Mics

thomasross20

Right. 

Black Friday is here. Was going to get a souped up computer but decided I perhaps don't need to spend the £££ to get one with a graphics card. Integrated UHD Intel 770 should be fine for DAW purposes. 

So I'm thinking I could get a stereo pair mic set with one of those single stands that holds them both. 

--> any recommendations while sales are on? Thanks!

Winny_Pooh

Gefell m300

thomasross20

Think I'd need a second mortgage lol



Was trying to decide between matched pair for XY to make it easy (no phasing) but the spaced & mismatched pair with LDC at the body of the instrument sounds great imo. 

I already have a Rode NT1a re LDC but wondering if something like an Aston Origin is really something I should bother "upgrading" to. 

I defo need an SDC and unsure whether to go SM81/nt5 or even just Rode M5 or Lewitts. 

Cirrus

Mk012 is nice on acoustic

thomasross20

Does it matter if the mic pointing to body is SDC or LDC? Gonna just bite the bullet today and see what's on sale. I'm no Eric Clapton lol

TheMadMick

I used a pair of relatively cheap Rode M3's with a crossed pair mount from Flea Bay.

The Rodes were significantly better than any dynamic mic I tried and not to expensive.

thomasross20

I'll give all these a check, thanks!
I'm so bad for buying "more than I need" but that needs to stop with funds getting tight!

The spaced pair in the video above is so much better than the other configs!

@Cirrus looks like it's hard to get hold of mk012 in UK

Stuckfast

What style of guitar playing are we talking about?

If you're in a nice room and you're playing fingerstyle or especially classical, then many people would recommend a pair of spaced omnis. If you're strumming and want something that "sounds like a record" or sits out of the way in a track then you maybe want to explore different options. If you want to record vocals at the same time you also need to think about separation.

The NT1A is a decent mic and I doubt the Origin will be better or even all that different. I'd probably look into getting a pair of the Line Audio mics. They're cheap and there are both omni and cardioid options available.

thomasross20

I'm not sure if I'd do vox at same time as guitar. 

It would be guitar + vox so pretty sparse hence stereo guitar. Bottleneck would be my toneport UX2. Has two mic I puts so if doing vox + guitar would limit to one LDC for the guitar. 

Else thinking SDC + LDC. 
Agree, NT1a should do re LDC. 

Playing is fingerstyle but also some heavier strumming on a jumbo. 

SE8 you get a matched pair plus the stereo bar for same cost as a SM81. MK012 interchangeable heads is versatile!

Stuckfast

If you want to do vocals at the same time a mic that has a figure-8 pattern is useful. It can be a struggle to get much separation between guitar and voice with cardioid mics unless you use them really close up. 

To my mind none of the strumming guitar in that video sounds great but I don't think that's a miking issue, he's just laying into the guitar too hard.

thomasross20

Figure 8... Just googled this but think I will keep it simple lol. Time is in my side as I don't see many deals on mics right now

earwighoney

thomasross20 said:

Figure 8... Just googled this but think I will keep it simple lol. Time is in my side as I don't see many deals on mics right now

IMO, I'd get a pair of the Oktava Mk012's. As I wrote that, I had a look and they are no longer for sale, I guess down to the war. 

I'd record vocals separately if possible. You'll get spill on recording channels, and that might make things a little tricky to mix. 

thomasross20

Yep I'm thinking that re vox. 
Oh I thought could still get them but had to pay the silly import taxes now hmm..

I think the SE8 pair which also includes the spacer bar is really good value for money. 
Just not sure if I want to SDC or just use the one SDC with my existing Rode NT1a LDC (might make it a bit warmer)

Vintage65

thomasross20 said:

Does it matter if the mic pointing to body is SDC or LDC? Gonna just bite the bullet today and see what's on sale. I'm no Eric Clapton lol

SDC to the 14th fret and LDC to the body.

thomasross20

I started considering SM81 (some say "clinical"), KM184 (apparently great, second to the KM84), NT5, SE8.. just from brief reading.

A few of the above are within the price range of the next two but these two I am liking. The Lewitt 140 Air (optional 10kHz lift which sounds great, and is dedicated to guitar/drums) and the Line Audio CM4 which has no fancy buttons but is flat as a pancake with a very low end and comparable apparently to mics costing 10x as much. 

Figured I don't want to spend megabucks on a mic. The CM4 might perform about as good for not much cash at all, though I'm also liking the "air" button for easy guitar recording with some sparkle. I get the feeling the CM4 is the better of the two. 

stickyfiddle

Rode NT1 here. You can't really go wrong with this without spending $$; it just sounds great

So something you can pair with your existing Rode would be my suggestion. I have a BeyerDynamic M88TG and the ubiquitous SM57 that both work nicely. The M88 is just a fantastic mic for just about anything tbh

Stratavarious

I use a pair of SE7s.  Sound great to me.

Stuckfast

I'd go for the Line Audio personally. If you're recording at home, other factors such as the room, the playing, the instrument, the strings, the pick etc will make a bigger difference than swapping to a slightly more expensive pencil mic. (It may well be that the sE and the Lewitt actually use very similar capsules anyway -- they're all made in China and I don't think there is a wide variety of SDC capsules available there.) If you need a 10kHz boost it's easy to add with EQ after the fact.

If you do want to spend more I'd go for one of the European-made models like the Gefell M300, Beyer MC930, Neumann KM184 or Hebden Sound HS3000. 

thomasross20

@Stuckfast why the line audio? 

I'm swithering between the CM4 and the Lewitt which is the cheapest and has that easy to use air button, the site looks good (easy to order associated shock mount which I think I'll need etc). 

I am going to keep cost low as I'm no pro so it's defo one of the two above and I think best paired with my RODE NT1a as opposed to matched pair 

Vintage65

thomasross20 said:

@Stuckfast why the line audio? 

I'm swithering between the CM4 and the Lewitt which is the cheapest and has that easy to use air button, the site looks good (easy to order associated shock mount which I think I'll need etc). 

I am going to keep cost low as I'm no pro so it's defo one of the two above and I think best paired with my RODE NT1a as opposed to matched pair

I saw these up for sale on Reverb

https://reverb.com/uk/item/74797074-lewitt-lct-140-air-small-diaphragm-cardioid-condenser-microphone-stereo-pair

thomasross20

@Vintage65 yep I saw those.. 
Just need to decide between CM4 & Lewitt and whether need matched pair or not
Thanks btw!