KVR Audio

lharless · Post by **lharless** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 1:35 pm

Hey folks!

need your help making a decision...

live recording, acoustic set, bar setting, various acoustic musicians on stools going through a house pa (probably a head and two cabs)..the usual "open mic night in a bar" setting, most likely.

two channels of input with the little interface im going to be using (portability is the rule for this one).

no time to rent the mics that i need. I have a limited condenser collection, but a few pairs of nice dynamics.

AKG C430 (sd condensers) pair
AKG D770m (dynamic) pair
AKG D880m (dynamic) pair
MXL 990 (LD condenser) single mic

The problem is: I know well and good that my mic choice is horrible for this type of event. I usually rent mics. I need to use whatI have. This is not going to be the worlds best performance, and it's not going to make it onto a label or even see any sort of distribution. The guy just wants the show recorded, in decent fashion, nothing special. What mic would you pic in this situation and why?

my first instinct is to mono record the show with the MXL 990 and then add a "room" with my waves plugins later. some would use the C430s and add bass. some would use the dynamics and eq the hell out of it. Which mic? Mono to plugin for stereo? dynamics with eq? sd condensers with a risk of bass rolloff effecting the recording?

im leaning toward the mono mic and adding the room via plugins. is this a mistake? have you ever attempted this before? what would you do?

heres the spec sheet on each mic:

http://www.akgusa.com/pages/pdfs/drum_i ... t/C430.pdf

http://www.akgusa.com/pages/pdfs/handhe ... c/D770.pdf

http://www.akgusa.com/pages/pdfs/handhe ... D880MS.pdf

http://www.mxlmics.com/condencer_mic/co ... index.html

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i also posted this over at: http://forum.cubase.net/phpbb2/viewtopi ... 462#272462

sorry for the redundancy in postin, but i need help in a hurry. im not prepared for this job, and i need the money that ill be getting from it. so i guess i have learned to be better prepared next time.

next time, ill make sure i can rent mics before i go ahead and accept a job.

lee harless

MickGael · Post by **MickGael** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:20 pm

I don't know those mics, but If you are going for verite, I'd use AKG C430 or MXL 990 in either X-Y. ORTF, NOS (or maybe Blumlein - which would give you some options).

I used to do a good amount of field recording, and unless I liked the room a lot I would often use small diaphragm condensers in X-Y (sometimes positioned overhead and down, sometimes from front). In poor rooms I miced fairly closely. I find that large diaphragms can sometimes be problematic in small spaces

I'd suggest that if the sound is too sharp, jangly or soupy (concrete walls?) go ahead and use the dynamics. In fact, I'd set-up two pairs (though be mindful of phase and 3:1 rule). More options. You can make great sounding recordings with dynamic mics.

I think you'll find the positioning will make as much difference as the mics.

Hope this helps!

lharless · Post by **lharless** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:26 pm

i hear ya. this makes sense.

as i think about it, i suppose ill just take up the dynamics and the c430s and try one set during sound check against the other and see what i get... thank for the ideas.

MickGael · Post by **MickGael** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:28 pm

NP - have fun! I miss doing location recordings.

lharless · Post by **lharless** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:34 pm

this is an unusual thing for me to be using my small setup to record a room. i usually use this small setup for demoingg songs of my own for this and that.

i most always close or spot mic every instrument on stage and run it all through a splitterbox to foh and then my large mobile setup. i have no experience with micing a room only. haha! it actually seems counter productive, but i guess ill be able to futz around with it enough in the DAW to get a decent sound out of the show for the guys.

thanks for your help!

jkotz · Post by **jkotz** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 5:41 pm

I've had lots of success using Audix instrument mics to record choirs, and depending on the room those c430's might not be a bad choice. Their mid-high presence might work well if the sound is a bit bass-heavy. The ideal setup with your mics would probably be to use the 430s as an XY pair and then use the MXL to reinforce that. Unfortunately you only have two tracks, so the XY pair is probably the best you'll get.

mandolarian · Post by **mandolarian** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 7:38 pm

lharless, don't stress out. You gotta do what ya gotta do. Too bad you don't have a 2nd 990. However, just x/y the 430s and EQ the crap out of them later! The mono to fake-stereo idea is a bad one. Stereo micing, even with two less than optimum mics will be more 'live' than a mono mic and your beloved Waves.

Next time just pickup a Rodes NT-4. It's great for low budget location work. Then later buy a pair of Schoeps CMC41s.

lharless · Post by **lharless** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 9:54 am

i hear ya. thanks!

c430s it is.

type of mic for an application