owned any. I was so happy to finally have one for myself. The first thing I did was put it on a live trumpet the day I got it. The trumpet just sounded so beatiful coming through the PA! It sounded like you were sitting right next to it. The next day, I recorded my acoustic guitar with it, and I got almost as much room and computer fan as I got guitar. So, little by little, my recording chain has gotten better and better, and my mic collection has grown. After using all of these condensors, I still find myself using the Shure SM7 more than anything now.

Cheers,
Zach
 
Heck, my first Condenser....was a MXL 990/991 Combo. I still use them today.
My new S.P. B-1 (x2) LDC rock!
 
i remember thinking how ridiculusly clear the quality was when i got my first one
 
INSANE

SP B1. so clear, crisp, true

I could hear everything! Truly amazing.

;)
 
a condencer was my first mic. v67g.

lol, its still all i have!
 
After performing for years with SM57/58 mics and other dynamics, when I got my home recording gear the only mic I had around was an AT PR100HE dynamic and it sounded like crap for recording vocals.

For my first condensor, I bought a pair of MXL 603S SDCs. I use 'em for micing my acoustic, and I also used them for vocals. Even though these mics aren't recommended for vox they sounded a shit pot better than the dynamic. Clear, crisp, and you can hear EVERY thing.

I recently bought an MXL V67G for vox, and I'm pleased with it too. I am having to go back to school on vocals, though - I thought I knew how to work proximity effect, but trying to keep the input level relatively constant with highly dynamic vox parts is challenging. I'm getting there, though!
 
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