The DijonStock Digital Home Recording Support Forum

ok folks. if ya got some time, i could use recommendations for a large diaphragm condenser mic preferably under or around $200.
versatality (being able to record a wide variety of sounds with satisfying results) would be a big plus, as i hopefully will not be buying another one for awhile.
also, i've never owned a condenser mic before. can it be damaged by low frequencies/punishing volume?

Studio Projects is a good bang for the buck...The B or C series are pretty cool in that price range...if you really want to go for versatility, you can probably find a multi-pattern mic that might fit the bill...the following link is a commercial one, but informative...nice to have ya 'round these parts...

http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/studio/s ... uide.php#3

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it's funny, the older you get, the older you wanna be

Rode mics are beautiful too; no idea what their price point is where you are, but my two NT1A's cost me about $250 each new here, which is around $120 US. they include a pouch, thread adaptor, and the shockmount with each mic.

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Wanted to buy: one Right Word Clock, in good condition.

wow...maybe I should consider one of these... Are they still under $200 US Dollars?

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it's funny, the older you get, the older you wanna be

If you can get one for that price, do it. You won't regret it. It gives a clean strong signal. I've used one with the G without a preamp. A very warm crisp sound, powerful, absolutely no hiss whatsoever.

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Don't judge the coffee by its cup.
The proof of the cheese is in the eating

If you are looking for versitile, the CAD M179 gets good reviews as a multi-pattern mic. I've never used one, so I can't personally recommend it, but it's worth putting on your list to research.

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My music: https://www.soundclick.com/bands3/default.cfm?bandID=1215402&content=songs

About your last question: I wouldn't place a LDC in front of a bass drum or something like that, but you probably weren't planning on that anyway. The moment you deal with high volumes, use a dynamic mic.

If you're unsure about which type of mic to choose, see if you can try a couple. Maybe the mic shop is willing to lend you a couple so you can try them in your own recording space. I did that some time ago and it was a great learning experience.

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Don't judge the coffee by its cup.
The proof of the cheese is in the eating

I'm a fan of the AT3035.

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GSMUSIC: Hey RZ, Im not no upper class american, the gear I own is what I have special to me. My car sucks, my house sucks, my nieghborhood sucks. Does yours RZ? Does it?

rz-land

this is all incredibly helpful.
these are the (approximate) u.s. retail dollars for the microphones mentioned:

Rode NT1A (cardioid) - $200
Audio Technica AT3035 (cardioid) - $140
CAD M179 (dual diaphragm/multi-pattern) - $150
Studio Projects, the B1 was $99 and the C1 was around $200. both were fixed-pattern cardioid mics. they also had several other options in the B and C series which definitely ran the gamut pricewise. i did not investigate completely.

right now with my limited knowledge, i lean toward the Rode NT1A because it seems to be well-reviewed and (this may sound fickle but) i trust it more because it costs a little more, though i am not willing to drop the dough for a $1500 neumann.

also, i don't completely understand polar patterns yet. i don't think i need anything more than a straightforward cardioid pattern and i've read in other places that cheaper multi-pattern mics are sometimes not well-made (can anyone verify this?). however, i understand that mics with a "figure 8" pattern can be used for creating something called a "middle and side stereo pair". what does this mean? clearly more research is in order. ugh.

here are some diagrams to explain the polar patterns of mics...they will do a better job than me trying to explain, lol
0 on the diagrams would be the front of the mic and 180 would be the back

Figure 8



Cardioid


Omni

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"Arpeggios are like women...'cept you can't tie one up and put it in your trunk..."

I have two studio Projects mics. very happy with both.

You need a figure 8 to creat a Mid Side array.

what this means is - place two mics at the same location - on above the other - for the purpose of having direct sounds arrive at the capsule athe same point in time. One capsule is set to cardiod - and directed at the source. the other capsule is a fig 8 pattern. place it so that its diaphram is perpendicular to the cardiod cap. the sides of a fig 8 reject, while the front back capture. so with this setup you are capturing from the source with the cardiod, and picking up from the walls with the figure 8.

there is a box to do what I will describe now in real time, but I do it manually after the session.

so, the next step is to take the fig 8 signal, copy it to another track. one of thes side tracks is then phase reversed. the two side tracks must be panned hard left and right.

Now as you play back, these two tracks interact with the mid track, phase cancelations occur, and you wil experience a fantastic variance in the stereo field youhear. this technique is well worth the effort in live situations and can provide a superior foundation for a recording when it is augmented by signals taken directly from the sources being recorded.

I use it frequently to record choirs, small jazz combos in a club or sometimes in a studio setting to record a grand piano. read up on it if you do this kind of work. I have not been crazy about it for studio guitar work, as the source tends to drift about in the stereo field when the array is placed close to the source, as is necessary when recording as acoustic

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Byron

One of the few times I got a decent acoustic guitar recording was when I was patient enough to mess with M-S config mic placement.

My M-Audio Octane preamp has internal MS processing and width control so no need to duplicate and phase invert. The width control is very cool and can produce a gigantic acoustic sound if that is what you want. As Byron stated, the Octane does the processing,

The more I learn about audio, the more I appreciate the feature richness and value of the Octane preamp. 8 channels, it does M-S processing, insert capabilities, has lightpipe ADAT out, SPDIF and word clock synch. It also has tons of clean headroom, though most of it manifests close to the fully clock-wise pot position.....the gain increments could be better. When I first got it I didn't understand all the capabilities or the right way to use it. Lately, I've been wowed.

Gary