MicQuest 2015

[MarvinLee]

Those Beesneez Microphones sure sound nice.

[Andy Howell]

I thought hard about buying the 300 but decided to be cautious and take the fet, although I can always upgrade later.

For recording singing I like the flexibility of the omni setting as it adds a little extra. For a straight voice over the single cardioid is fine.

That is basically the choice with the 200. Some people reckon it is a naturally better sounding mic than the 300.

Haven't had mine long enough yet but will put up some recordings in the next couple of weeks.

I decided I didn't want the valve smoothness - I can add that using a preamp or DAW if I want.

I explored Mojqve because they have a reputation as being good mics for those with baritone type voices.

There are some great review of this mic from a number of recording engineers on the net.

[Ty Ford]

"I explored Mojqve because they have a reputation as being good mics for those with baritone type voices."

Sorry, I find that an odd comment. Perhaps you can explain.

Regards,

Ty Ford

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Ty Ford

"I explored Mojqve because they have a reputation as being good mics for those with baritone type voices."

Sorry, I find that an odd comment. Perhaps you can explain.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Humm? now I am curious as to exactly what you find odd. Is it not conventional wisdom that certain mic/designs sound better on certain voices ? And could that not extrapolate to particular Mfg having a design that better suites a frequency range of voice ( albeit it would seem to probably more mfg/model specific)

[Ty Ford]

Why would Mojave sound better than equivalent Neumann or Schoeps or AT mic?

What aspect of engineering could guarantee that it had something special for baritones?

Would that mean that it was not to be used by tenors, sopranos and altos?

I've heard a lot of mics over the years but never one that made a particular vocal range sound better than another except for mics with an overextended HF response that made squeak voices squeakier, while putting an edge on those "inside out" voices that seem to have no projection or articulation.

There is, of course, the subjective judgement of what one wants to hear, or is told is better. e.g. emperor's new clothes

Regards,

Ty Ford

[MarvinLee]

Wanted to share this link as I think it's a pretty good example of what sort of set up I am looking for. My question would be, what other mic/preamp combinations have you experimented with and how would you say they compare to this one?

I realize it's youtube and many of the subtleties are lost, perhaps this is why I'm asking for direct comparisons from anyone familiar with this particular combination and why they might like something else better.

[Ty Ford]

Hello Marvin,

Hard to say and here's why. Years ago I was at an FM station in the Washington DC market. John Prine was touring with his first LP. I was struck by the sound of his guitar on that record.

He came to the station and played live. I was very eager to learn how he got his guitar to sound that way. He unpacked a Gibson Roy Smeck Stage Deluxe and began to play. It sounded just like the record.

Regardless of what mic we had chosen for him, it was pretty much going to sound that way. If your voice and/or guitar don't sound like the guy in the video clip, you odds of sounding like that are slim to none and Slim is on his way out of town.

Also in this case, he's in a recording studio, not someone's living room or den. But in any case, notice again that the mic is not above his head, it's out front and he's learned to sing and play in balance.

Regards,

Ty Ford

[-ST-]

Hi MarvinLee,

I asked about ribbon microphones as one of those lateral-thinking exercises... to gently question the assumption that the only solution was a large diaphragm condenser microphone.

I got way more than I could have hoped as the discussion broadened to include recording techniques and related ideas.

Thanks to everyone who contributed.

[-ST-]

Hi Ty Ford,

Just a quick note. Thank you for your contributions in this discussion. I've been reading along with interest.

I've been reading your articles and reviews and learning a tonne (from the links in your signature).

I've only just rekindled an interest in recording, and it's been fun to read your impressions of some of the microphones I've used or have lying around here. I've been experimenting with single microphone techniques with a new ribbon microphone and your insights have been really helpful.

Thank you.

[MarvinLee]

Hi Ty,

Thanks for the John Prine story (love those). I think you hit the nail on the head with your comment. Interestingly enough, your comment dovetails with an article that I read the other day by Mike Senior when ask the question "do I really need a high-end vocal mic rather than a much more affordable mid-priced model?". His reply was very helpful and I've included the link below. The basic answer was a more expensive mic will sound better for a broader range of applications. (Keep in mind I am not getting this mic for me, but something that will be sufficient for the widest range of singer/songwriters possible. A single mic to cover a variety of tones.)

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may0...s/qa0508_4.htm

-ST-

Thanks for mentioning the ribbon mics. I love the way they sound, but fear their durability in the field. I'd heard stories in the past about these mics, and now I know what they were talking about. I'm with you on getting more than I hoped for from this post. A lot of great input from some very experienced folks.

Gotta love it.

[MarvinLee]

-ST-

Would love to hear some of those ribbon test, if it becomes practical to do so.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Ty Ford

Why would Mojave sound better than equivalent Neumann or Schoeps or AT mic?

What aspect of engineering could guarantee that it had something special for baritones?

Would that mean that it was not to be used by tenors, sopranos and altos?

I've heard a lot of mics over the years but never one that made a particular vocal range sound better than another except for mics with an overextended HF response that made squeak voices squeakier, while putting an edge on those "inside out" voices that seem to have no projection or articulation.

There is, of course, the subjective judgement of what one wants to hear, or is told is better. e.g. emperor's new clothes.
Regards,

Ty Ford

Humm??? were you replying directly to my post ? If so
Nobody said a thing about Mojave being better than any other mics.
Nobody said a thing about a guarantee.
Nobody said a thing about a mic that sounds good on baritone should not be used on tenor etc. .





I have listened to a lot of different mic's on my voice (upper baritone to mid tenor) and for absolute certain they can sound different. And in that difference some sounded better subjectively to my ear than others .

Also I have heard from more than one top engineer for example that because of the design (engineering) a Neumann U87 has a slight lift in the upper mids and often tends to work well on male vocals especially those in lower tenor and baritone range. And these same engineers usually do not use it on female vocals for the same inherent reason of design.

And to clarify there is subjective judgement that is based on experience and listening and subjectively preferring different mics for specific applications that can be frequency range related and this subjective preference has nothing to with "the emperors clothes". Or being "told what is better".



Regards, Kev.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by MarvinLee

Wanted to share this link as I think it's a pretty good example of what sort of set up I am looking for. My question would be, what other mic/preamp combinations have you experimented with and how would you say they compare to this one?

I realize it's youtube and many of the subtleties are lost, perhaps this is why I'm asking for direct comparisons from anyone familiar with this particular combination and why they might like something else better.

What I hear here mostly is a good performance in good studio acoustics, with a well placed mic. It clearly shows this sound is possible with this gear, but it's hard to say if it would sound better or worse with other gear. I suspect with this performer, in this room, you'd get a very acceptable sound with a huge variety of gear. At $2000 each, both the mic and preamp are quite a bit above your original budget, and should certainly qualify as nice gear.

I'm a bit confused by the focus on "one mic", tho. Is this just some romantic idea? A marketing gimmick? I understand, this video is trying to sell you the gear. But if you're trying to record people, and presumably create recordings that flatter the artists, why not focus on getting a good sound, now matter how many mics, or what gear it requires? A good engineer will figure out what they need to do to get the sound that's required, not try to force one fixed solution on everything. Surely with the video work you've done, you didn't say "I have one camera and one lens, and no matter what the project, that's all I'm going to use", right?

[MarvinLee]

The focus on a single mic is two-fold. One to simplify the setup as it is will be a single person running both camera and sound. The second is to attempt to create a consistent style of production which will hopefully focus the viewer more on the performance than the tech.

Through the course of this thread and subsequent reading, I've come to think that perhaps I am best off focusing on which mid-level mic might be the most neutral.

Still trying to wrap my head around just what that means.

[MarvinLee]

Edit..........