Bought some new microphones...started making some test recordings

Lewguitar

Old Know It All
Joined
Dec 30, 2012
Messages
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Paonia Colorado
At least I know my Tascam Model 12 is alive!

Still waiting on a few things and I'm right at the start of the learning curve, so nothing to share yet.

Right now, all I have for mics are three Shure SM58's from the 70's and my Michael Jolly modified Oktava condensers.

Anyways, I wanted some great vocal mics and bought an Aston Spirit (on sale for $279. Got the last one) and a Shure SM7b (also on sale).

Don't see how i could go too far wrong with those two. They'll be here next week along with a few other things.
 
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You should, mine is awesome. I have @sergiodeblanc and @bodia to thank for the push.
No more new guitars for me. Maybe an amazing acoustic but I already have a couple.

Sold my Stripped 58 last week. Just didn't connect with it. The sale of the SC58 is paying for this project.

I like my old CE22's w/Dragon 1's, and my Bernie Marsdens with their 57/08's and custom humbuckers from Wolfetone and the Duncan Custom Shop better.

THOSE get played.
 
Was singing into an SM57 at jam/band practice last week. Great mic.

The Santana got an airing too.
Did you know that EVERY US PRESIDENT since Lyndon B. Johnson has delivered speeches through a SHURE SM57. It became the lectern microphone of the White House Communications Agency in 1965, the year of its introduction, and remains so.
 
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How are the recordings coming along, Lew?
I recorded ideas for three new songs yesterday. Ideas are coming out of nowhere...or wherever music comes from. The Collective Unconscious I guess.

It's so cool to walk into my music room and be able to just sit down and record something before the idea evaporates. Much better than singing and playing into your cell phone!

This Tascam Model 12 mixer/recorder feels somewhat familiar to me, and like the old Tascam we had in our garage studio in 70's and 80's.

I have not tackled connecting to my computer yet but I did download a trial version of Reaper and Audacity.

I think Audacity will be easier for me to learn, and then I can move onto Reaper or another DAW.

My Shure SM58's and Oktavas sound fine of course, but I think the Shure SM7b and and Aston Spirit are going to give me some versatility and a more professional sound, especially for vocals.

I've heard acoustic guitar recorded with the Spirit and it sounds great for that as well.

My new mics show up next week...I hope!
 
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My Shure SM58's and Oktavas sound fine of course, but I think the Shure SM7b and and Aston Spirit are going to give me some versatility and a more professional sound, especially for vocals.

I've heard acoustic guitar recorded with the Spirit and it sounds great for that as well.

My new mics show up next week...I hope!
The Spirit's an extremely good mic, you'll love it. The Aston models are very highly regarded.

The thing I like best about the mic in the clips I've heard with vocals is that it's not 'tizzy' or exaggerated in the top end like way too many mics. It sounds natural and un-hyped.

Granted, this demo was done with a very expensive tube mic preamp and premium converters, but the naturalness stands out, especially with vocals. In my experience, vocals are the key test.

When a mic works with vocals, in most cases it'll work equally well with acoustic and electric guitar because they're also primarily midrange instruments. I'd probably have used a more effective pop filter, because this singer's plosives come through a bit too much. You can hear the breathiness and velvet in her voice, but it's not exaggerated. That's a quality you find in classic mics like the U67 and U47 Neumanns.


I've always been a fan of the SM7b. I used to see them in voice-over booths alongside mics like the Neumann U89 and U87. The choice always came down to what the talent sounded best on.
 
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The Spirit's an extremely good mic, you'll love it. The Aston models are very highly regarded.

The thing I like best about the mic in the clips I've heard with vocals is that it's not 'tizzy' or exaggerated in the top end like way too many mics. It sounds natural and un-hyped.

Granted, this demo was done with a very expensive tube mic preamp and premium converters, but the naturalness stands out, especially with vocals. In my experience, vocals are the key test.

When a mic works with vocals, in most cases it'll work equally well with acoustic and electric guitar because they're also primarily midrange instruments. I'd probably have used a more effective pop filter, because this singer's plosives come through a bit too much. You can hear the breathiness and velvet in her voice, but it's not exaggerated. That's a quality you find in classic mics like the U67 and U47 Neumanns.


I've always been a fan of the SM7b. I used to see them in voice-over booths alongside mics like the Neumann U89 and U87. The choice always came down to what the talent sounded best on.
I'm relieved that you approve of my mic choices!

I bought this pop filter and shock mount to go with the Spirit. Should help.


I imagine myself singing through the Shure SM7b. I read that it needs a gain boost so I got a SE Electronics DM2 Blue. Apparently, it works best plugged right into the mic and then the mic cord into it.

Gets 4 1/2 and 5 star reviews so I figured it would be another safe bet.

Are you familiar with that?

I'm really looking forward to hearing my acoustic guitar through the Spirit, but I wanted to give the female singers I hope to record with a couple of mic choices too.
 
I've always been a fan of the SM7b. I used to see them in voice-over booths alongside mics like the Neumann U89 and U87. The choice always came down to what the talent sounded best on.
Apparently Quincy Jones is a big fan of the SM7b too. Is it more of a man's mic than a woman's?

I was thinking of the ladies when I bought the Spirit.
 
I read that it needs a gain boost so I got a SE Electronics DM2 Blue. Apparently, it works best plugged right into the mic and then the mic cord into it.

Gets 4 1/2 and 5 star reviews so I figured it would be another safe bet.

Are you familiar with that?
I'm not familiar with that one, but I'm familiar with the Cloudlifter that does the same thing.

Whether you need something like that or not depends on your mic preamp. If the mic preamp itself doesn't generate noise (the good ones don't, but less expensive ones are all over the board on noise), and has a decent amount of gain on tap, you may not need it - you can just turn up the gain on the mic preamp.

But if the preamp adds noise, or doesn't give the signal enough of a boost, it's a good idea to have one. I've never needed one with my dynamic mics, but I've always used moderately priced or expensive mic preamps, where quiet preampfification and sufficient gain for a dynamic or ribbon mic are expectations.

In any case, it isn't gonna hurt the signal to have one!
 
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Apparently Quincy Jones is a big fan of the SM7b too. Is it more of a man's mic than a woman's?
I dunno. In my experience mics are gender-neutral. The choice depends on what you want to accomplish, how the vocalist sounds using it, and the material. There are often surprises, anyway.

If you want to hear the breathy airy thing, sure, use a condenser. But the same is true for male vocals.

A contralto often sings in or near the same frequency range as a male tenor will - on some material - though the timbre is different. Stevie Nicks, a contralto, was known to at the very least cut guide vocals and perform live with a recent Sennheiser dynamic or a Sennheiser 441, also a dynamic mic.

Edit: I've confirmed that Stevie Nicks cut final tracks with a Sennheiser 441. She also used one live, I don't know if that's still the case. David Bowie also used one live. It should be noted that a 441 has an extended upper frequency response compared to most dynamics.

Errata: I also initially listed the 441 as an AKG - that slip-up was just because it's so close to a 414, my brain simply went there. I meant Sennheiser 441.


A mezzo: I'm gonna say it depends on the song, whether she's a belter, and how much breathiness I want.

For a soprano: I will usually pick a condenser, because I usually want to hear that breathy detail.

The material matters, too. There are styles where I want to pick up sound that's a little different than the usual fare. And some singers don't have great mic technique and can overload a condenser. Anyway, I think dynamics are underrated.

Picking the right mic to use is pretty easy: Put each one on a boom, position them so one capsule is directly underneath the other, then switch between them and make a decision. The inch or so difference in height isn't going to matter. Some people, on the other hand, will line up the mics and have the singer do a take on each one and listen back. No rules.
 
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Awesome that you are on your way Mr. Lew! Looking forward to hearing some of your material ;~))

As for the mics, I can speak to the quality of the SM7B (as can it's impressive history) but I don't know the other one. I am currently using my SM7B on my cajon (blasphemy some may say) with my Rode NTR ribbon mic on vocals. But the SM7B sounds better to me than a SM57 or 58 on cajon, so that is why I am using it. Point being, it can do a lot more than vocals IMO!

Don't know if you would be interested, but I use something similar to this for my vocal mic (mounts on a mic stand and then extension from that mount area is where the mic is mounted):

Neewer-Microphone-Isolation-Shield-652x435-c4e36f55-640w.jpg


That said, the SM7B is a tough fit in many of these type units because of its depth (and these units from different manufacturers accommodate different depths based on length of side panels and mic mounting arms), but I have done it and it does give the mic some isolation from sounds coming from the back. BTW, never hang your headphones anywhere near a mic like they do in this pic, it can create feedback loops in some circumstances that could damage your cans!

Let me know if there is anything I can help with and congrats!!!
 
Don't know if you would be interested, but I use something similar to this for my vocal mic (mounts on a mic stand and then extension from that mount area is where the mic is mounted):

Neewer-Microphone-Isolation-Shield-652x435-c4e36f55-640w.jpg


That said, the SM7B is a tough fit in many of these type units because of its depth (and these units from different manufacturers accommodate different depths based on length of side panels and mic mounting arms), but I have done it and it does give the mic some isolation from sounds coming from the back. BTW, never hang your headphones anywhere near a mic like they do in this pic, it can create feedback loops in some circumstances that could damage your cans!
Certainly those small gobos can help isolate a mic, especially when there's bleed from other sources like in a live band recording (they work on guitar amps, too), or you have loud computer fans, disc drives, etc.

Because a ribbon mic is figure-of-eight and picks up a lot of sound from the rear, that's another good use for it, where needed.

However...one has to remember they're designed to solve problems in rooms, and not all rooms have those problems. There are audio tradeoffs that need to be considered.

If you're cutting vocal overdubs, or have the vocalist in a recording booth, and set the mic to a cardioid pattern (the most often used for vocals). the only reason to use a gobo is if the room has serious problems with reflections and noise. Many do have problems, especially very small or very live rooms.

But most vocals are cut with cardioid mics that are designed to reject reflections behind the mic (i.e. the wall facing the singer), and many rooms just don't have bad sound. I've never even needed one in an overdub context with a ribbon mic here.

The other thing to keep in mind is that if the bad reflections are coming from the rear of the room behind the singer, a gobo in front of the mic can't solve that problem. I've also experienced rooms where the worst reflections were bouncing between floor and ceiling and making the audio sound very boxy, like being in a locker. Again, can't be solved with a vertical gobo, you'd need the gobo above the singer and the mic.

In most contexts, a gobo like the one pictured isn't going to do very much with a cardioid setting on the mic, except perhaps deaden off-axis side reflections. Trouble is, those reflections often make a recording sound more natural. Artificial reverb alone sounds...artificial. A little room sound is usually not a bad thing - unless it's a terrible sounding room (for example, an empty room - i.e., without absorptive furniture - that's got a hard floor and lots of glass).

I have a gobo for solving such problems that's large enough for guitar amps, but it also works for vocals. I have it 'just in case'. But I don't recall needing or using it in the last 6-7 years.

Except where there's serious noise, a very bad room, or lots of band bleed, a gobo is often a solution in search of a problem. So before investing in something like that, I'd suggest recording in the room and listening for reflections that sound phasey or otherwise make the audio sound bad.

If unsure of where the bad reflections are, move the mic around and record in different parts of the room. Try recording near furnishings, or with a closet door open. In other words...experiment a little.

My two cents' worth of advice is don't fix what isn't broken. I'm not knocking those, sometimes you need one. Just figure out whether it's a necessity before unleashing the wallet! :)
 
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No more new guitars for me. Maybe an amazing acoustic but I already have a couple.

Sold my Stripped 58 last week. Just didn't connect with it. The sale of the SC58 is paying for this project.

I like my old CE22's w/Dragon 1's, and my Bernie Marsdens with their 57/08's and custom humbuckers from Wolfetone and the Duncan Custom Shop better.

THOSE get played.
There is a lot to like about a ce22 with dragon 1s
 
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