Dynamic mics

[mikehalloran]

My go-to dynamic for live is the AKG D870. Long discontinued, the latest incarnation is the D5 (re-designed wind screen). Street price is $99.95 and GC puts it on sale frequently for $79.95. Every once in a while, I will use it in the studio on a vocalist who just doesn't sound as good with anything else.

Until I tried one, I used the SM57 live (I dislike the 58). I could not believe that level of articulation in a dynamic mic, supposedly the result of their variable thickness diaphragm. The downside to the D870/D5 is that, if you flub the words and mumble, everyone now knows. Seriously.

I had a quartet of 57s walk away after a gig in 2008; GC had the 870s on a close-out sale. The specs looked great and the price was even better so, what the heck - right? After the first gig with these, everyone in my band bought a pair for themselves and I bought another quartet.

http://www.akg.com/site/products/powers ... ge,EN.html

AKG also has the D7 for twice as much $. It is the D5 with a humbucking coil that affects the bass response raising the roll-off 20Hz. Unless you are in a location with a lot of electrical noise, I don't see the need (may be good for TV studios?).

[mhschmieder]

In preparation for some recording sessions that start tomorrow, I finally got around to doing mic tests of my more recent (last two years) purchases tonight, with unsurprising results.

The Audix i5 turns out to be a very good top snare mic, with a good balance between body and air. Yet, as on other sources, it just doesn't have as much detail as some other mics, and sounds a bit compressed as a result. Not a bad thing; it just wouldn't be my first choice. I still don't like it on guitar or bass cabinet, or vocals, but didn't try it on saxophones yet.

The Audio Technica ATM650 is the other "modern SM57" alternative, and excelled in its role as a top snare mic. It has more detail and body than my current top choice, the E/V ND468 egg-shaped mic, but less air and wire (maybe it's just that that one is so easy to place). As the ND468 sounds a bit thin (often a good thing due to rejection of the kick bleed), I'm a bit torn on this one; it didn't do so well on any other source, so like the Audix i5 might get sold.

The Sennheiser MD431 mk II continues to surprise in a good way, but hasn't jumped to first place on any source yet so may wind up getting sold as "redundant". On snare bottom, it sounds similar to the Sennheiser e906 (unsurprisingly), which is my current snare bottom mic choice (and much easier to place), but a bit compressed and less air and wire. On floor toms, it has more air than my favourite (Audio Technica ATM25), but less depth and resonance. On rack toms, it has less attack than my preferred Audio Technica ATM250, but is airier -- perhaps it would work best as a tom-tom group mic when not close-miking? It broke up at undesirable frequencies on guitar cabinet (clean or dirty), but competed strongly with my preferred Sennheiser MD421 mk II on bass cabinet, being crisper and with more detail but lacking some body and bottom in comparison. On vocals, I find it a bit nasally compared to the MD421.

The Sennheiser MD441-U sounds absolutely dreadful, thin, and nasally on everything I've thrown at it so far (and yes, I have the weirdo "EQ" switch set to "M" vs. "S" or a mid-way position, so that isn't the problem). But as I bought it specifically for saxophone and flute, and haven't tried it on either yet, I seriously doubt that this "best dynamic mic in the industry" will leave my collection. Many also love it as a vocal mic, so I'll try it there as well.

I'll cheat and mention a miracle condenser mic (large diaphragm) that entered my collection during a special sale: the Audio Technica AT4033/CL. This may become my condenser mic for bass cabinets (for guitar and bass, I now combine DI plus Dynamic (close) + Ribbon (distance) + Condenser (close)), as it has more warmth, detail, depth, and body than the CAD e100s that I use on guitar cabinets (it doesn't take well to guitar cabinets though, coming off nasally of all things). I can hardly wait to try it on vocals! It doesn't have the usual problems of a condenser mic (mid-high bump, sibilance, etc.). Almost sounds like a high end Neumann!

[mhschmieder]

I found the comments about mic pre-amps a bit surprising, as I have the most transparent mic pre's in the industry (True Precision and AEA, with DACS on the way later this year) and find that an uncoloured transformerless mic pre-amp really separates the mics that have detail from the ones that are muddier.

[philbrown]

I found the comments about mic pre-amps a bit surprising, as I have the most transparent mic pre's in the industry (True Precision and AEA, with DACS on the way later this year) and find that an uncoloured transformerless mic pre-amp really separates the mics that have detail from the ones that are muddier.

Well there's no right or wrong in this game, but I guess I'm with Kubi in the 'color camp'. I use my mic pres specifically for their different colorations and enjoy matching them up with different mics to see what the combinations bring to any any given track. In fact my Shadow Hills mic pres have 3 different switchable coloration options (different transformers). OTOH if I was doing classical or Allison Krauss sessions I might feel differently.

Thanks for all the info on mics guys!
Wish I had the time and money to try them all!

Sent from my fingers using Hunt'n'Peck.

[daveyboy]

I just bought an Audix i5 and have been using it for the past week while reamping guitar tracks for a rock cd. It's been the main mike used and sounds great a little right of center. It's also worked great as a second mike combined with other dynamics on the same speaker. But, by itself it's fine. Sort of off topic but I've been using Tritone digital's Colortone plugin which has some great settings to both thicken and lessen the harshness of the tracks. Using this plugin I've felt less inclined to track 2 mikes at once as the plugin gives me a similar end result.


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[mhschmieder]

My point about the mic pre statement was that it presented subjective criteria as objective criteria. Nothing wrong with finding combinations of mics and pres that you like the sound of. But that's not the same thing as a minimalist signal path that truly represents the mic's inherent characteristics.

I wasn't saying one way was right or wrong; just drawing the distinction. My bias towards uncoloured pres isn't related to genre as I work in all genres; I simply like to be confident of what the mic actually sounds like as I get to know the mics better that way and can focus more on mic choice and placement.

There are so many good mics nowadays that I find it more interesting to discover less well-known mics that deliver detail and yet have characteristics that suit them more towards certain instruments. I guess I'm lucky that I was young and broke in the pre-digital age, so don't have the background of using lots of different pres. Mic pres are very expensive and I'd rather spend my money on mics (especially more ribbon mics). At least the 500 series approach is making the collection of coloured pres more affordable though.

BTW, the AEA ribbon pre is excellent for all dynamic mics, not just ribbon mics, due to its headroom. I bought the version that has some EQ as it is surgical EQ to deal with specific issues related to ribbon mics and so isn't the sort of EQ that one would regret later in the mix as pre-baked. This version also accepts condenser mics (separate signal path and inputs) but I haven't tried it on any of those yet. It isn't quite as transparent as the True Precision 8 or especially the DACS Clarity, but the headroom issue is important on older/weaker mics.

I'm hoping to run through some experiments on acoustic fretted instruments, hand percussion, and woodwinds today, but may put that off as those tracks will come later in the recording sessions (though it's good to have everything choreographed up front, to avoid snags and delays in the process later on).

[Phil O]

...I have the most transparent mic pre's in the industry (True Precision...

How do you like the True Precision? I've been drooling over a Precision 8 for quite some time now but have never taken the plunge.

Phil

[mhschmieder]

You can compare TP8 to others over at Clip-a-lator on Warren Dent's Zen Pro Audio site. I have used most of the gear on that site and find that the methodology he used for the clips gives a very accurate representation of each piece of gear. He doesn't cover everything, but there's a lot compared to most other comparison sites.

There is now a 500 series module available, which I think is the newer version that includes high gain for ribbon mics (check this on their site; they might have two versions) and includes the DI capabilities of channels 7 and 8 of the eight-channel rack version. The DI is more appropriate for synths than guitar and bass, but can be useful. I was using a Radial JDI Duplex box for awhile, but now that I strictly own analog vs. digital synths, am finding the TP8 captures more of the detail of the signal and doesn't (to my ears) benefit from the Jensen transformer magic of the JDI.

The DACS Clarity seems to have a bit more detail and transient response than the True Precision gear, but is also much more expensive. It's on my list but a lower priority now that I have the AEA TRP two-channel ribbon mic pre-amp with its coverage of dynamic and condenser mics on board. I haven't had my hands on one; just the demos at Warren's site. But I have worked with their head amp (and plan to buy one soon) and am very impressed by the construction and the clean and simple signal path with an excellent power supply design.

[Phil O]

Thanks for the info MH. Sorry if I pulled this slightly off topic.

Phil

[mhschmieder]

We were able to listen to the "flat mix" from the multi-channel WAV files and the individual mono files post-split tonight, from Saturday's drum sessions.

The Audio-Technica ATM650 is now unquestionably my go-to top snare mic, in place of the E/V ND468 or any other snare mic I've used over the years. It has the most body, without unwanted resonance or harshness, and just enough of the wire to be useful on its own and to tame any brittleness in the paired bottom snare mic. I now recommend this mic as the SM57 killer for top snare, WAY above the Audix i5 (in that context). Very cheap too, and easy to position (though not as flexible as the egg-shaped ND468).

The new favourite for bottom snare is my recent Sennheiser MD431 mk II purchase. As expected, its characteristics are similar to the MD421 mk II and e906, which share a similar design, but the MD431 has more detail and balance to the sound, and softens any brittleness in the snare wires. The e906 sounds slightly compressed by comparison (as does the Audix i5 on top snare). If attaching the clamp to the snare stand vs. the bottom rim of the snare itself, there is plenty of flexibility in properly placing the MD431, even though it is large.

The other dynamic mic that got added to the drum setup is the ShinyBox 46MXL ribbon mic (also used for room ambience in guitar amp recording, to great effect). I put it four to five feet in front of the drum set, about five feet off the floor. It adds warmth and dimension, but at that distance sounds somewhat muffled (as one would expect). It balances out the overall sound.

Although it's a phantom power mic, I'll also mention the miracle mic that I played with for the first time: the original PZM-30D hemi-directional boundary mic from Crown. I had tried boundary mics from Sennheiser and others, but they are a pale shadow compared to the real deal. This mic has so much detail, depth, dynamics, and dimension that I could almost use it on its own as the only mic for the kit! I placed it about five feet off the floor on the wall behind the drummer, with the mic element pointing up. I used duct tape to secure the plate to the carpeted wall.

[baanes]

As mentioned earlier, I had a chance to compare a Heil PR30 and an MD421 a little bit ago. I'll keep comparing them when I have a chance, but contrary to what I said before they are quite different-

PR30 - more detail in the top end, doesn't sound quite as focused. really great rejection, little proximity effect.

MD421 - huge, aggressive midrange, esp. with proximity effect. not a lot of articulation in the highs, but a very focused sound. for low-mid material (in this case bass clarinet) really cuts through.

Used the 421 here, no contest.

[mhschmieder]

I've gone over the tracks a bit more now and think I would characterize the MD431 as a slightly flatter response than the MD421 on-axis, with more detail in the highs.

It does, however, have a somewhat strange drop-off off-axis, where the high frequencies maintain a bit of a bump. Not a bad thing on snare, and worked well on bass cabinet also.