LD condensor, better choices?

[David Grant]

I'm doing an acoustic guitar/vocal recording in a medium sized room. I'm
looking to buy my first LD mic for the project. I'm planning on using either
my Josephson C-42 pair, or my AKG C480 (CK-61) pair to pick up some ambient,
but I'm looking for a LD condensor for closer-up.

As it stands I'm going to try a Neumann TLM 49, but I was wondering if
there's some obviously better choices within the $1000 - $1500 range, given
this application.

Thanks,

Dave

[Paul Stamler]

"David Grant" > wrote in message
...
> I'm doing an acoustic guitar/vocal recording in a medium sized room. I'm
> looking to buy my first LD mic for the project. I'm planning on using
either
> my Josephson C-42 pair, or my AKG C480 (CK-61) pair to pick up some
ambient,
> but I'm looking for a LD condensor for closer-up.
>
> As it stands I'm going to try a Neumann TLM 49, but I was wondering if
> there's some obviously better choices within the $1000 - $1500 range,
given
> this application.

Microtech Gefell M930. Very different from the TLM 49, and which one will
work for you will very much depend on the voice/instrument you're recording.
The M930 has the advantage of being much flatter off-axis than the TLM 49,
but to my ears they both have magic. Just different kinds.

Peace,
Paul

[Scott Dorsey]

In article >,
David Grant > wrote:
>I'm doing an acoustic guitar/vocal recording in a medium sized room. I'm
>looking to buy my first LD mic for the project. I'm planning on using either
>my Josephson C-42 pair, or my AKG C480 (CK-61) pair to pick up some ambient,
>but I'm looking for a LD condensor for closer-up.
>
>As it stands I'm going to try a Neumann TLM 49, but I was wondering if
>there's some obviously better choices within the $1000 - $1500 range, given
>this application.

Sure, try the TLM 49, but if you're trying to do guitar and vocal with one
mike, you'll find off-axis response is a big deal. I'd pick the C480 over
anything else you're apt to buy for the close-in mike, though I might toss
an omni capsule on.
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[[email protected]]

On Dec 6, 9:17 am, "David Grant" > wrote:
> I'm doing an acoustic guitar/vocal recording in a medium sized room. I'm
> looking to buy my first LD mic for the project. I'm planning on using either
> my Josephson C-42 pair, or my AKG C480 (CK-61) pair to pick up some ambient,
> but I'm looking for a LD condensor for closer-up.
>
> As it stands I'm going to try a Neumann TLM 49, but I was wondering if
> there's some obviously better choices within the $1000 - $1500 range, given
> this application.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dave

Another mic you might add to the consideration list is a Soundelux
U195.

bobs

Bob Smith
BS Studios
we organize chaos
http://www.bsstudios.com

[David Grant]

"Scott Dorsey" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> David Grant > wrote:
>>I'm doing an acoustic guitar/vocal recording in a medium sized room. I'm
>>looking to buy my first LD mic for the project. I'm planning on using
>>either
>>my Josephson C-42 pair, or my AKG C480 (CK-61) pair to pick up some
>>ambient,
>>but I'm looking for a LD condensor for closer-up.
>>
>>As it stands I'm going to try a Neumann TLM 49, but I was wondering if
>>there's some obviously better choices within the $1000 - $1500 range,
>>given
>>this application.
>
> Sure, try the TLM 49, but if you're trying to do guitar and vocal with one
> mike, you'll find off-axis response is a big deal. I'd pick the C480
> over
> anything else you're apt to buy for the close-in mike, though I might toss
> an omni capsule on.
> --scott
>

I sort of had a big, warm sound in mind for this recording... which I
thought was a good application for a LD. You're suggesting I'd need two up
close, one on the vocal, one on the guitar, if I'm using a mic with poorer
off-axis?

Would I most likely end up with something weird if I used the 480 on guitar
and a LD on the vocal?

[Scott Dorsey]

David Grant > wrote:
>
>I sort of had a big, warm sound in mind for this recording... which I
>thought was a good application for a LD. You're suggesting I'd need two up
>close, one on the vocal, one on the guitar, if I'm using a mic with poorer
>off-axis?

Well, not if you like the way it sounds off-axis for the guitar. But if
you are using a microphone whose response on-axis is different than the
response off-axis, you may want to think of it as two different microphones
in one, with two different sounds. Because you're going to be getting one
on the vocal and one on the guitar.

>Would I most likely end up with something weird if I used the 480 on guitar
>and a LD on the vocal?

If you have to spot them individually, your goal becomes to get the best
separation possible between them, so you don't get anything weird. And
that turns into using a figure-8.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Mike Rivers]

On Dec 6, 2:49 pm, "David Grant" > wrote:

> I sort of had a big, warm sound in mind for this recording... which I
> thought was a good application for a LD.

Just because a microphone looks big doesn't mean it sounds big
(whatever that means) or warm (I sort of know what that means). If it
doesn't sound like the source sounds, then there's something wrong. If
the singer doesn't have a big and warm voice, a microphone isn't going
to make it big and warm.

[David Grant]

"Mike Rivers" > wrote in message
...
> On Dec 6, 2:49 pm, "David Grant" > wrote:
>
>> I sort of had a big, warm sound in mind for this recording... which I
>> thought was a good application for a LD.
>
> Just because a microphone looks big doesn't mean it sounds big
> (whatever that means) or warm (I sort of know what that means). If it
> doesn't sound like the source sounds, then there's something wrong. If
> the singer doesn't have a big and warm voice, a microphone isn't going
> to make it big and warm.
>

There ought to be a realtionship between the sound of a mic and the size of
its diaphragm. What that is exactly, I don't know, due to lack of
experience. All I have to go off right now is other people's descriptions of
how a LD microphones generally behave versus SD. Hopefully this project will
give me some insight into some of the differences. Knowing such differences
should help me acheive the sound I'm looking for in the future.

[Scott Dorsey]

David Grant > wrote:
>
>There ought to be a realtionship between the sound of a mic and the size of
>its diaphragm.

There isn't really, except in that the larger the diaphragm is, the harder
it is to design it to have a clean pattern.

>What that is exactly, I don't know, due to lack of
>experience. All I have to go off right now is other people's descriptions of
>how a LD microphones generally behave versus SD. Hopefully this project will
>give me some insight into some of the differences. Knowing such differences
>should help me acheive the sound I'm looking for in the future.

You need to stop listening to marketing people and try some microphones.
Don't worry about how big the diaphragm is or even what's inside. Worry
about how they sound. You'll find there isn't much correlation between the
sound and the marketing buzzwords on the box.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."