Any Advice On Buying Microphones

[Geraint]

Hey guys.

I'm getting geared up to splash out on some more audio kit. I only have a term and a half left at university, so my plan was to practise recording as many chamber groups as possible whilst I'm still hanging around so many people with that much free time.

At the moment, I have an SM58 and two AKG C1000S. I am buying a 4-channel soundcard (with phantom power), and stands and cables etc. I was looking at buying two more microphones, presumably condenser, but I don't know what kind I want. I want to experiment and learn with some different set-ups, so I'm looking for versatility.

The general question I would like to ask is: "Suppose you could only have a small number (four or five) microphones in the world, and you wanted to have as much flexibility as possible, with a fairly limited budget (average less than £100 each), what would they be?". In particular:

• How many omnis/cardioids would you get?
  
• Is a matched pair or a stereo mike good value?
  
• Would you have five mikes about the same quality, or three £50 ones and two £175 ones?
  

Looking back, I would definitely have appreciated this kind of "road map" when I was buying my first three mikes - even if I had ended up buying the same things, I would have known that I wasn't just collecting microphones like Top Trumps cards, but that there was a logical next thing to buy.

Personally, I'm probably going to do more chamber stuff than rock bands right now, but for future reference I guess I want to know about all manner of recording. For my budget, I'm aiming for at most £150 for both new microphones together, so I don't expect any really decent mikes to be available for that price range! However, if anyone knows anything about the AKGs I already have, and any weaknesses they have that might affect my choice of mikes, that would be just swell.

Thanks,

Geraint

P.S. - apologies for the edit hours after I originally posted! I don't articulate myself very well at midnight, so I thought I would have another go.

Edited January 29, 2009 by Geraint

[john]

hey

Sorry I missed this when you posted it!

Are you looking for microphones for a live or studio setting?

Cheers

John

[Geraint]

Understandable! I looked at the music board later and it appeared just underneath some quite dramatic news, so I wasn't really expecting much of a response.

I guess "studio setting", because it wouldn't be a concert or anything like that. Nobody there but myself and the performers, so I was hoping to do some far-miking to get some sense of the acoustic space, that kind of thing. I've never been able to record outside my room (with my one-in-one-out soundcard) so it's all new to me.

Recording live would be nice, but I was hoping to get to that later when I have more confidence/competence with recording in general. I'd be prepared to buy another couple of mikes when I get around to that, so it's not a concern for now. Is that a sensible thing to do, or should I be learning both skills concurrently?

[dc2daylight]

I guess "studio setting", because it wouldn't be a concert or anything like that. Nobody there but myself and the performers, so I was hoping to do some far-miking to get some sense of the acoustic space, that kind of thing. I've never been able to record outside my room (with my one-in-one-out soundcard) so it's all new to me.

Recording live would be nice, but I was hoping to get to that later when I have more confidence/competence with recording in general. I'd be prepared to buy another couple of mikes when I get around to that, so it's not a concern for now. Is that a sensible thing to do, or should I be learning both skills concurrently?

Once you get into "far miking" you virtually eliminate ribbons (with few exceptions) and dynamics because of the lower output of these designs. Then you have to consider whether the room you are in will contribute attractive ambiance or a detracting tone. That will lead you to the decision between omni or cardioid mics. I use omni's in good sounding rooms and cardioids when I want to reduce the contribution of the room.

One good possibility is the Oktava MC012 which can be purchased as a set with 3 capsules and a pad. They sound amazingly good and the noise floor is not too bad for the price. There are also some good sounding Chinese manufactured mics like MXL. Stick with small diaphragm condensors for your application, but be aware that all mics in your price range will suffer from inconsistent manufacturing and a relatively high noise floor compared with expensive mics, e.g. Neumann TLM103 or Microtech M930

[Geraint]

dc2daylight - Thankyou so much! I ended up buying some cheap MXLs, and I've bookmarked the MC012s for my next big spend. It was really reassuring to have the advice, as I'm terrible at decisions. I really appreciate it.

--G

[dc2daylight]

happy tracking

[Nightwolf]

dc2daylight - Thankyou so much! I ended up buying some cheap MXLs, and I've bookmarked the MC012s for my next big spend. It was really reassuring to have the advice, as I'm terrible at decisions. I really appreciate it.

--G

He's alright that DC2