Your Primary Microphone

ken · Post by **ken** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:39 am

I was reading a review in Tape Op today about the Karma K66 Ribbon mic and the review said it is nice on some things in some ways, but wouldn't work well as your primary microphone. This got me thinking about what is a good primary microphone and what is mine...

My nicest mic I think is the Karma K35 multi pattern condenser mic, which I upgraded a few components in. I use this as my primary vocal mic and often on acoustic guitars and as a drum overhead. I also use my Oktava MK219 condenser modded by Oktava Mods a lot as a drum overhead, vocals, and acoustic guitar. I'm not sure which mic is actually better. The other mic that gets a lot of use is my Shure Unidyne 3 sm57. I use this mic on guitar cabinets, snare drum, acoustic, and vocals. Before I had these mics, I used my Studio Projects B1 and then C3 and a regular Shure Sm57.

So, what is your primary mic?

Ken

Sober · Post by **Sober** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:43 am

Dragonfly.

For live, it's the cliche Shure 55SH.

Rabid Garfunkel · Post by **Rabid Garfunkel** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:46 am

Oktava MK 319 (vocals, drums), Shure SM58 (vocals, harmonica), Shaker Crystal Harp mic (vocals, harmonica), Shure SM57 (guitar amp, harmonica)

Geez, it sounds like I play the harp more than I actually do, heh.

obscurity · Post by **obscurity** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:51 am

Second-hand Shure Beta 58.

obscurity · Post by **obscurity** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:53 am

Rabid Garfunkel wrote:Oktava MK 319 (vocals, drums), Shure SM58 (vocals, harmonica), Shaker Crystal Harp mic (vocals, harmonica), Shure SM57 (guitar amp, harmonica).

Do you understand what primary means?

HeuristicsInc · Post by **HeuristicsInc** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 10:28 am

Mine is an AKG... I think it might be C2000B, the photo looks right and the name seems familiar.
-bill

Billy's Little Trip · Mon Oct 15, 2007 10:35 am

Mine is an SM58 for vocals and acoustic guitar, and an SM57 for all other instruments. These are my primary mics Obs, I can't follow simple instructions, lol.

I do have several other mics, but they either pick up too many room noises, or they're too muted. I always go back to my Shure mics.

Hoblit · Post by **Hoblit** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 10:47 am

Billy's Little Trip wrote:Mine is an SM58 for vocals.

Me too. I have nicer mics...and every once and a while I'll use a condenser mic and stand well away from it to get vocal tones time to develop on its way to the cone. I actually did this for My Darling Ruin and mainly FOR the acoustic part's benefit. (However, it may have just been because I was too lazy to go out to my car and get my SM58.)

My vocal style usually calls for the SM58.

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 1:42 pm

My primary used to be an MXL990, but lately I've switched to an MXLv63m, which seems to handle my voice a bit better. Presumably I still use my MXL990 to mic my amp, but I haven't done anything guitar-based in forever and right now I don't even know where I'd put my amp to mic it.

Albatross · Post by **Albatross** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 2:18 pm

M-Audio Luna. I got it free when I picked up the Firewire 1814. I also have a 58.

Lord of Oats · Post by **Lord of Oats** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:28 pm

Hahahahahahaha.

I don't even have an SM58. I have a PG58.

I've never ever ever recorded with a condenser. I'm almost afraid I won't know what I'm doing when I get a a hold of one. I have no budget for gear at all, right now. But I'm looking at MXL products, anyway. Is the V63m worth the extra $20, versus the 990? Like I said, no gear budget. The 990 is $50. That price is pretty hard to beat. I should probably move over to that Gear Wishlist thread now.

So yeah. PG58, in the studio. Funny, because it's a live performance vocal mic. Live, I usually use whatever is set up already. That said, I did originally buy that mic for gigging. I brought it to some shows where I knew the mic setup was no good. I used to have a Nady dynamic, too. I think I got a package deal with stand and cable for $20 or something. I can no longer find the mic or the stand. Boo.

j$ · Post by j$ » Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:32 pm

Tie-mic. The same one for four years. punk!

frankie big face · Post by **frankie big face** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:37 pm

Rode NTV. It's awesome.

Billy's Little Trip · Post by **Billy's Little Trip** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:50 pm

Yeah, the Rode will be my next mic purchase.

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:19 pm

Lord of Oats wrote:I've never ever ever recorded with a condenser. I'm almost afraid I won't know what I'm doing when I get a a hold of one. I have no budget for gear at all, right now. But I'm looking at MXL products, anyway. Is the V63m worth the extra $20, versus the 990? Like I said, no gear budget. The 990 is $50. That price is pretty hard to beat. I should probably move over to that Gear Wishlist thread now.

When I bought the V63m it was on sale at musiciansfriend.com/stupid without a shockmount (and so far I haven't found any reason to think I should have gotten the shockmount). The 990 comes up on there a lot but the V63m doesn't come up so often.

I'd say the V63m is a lot easier to deal with than the 990, and on my vocals it certainly sounds better, though I haven't tried the V63m for non-vocal things, and I haven't tried the 990 in my current recording space. The V63m seems like it'd be more versatile, though, since you can actually conceivably use it on stage, as well as for all the purposes you'd use a 990 for.

Since you're on a gear budget, keep in mind that with any condenser, you'll need a phantom power source. I record through a mixer which provides phantom power, and many recording interfaces provide it now, but unless you have an XLR jack you definitely DON'T have phantom power. So remember to factor that into the cost of the purchase. I think you can get standalone phantom power sources for like $40, but I'm not sure how well those compare to just getting a mixer or recording interface which has phantom built in.

By the way, I bought that Nady ribbon mic that was on sale a couple weeks ago, and I'm pretty disappointed in it. Really muddy on my vocal range. I guess it's for micing instruments or something?

Tonamel · Post by **Tonamel** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:43 pm

A Rode NT1A. The only other mic I own is an Audix I5, so using the Rode for vocals is pretty much a no-brainer.

Lord of Oats · Post by **Lord of Oats** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:55 pm

Yes, the 990 comes with case and shockmount too, and the V63m doesn't, right? I will actually need a way to affix the mic to a stand, and somewhere to put it when it's not on the stand. So you know, if I get more stuff for less money, it might be pretty hard to say no to the 990, even if the quality's going to be better with the other one. I just need an entry level condenser, really, to learn how to use the bastards. I'm going to also want a pair of small-diaphragms, so if I can save on the large, there's more money for that, maybe. I'm not building a studio, yet. Just learning, you know. I'd like nice recordings, in the mean time, but eh. You know, budget. Since recording doesn't make me any money, I can't spend a whole lot on it.

I have phantom power. I'm good to go on that. I just haven't needed it yet.

Is that the ribbon mic that Blue was saying took a bunch of gain and was still quiet? I've heard that ribbon mics are nice for brass. They usually have the bidirectional pickup pattern, so you stick it sideways in between two brass instruments, and bam. They're supposed to roll of the top end a bit, so brass doesn't sound so harsh. In the same way, they're known for making vocals sound smooth and silky and croony. Maybe if you're a good singer (or if you have a cheap mic), you sound muddy. Maybe if you sing in a whinier voice, you'll sound normal. Who knows? In any case, I've heard you can blow the ribbon if you yell into it, or put it in front of a cranked amp. So watch out. I'd certainly like to try one out, but I haven't even explored condensers yet, and it seems that better quality ones are available for less money than with ribbon mics, so that's this train's next stop. I now need to catch my practical experience up to where my theoretical knowledge is. That's always been a problem of mine...

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 5:02 pm

The V63m comes with a carrying pouch, and if you get the one without the shockmount it still comes with a regular microphone stand mount. The 990 does definitely come with a nicer set of accessories though, yeah. For a general-purpose recording mic, I'd say go with the 990.

starfinger · Post by **starfinger** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 5:22 pm

i don't record much of anything acoustically at this point, other than vocals, so my primary mic is my vocal mic by default.. which is the Sennheiser e835

I love it!

-craig

Hoblit · Post by **Hoblit** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 5:28 pm

fluffy wrote:My primary used to be an MXL990...

I recorded the vocals on the Ghost Town Gridlock EP with that microphone. I liked the grip it gave the bottom of my vocals. I was able to roll off the bottom tones while keeping that same sticky power from underneath. The drawback was trying to get nice even higher tones without distortion. (keeping in mind that I tend use a little more power when recording teh punk rawk)

It's just WAY easier to use a SM58 on my vocals from a practical standpoint.

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 5:30 pm

The V63m seems to do better with the high tones (like where I'm singing these days) than the 990.

Steve Durand · Post by **Steve Durand** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 5:39 pm

I use a Studio Projects B1 for everything.

Steve