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In Reply to: RE: Hopelessly Naive Microphone Questions posted by smcdonie@uwsp.edu on December 14, 2007 at 08:05:15
Yes, that's a problem.
Since it's unlikely that I'll be turning pro after this one project, I'd like to keep thing as cheap as possible, but I'd also like to have the recordings as airy and as transparent as I can reasonably make them. I realize that pristine recordings take skill, knowledge and decent equipment: that's why I'm interested in over-achieving mics. If I could keep it under $600 for the pair that would be good. Used and mics suitable for modding are also an option.
Thanks for your help
Follow Ups:
OK heres a good suggestion for you buddy
Forget about purchasing Mics
Rent them
Go to a music store (not a mom pop shop)
Rent some really nice mics for the job and then return them
You can tell them of your application needs and they will give
you suggestions and rent you better mics then your budget would fill
Take the rest of the 600.00 and save it for the coming recession
There are very good reasons to actualize your capital in the face of spiraling inflation, but I suppose gold would be a better investment than a couple of modded Oktavas on the whole ;)
Thanks for your help m'lad. It was a possibility I was thinking about. I've recently discovered a friend of a friend of a friend who runs a recording studio. I'll see if anything's available helpwise and/or rentwise.
Bribe your friends friends friend with food, booze or any other recreational drug and bend his ear!
Get all the information you can, including stuff on gain structure etc. Do explain exactly what you intend to record and do with it; if he is not busy he might be interested enough to tag along!
Never met an engineer who wasn't happy to help out with odd projects(as long as it doesn't cost them anything)…
You could also surf over to a site like gearslutz.com and dig there for info, its full of all kind of sound engineers; from hobbyists starting out (like yourself) to some of the top engineers alive today!
.
I would go for small diameter condensers as they are probably the most versatile mic type IMO.
Large diameter are great but mostly vocal mics as all of them colour the sound a fair bit (which is what you want in vocal mics ie you wouldn't necessarily choose the flattest mic but the one which flatters a particular voice!) and dynamics like the Shure SM57/58 are not quiet or sensitive enough for low level sound sources.
And for small condensers I always liked the Oktava M012 as an overachiever. You should be able to get a new matched pair for about $450. You will have a choice of capsules but I'd go for the cardioid type as it is the most useful. Just bear in mind that if you are close miking something you will get a bass boost. You can buy other types of capsules separately and extent the usefulness of these mics even further. I compared them once to some Calrecs costing many times as much and couldn't reliably tell the difference.
I picked up a pair of MC012s some years ago at a Guitar Center blowout sale. I got the kits with all 3 capsules. The cardioid capsules are flattest; not so great for vocals without a pop screen, but they're my favorites for a lot of instrument recording (among my admittedly limited arsenal of budget mics.) They're excellent as drum overheads or for plucked/stringed instruments. Very smooth and musical with nothing missing or exaggerated. I guess I am lucky because I didn't have any of the quality bugs others have encountered.
The omnis aren't quite as smooth but don't have the proximity effect. Haven't really used the hypercardioids much...
Good luck!
Mike27
Another mic of the same type (small dia. condenser or pencil mic) is the Rode NT5.
Should be about the same price as the Oktava too. AFAIK Rode capsules are made in China with final assembly in Australia. Oktavas are completely made in Russia, the UK importer test each one I think, so we never had the issues mentioned elsewhere in this thread.
And now for something from the far left field: DPA 4060!
This is a subminiature condenser made by Danish Pro Audio (formerly Bruel&Kjaer) of exceptional quality. According to very lucky people who had the chance to use both it is very close to a B&K 4006 (this was a regular sized pencil mic retailing in the $3000+ region). They are omni directional but due to their diminutive size (think lentil stuck to a liqourice string) you can get close enough to anything for this not to be a huge problem. The frequency response can be modified by changing the protective wire mesh. You won't get two on your budget but may be one and a Rode or Oktava. The only reason I haven't got one or more is that I'm scared to loose them!
Oh and welcome to the confusing world of microphones!
Oh and welcome to the confusing world of microphones!
Welcome to the bewildering world of microphones! The advice I've received here has been invaluable. It's shedding light into what was an unfathomable black hole. Thanks!
Thank you for your suggestions O Sulphurous One. Flexible and versatile are just what I'm looking for. The Oktavas look like a great deal and I shall investigate...
Thanks again for your help!
I can't speak for current stock Oktava 012's quality, but some earlier ones had issues.
With the Oktava M012 you may want to google "Dorsey mod" for the earlier incarnations of this very nice phantom powered condenser mic. I have three that were improved with key component substitution, as outlined by Dorsey.
You can get them complete with a set of three capsules (omni, cardioid, hyper-cardioid) that give great flexibility in use. Just make sure you have return privileges as some early batches were noisey from the factory.
If you are into DIY, they may be "voiced" with tweeks to sound more open.
Nice mics.
Best
Thanks. Yes, I'd seen that. It doesn't look too complicated a mod: it doesn't require any remodeling--it's just a component swap (albeit a tight one). There's many possibilities here!
Thanks again!
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