Mic for recording

[wooster]

Hi

I am about to buy a mic for recording ( in order of importance ) my banjo, acoustic guitar and a bit of vocals. I am an amateur, beginner to recording, and will record at home where there's some outside noise which I'd like to minimise. I am using a Scarlett 4i4 and Logic.

Deep down, I realise that shortcomings in my technique are the real limitation in the process, but please help me with my delusion that a better mic will help make me sound better and advise me between these three.

Shure SM81
Rode NT5
Rode NT1A

It seems that all of them might do the job but I'd welcome advice

Thank you very much.

[runamuck]

For what you have listed to record I'd suggest a Shure KSM32.

[keith.rogers]

Originally Posted by wooster

Hi

I am about to buy a mic for recording ( in order of importance ) my banjo, acoustic guitar and a bit of vocals. I am an amateur, beginner to recording, and will record at home where there's some outside noise which I'd like to minimise. I am using a Scarlett 4i4 and Logic.

Deep down, I realise that shortcomings in my technique are the real limitation in the process, but please help me with my delusion that a better mic will help make me sound better and advise me between these three.

Shure SM81
Rode NT5
Rode NT1A

It seems that all of them might do the job but I'd welcome advice

Thank you very much.

If you are not going to treat the space, then a dynamic is going to be easier to manage, but may not bring out the best in the acoustic guitar or voice, though it depends a great deal on your instruments.

You could get something like an SM57 with a windscreen and use it for everything, or supplement that with the NT5 or SM81 on acoustic if you'll be playing and singing at the same time.

If you really want an LDC, from all I've read, though I have not tested them, the new version of the NT1 is slightly preferred over the NT1A, which has that brighter high end many folks do not find works well as a general-use kind of mic. There's a kit version that comes with a pop screen that is necessary for vocals with a mic like that.

[DukeX]

I would start with an LDC, if you are only going to get one mic. Record guitar or banjo first, then come back and record vocals.

The KSM32 and Nt1 are good suggestions. The 3U Audio CM1 teal is a great unknown mic. The AT4033 (not a true LDC) has been used for years in studios.

[nightchef]

What's your budget?

[wooster]

Hi. tried a SM57 but wasn't that amazed by how it sounded but it might be just my inexperience of course.

I have access to the SM57 that I can use and I also have a mic bundled with my interface, it's branded as a Scarlett CM25 which I believe is a large condenser. i tried it when I got the kit and I recall having a lot of issues with background noise. Again it might be my technique. I know it's marketed as cardioid so maybe the three I mentioned wouldn't be a massive step up?

Should I stick with these two and try room solutions ( isolating the mic from room noise somehow ) instead of just buying another mic?

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by wooster

Hi. tried a SM57 but wasn't that amazed by how it sounded but it might be just my inexperience of course.

I have access to the SM57 that I can use and I also have a mic bundled with my interface, it's branded as a Scarlett CM25 which I believe is a large condenser. i tried it when I got the kit and I recall having a lot of issues with background noise. Again it might be my technique. I know it's marketed as cardioid so maybe the three I mentioned wouldn't be a massive step up?

Should I stick with these two and try room solutions ( isolating the mic from room noise somehow ) instead of just buying another mic?

A cardioid mic isn't going to eliminate background noise. In fact, no mic is going to eliminate background noise (some will do a little better job than others but not enough to take a track from bad to good). A cardioid mic is a directional microphone and it's going to pick up the sound that present themselves from a certain degree of width. However, that doesn't mean it will only pick up sounds that originate in that given area. If a sound originates outside of the mic's sensitivity zone, it can still bounce off a wall behind the player and hit the mic where it will be picked up.

It's unlikely you'll be able to isolate the mic from room with any ease. Isolation is an expensive bar to reach and you'll rarely find it in a home studio. What is achievable (even on a budget) is acoustic treatment which can minimize the amount of waves bouncing around your room and ending up on your mic capsule. Most people will start with traps in the corners to minimize low end rumble and traps on walls at the point where sound will first reflect off the walls. That's a solid start for the home studio from a mixing standpoint. For recording, it's probably best to have traps on stands that you can position to reduce reflections from your guitar and your vocals (if singing).

Room treatment is the most overlooked aspect of the home studio. There's nothing sexy about it, no knobs to turn, no colorful lights, no bouncing meters, but in terms of bang for your buck, it pays off. You'll get cleaner sounding, more focused tracks.

I'd suggest treating your room before buying another microphone.

[wooster]

Originally Posted by jim1960

A cardioid mic isn't going to eliminate background noise. In fact, no mic is going to eliminate background noise (some will do a little better job than others but not enough to take a track from bad to good). A cardioid mic is a directional microphone and it's going to pick up the sound that present themselves from a certain degree of width. However, that doesn't mean it will only pick up sounds that originate in that given area. If a sound originates outside of the mic's sensitivity zone, it can still bounce off a wall behind the player and hit the mic where it will be picked up.

It's unlikely you'll be able to isolate the mic from room with any ease. Isolation is an expensive bar to reach and you'll rarely find it in a home studio. What is achievable (even on a budget) is acoustic treatment which can minimize the amount of waves bouncing around your room and ending up on your mic capsule. Most people will start with traps in the corners to minimize low end rumble and traps on walls at the point where sound will first reflect off the walls. That's a solid start for the home studio from a mixing standpoint. For recording, it's probably best to have traps on stands that you can position to reduce reflections from your guitar and your vocals (if singing).

Room treatment is the most overlooked aspect of the home studio. There's nothing sexy about it, no knobs to turn, no colorful lights, no bouncing meters, but in terms of bang for your buck, it pays off. You'll get cleaner sounding, more focused tracks.

I'd suggest treating your room before buying another microphone.

Thank you for this advice. I am in a room approximately 10ft x 10ft with a large window on one wall and a small window on the other. It is a little boomy. How about if I put a bass trap in each corner and a largish foam panel over the wall behind me when I record so that any sound bouncing agains thte wall behind me and being reflected into the mic is damped?

Would this be a good enough start or should I put panels over the windows too? Or might I just buy some heavier curtains for them and stick with the first part of the plan re bass traps and panels?

There's a practical limit I guess so I'd like to maximise results and still get a positive outcome it possible.

[j3ffr0]

Any of those mics will enable results that are quite good. The NT5 will be brighter than the SM81. I haven't used the NT1A, but it's looks light it might be brighter than the Shure too. All three mics have good reputations at their price point. There are folks who love and hate all three as well. For your application, I like the SM81.... that banjo is probably going to be bright enough. Just keep the windscreen on and/or keep it above your mouth when singing at you will be fine.

You will want to close mic with it if you don't treat the room right away. I am also a big fan of room treatment and it can make a big difference. A treated room with an SM57 vs an untreated room with an SM81..... depends on how bad the room is, how good the treatments is, and how close you get with the 81 (and you will still have to deal with the proximity effect). You are probably not going to get a great room treatment for $350 in my experience, but you can get a nice start on it.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by wooster

Thank you for this advice. I am in a room approximately 10ft x 10ft with a large window on one wall and a small window on the other. It is a little boomy. How about if I put a bass trap in each corner and a largish foam panel over the wall behind me when I record so that any sound bouncing agains thte wall behind me and being reflected into the mic is damped?

Would this be a good enough start or should I put panels over the windows too? Or might I just buy some heavier curtains for them and stick with the first part of the plan re bass traps and panels?

There's a practical limit I guess so I'd like to maximise results and still get a positive outcome it possible.

I don't like being the bearer of bad news but square rooms are the worst. Bass traps in the corners will address the boominess. Foam is pretty useless stuff. You want Roxul Rockboard 60 or something with similar acoustic absorbency properties. You can buy it in the exact size you need and build a frame around it. 4x2 panels 4 inches thick for the corners and 4x2 2 inches thick for the reflection points is pretty typical. If you want to go the extra mile, a cloud made up of two or three of the 4x2 2 inch panels above where you'll play and mix can also help tame a bad room.

You can get a quick education on the subject from this video...


Here's his "how to" video on building panels...

[wooster]

Thank you for your help. I will watch these videos and try to make a start with the bass traps. I meant acoustic panels when I said foam. I won't be able to cover the whole place with them as I have a number of shelves and guitars hanging around but I can stick a bass trap in each corner easily enough. I also was planning to stick a panel on the wall in front me as I sit at the mic position and one over the wall behind me. I found a company from Surrey on ebay who are acoustic specialists and who sell a kit so I might give them a call this week and ask what they would recommend.

Meantime I'm going to watch these videos.