Klarinet Archive - Posting 000370.txt from 2000/02

From: "Benjamin Maas" <benmaas@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Minidisc Recorders
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 19:39:07 -0500

>
> The A/T ATR25 didn't quite cut it for music (or voice), and the
> ATR822 and ATR825 are X/Y only (not M/S). I need to use the mike
> effectively as a mono mike, too (yup, I want _everything_ :^)
>

Nothing like Mid-Side for mono compatibility.... X-Y is quite good too, but
the sides in a mid-side sum together to leave the middle--> Perfect mono.

>
> I did fall in love with an AKG C-426B, but 5 grand was just a bit
> steep :^) The Crown SASS-P-MKII
> was pretty nice, too.

I use a 426B on many of my recording gigs. It is IMO one of the most
powerful microphones ever made. The sound is spectacular, the electronics
are clean, the capsules rotate 180 degrees and with a 9 position switch for
each capsule, you can mic in any stereo pattern imaginable. 5 grand is a
bit steep for that microphone. Street price should be closer to $3800. I
saw one used for $2200 about 6 months ago. I'm not as big of a fan of the
Crown.

>
> For those of you looking at this kind of setup for informal
> recording, etc. - try out a bunch of mics. They really do affect
> the sound tremendously!

Everything in the chain affects the sound. Your sound is only going to be
as good as your weakest link. If you are using a $2000 microphone, it is
going to sound horrible unless you put it through quality preamps (often run
$1000+ per channel). Once you are at that level, the quality of your
recording medium/digital converters matter. This is why the quality studios
out there will have $4 million worth of gear and they charge $3000/day.

There are some really nice mono mics that
> won't set you back all that much - Shure has a bunch of tried &
> true mics that have been produced for ages and are almost
> "student proof". The old SM58 (~$90) sounded pretty good paired
> up with the Minidisc for clarinet recording. Horrible sounding
> when I tried recording a piano, though - the bass rolloff was
> really noticeable and made the piano really tinny.

The Shure dynamics (57, 58, beta series, etc...) are very popular in live
sound applications and on certain instruments in the studio. The sound is
quite harsh and the frequency response is quite limited, however. For a
better Shure microphone, try the SM-81 or the KSM series mic. Neumann,
arguably the king of mic manufacturers, has released some really low priced
high-end microphones. You can now get a Neumann studio grade mic for $600.

For the best sound on acoustic music, you should generally use condenser
microphones. Dynamics generally are quite limited in their sound due to
their physical construction. Some of the lower-end condensers are battery
powered so you don't need a mixer with phantom power built in. (can plug
directly in to the "mic" input in your recorder) Higher quality microphones
($300 or so on up) need a special preamplifier that can power them so they
will be useful.

For use with a minidisc, one of the $90 sony stereo microphones would sound
much better than a SM-57/58.

--Ben

Benjamin Maas
Freelance Clarinetist and Recording Engineer
Los Angeles, CA
benmaas@-----.com
http://www.fifthcircle.com

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