Author: msloss
Date: 2007-02-03 00:02
As with musical instruments, you get what you pay for. Mics are musical instruments in their own right. Some of the classic old ones like the Neumann U47 are rare and wonderful creatures and cost, well, if you have to ask... There are a gazillion ways you can skin this cat on clarinet. I've used pairs of AKG C12s to great effect. I've also used Neumann U89i's which are large-diaphragm condensers with a very flat response curve -- very transparent and unforgiving, but lots of air and extension that really captures the full body of the clarinet sound. Takes a great player to make that work. Had some very interesting results with a BLUE Kiwi and Dragonfly on Grace and Avalon mic preamps as well.
The new Royers that were mentioned above are pretty bomb-proof and sound very interesting. A lot of what makes ribbons special, but also cleaner and more extended than the good ole' RCA 77's and the like.
Unfortunately, the inexpensive ribbons sound inexpensive. They sound a bit covered and get an unpleasant glare when driven hard. If you aren't spending a lot on the mics, chances are you aren't spending a lot on mic pres either (like the Millennia) so you are pretty much trapped. Maybe the right question to ask here is how much do you want to spend? Maybe we can collectively offer some suggestions based on your available resources.
Mark S.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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