Suggestions For A Good Stereo Mic.

dawman · Post by **dawman** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 5:09 am

I haven't purchased Brainrox's Digital yet, but am leaning towards that recently.

The Crane Song mic pre I have used in the past is no longer an option as it was sold for 1800 USD last month, and I needed one for production. It's always nice when someone hands you a check to buy equipment with. It has been a long time since I saw that.

I can use the AES/EBU's w/ Scope and the Lexicons w/ 2 Heil PR40's, but I want to record some vocals, Rotary cabinet, and acoustic instruments as described w/ the M/S technique. A stereo mic sounds to be an interesting approach also.

Sony's have a good rep, but once again I feel the need to converse w/ my Brotha's here at the Z first. Since many of you have more experience than I w/ digital recording scenarios. My analog console knowledge is of little importance in these experiments.

Anybody record w/ M/S right out of the gate. This is what I want to try out. My old style or recording in mono then going to stereo has worked for years, but I have all of these great sounding devices, and noble hardware at hand, so I should jump into this century and get with the program.

eliam · Post by **eliam** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 10:08 am

www.lineaudio.se

Check their quad mic, I have one and I'm very happy with it!

E

dawman · Post by **dawman** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 11:01 am

Brotha' Man Eliam,

Thanks Brosky. That looks like a nice mic for M/S and many othjer applications also.

Just converted the currency amount. Reasonably priced.

Do you use it with Brainrox Digital?

eliam · Post by **eliam** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 11:14 am

Glad to help! No, I don't have bx eq, I haven't used the mic to its full potential since I have only a pair of top class preamps, I've used it as stereo XY as well as omni, bidirectional, and everything in between. I'm going back in studio to finish my album, so I'll probably try the m/s config and play a bit more with the possibilities...

This mic is truly excellent! Very hifi -it picks the sound as it is, no presence boost, really flat. It is very sensitive, If I sing closer to it than 1 foot it can be problematic. It's been made to record live ensembles from a distance, but it works on percussive material. Listen to my tracks here: www.myspace.com/eliemusic , most of the instruments were recorded through that mic, except the back vocals and bassoon.

dawman · Post by **dawman** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 12:00 pm

Damn Brotha' Man,

I didn't know you lived there. I just did a 2 night gig in Victoriaville, and froze my ass off. -11 degrees F!! I was so worried about my racks during transportation.

Sorry I can't download your music, but I am installing a soundcard in my internet PC in a few hours actually maybe then. I clicked the download link and it said you didn't have the ability to download it?

The description of this mic is what I am looking to use it for. Capturing small spaces and acoustic instruments is a capability I do not have at this time. My PR40's are really an all around recording mic, but I wish to specailise a little. The quad's spec.'s are impressive.

Thanks, And Good Luck To You And Your Music. :

Post by **garyb** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 12:14 pm

for mid-side, you usually need two mics, one a figure-8 pattern, either a dual diaphram condenser or ribbon, and a cardioid or omni condenser at 90degrees to each other with the figue-8 at 90degrees to the source....

what are you recording? for a stereo recording of a jazz combo or an orchestra, or a drumset, stereo is an excellent choice, m/s would work well. for a single vocal or multitracked instrumnet, m/s would probably be overly complicated and stupid...

eliam · Post by **eliam** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 12:40 pm

unless you have a good room

Post by **garyb** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 12:46 pm

that goes for any stereo recording, since the room is a big part of the stereo experience. stereo is more than panning....

dawman · Post by **dawman** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 1:05 pm

I want to record a drumset, acoustic guitars and Upright Pianos, accapella vocals, outdoor ambiences. Basically experiment doing things I was never interested in until recently.

I realize that M/S could be overkill, but I have heard the possibilities that DAS DynaPara did with already recorded material. Now I was thinking if I could actually have even more separation, I could pursue some very interesting surround / M/S type of stuff. For your basic recordings of singers, band, etc. I really do not see the need either. I can already get a fine recording just using a mic pre and a PR40. I have even been thinking of using moving microphones, etc. all kinds of crazy stuff. It doesn't just have to be music.

eliam · Post by **eliam** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 1:08 pm

the lineaudio ldc mic wouldn't work outside, it's way too sensitive to wind. The sdc with a good windscreen could work I think

eliam · Post by **eliam** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 2:02 pm

do you use heil mics for live use? I'm looking for a good live vocal mic, I've read good thing about the heils...

dawman · Post by **dawman** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 2:40 pm

They work great as drum overheads, amp mic'ng, and especially deep 4 vocals.

A/B'd w/ the 57's, and 58's there's a big difference.

My production group uses the wireless Sennheiser 152G2's for their ability to use wireless ear monitors and do the dancing ho stuff, but the PR40's trounce the quality of those. It's a serious meat and potatoes mic for everything. Zappa would have loved these.

I am going for the quad after the Holidays.

I can't believe I am actually going to go record those noisy deseret crickets at night. But my endeavor is to do a documentary on Las Vegas. Since we have the worlds largest amount of people visiting weekly, I can bypass distribution costs. Small bribes to giftshop owners and street vendors would be cheaper than any PR firm 4 sure.

I also plan on recording people gambling, screaming, dice rolls on felt, everything I can get my hands on.

Jaque Costeau's son did a dive w/ a mini sub in search of the bottom of Lake Tahoe, which he never found BTW, that made a fortune just to the tourists that frequent there. NatGeo channel offered very little for the rights, his sales came from local distribution, and only a couple of spots on channel 3 years back.

I grow weary of dancing gigs, covers, etc. I need to become re invigorated again in a new direction. I will never stop playing. But this is a new venture I wish to do. I even have access to the best video cams at my friends post and archiving facility.

If I could only get a reliable audio / MIDI sequencer working w/ Scope.

eliam · Post by **eliam** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 2:46 pm

It will do you good to return to the interiority of a fresh creation stream! Are you familiar with binaural recording? It can be very interesting, you can just clip small mics on your glasses (near the ears) and get a spectacular stereo effect, close to the actual hearing experience.

dawman · Post by **dawman** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 2:53 pm

I like it !!

Is there a book written buy some geek where all sorts of tweakers tricks are categorised?

wayne · Post by **wayne** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 3:55 pm

Antipodean greetings, JV.

For straight out XY i use a matched pair of Rode NT-55. Bang 4 buck.

Also have mates who use NT-4 and find it useful in the field and studio.

dawman · Post by **dawman** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 4:01 pm

Cool,

Thanks for the links.

I am multitasking and tweaking.

Post by **garyb** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 5:07 pm

xy is different than m/s.....

dawman · Post by **dawman** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 7:53 pm

Good,.....the more, the merrier.

I actually am reading some old Tom Dowd tricks from the Ahmed Erdigan days.

Afterall he invented the faders to replace the dials, so that's a good start.

Shroomz~> · Post by **Shroomz~>** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 5:23 pm

This Paia MS Stereo Mic looks interesting, but you'd have to build it or have it built for you.

dawman · Post by **dawman** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 5:33 pm

Dayamn Shroomz,

Where do you find this stuff.

Very cool piece of kit 4 sure.

Thanks Brougham.