PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic Which Mic Do You Prefer?

The audiobox 22vsl is a USB powered device, correct? I'm thinking that it's quite possible it does not have sufficient gain before noise is apparent, not room noise, but self-noise of the mic/preamp combination.

As for the reflexion filter - you shouldn't need that with the existing Beyer Dynamic mic. Use the biggest room in your house/flat, that has the fluffiest furniture and carpet - you won't pick up room noise with the Beyer Dynamic recording that way.

Where you will start to need some type of acoustic treatment, is if you buy a condenser mic that has a broader polar pattern and you are in a room that has lots of reflecting surfaces (hard floors, little furniture present, no curtains, etc.)

Before buying the reflextion, does the room you record in have a clothes closet or wardrobe? If so, stuff it with clothing and put the condenser mic in front of that when you record - it will do a much better job than the reflexion filter. At least give it a go first.

Rode is a great brand with a forward looking development view. Hard to go wrong with their products, although you can probably get similar performance with any of the other condenser mics mentioned in this thread, for less financial outlay.

The issue with the tambourine jingle is likely related to the Beyer Dynamic's hypercardioid pattern - might get the pop from the head, but it's going to reject the jingling, because they are off-axis from the mic. It might be a great microphone for acoustic guitars, however - in an untreated room.

Here's what I would do if I were you - I don't know where you are in the UK, but I would call Dolphin and ask if you can order a couple different mics; those in your list, and then some of the cheaper ones like those from sE or MXL, and ask if they will let you try several and take back in the models you choose not to keep. Or perhaps they have some that have come back in from other folks that they are willing to let out for a small price for this purpose.

I think you'll find very little difference between most of the models in the price range of the Rode and on down, similarly featured (same sized capsules for example). None of the recommendations have been necessarily wrong, other than some of the cardioid dynamics would still give you fits with the tambourine sound - the SM 58 and the Sennheiser MD421 (both mics I love for vocals, MD 421 I used to use as a tom and snare mic)

I would instead look for features that I consider to be more important like a high pass filter and pad switch on the mic. In my book, those are more important than the brand. Even the lowly Samson mics on the Dolphin link I provided above will sound very nice paired with a fairly quiet pre-amp. The Samson C03 would be one I would include in the short list and it's less than 100 quid. Multi-pattern, high pass filter switch, and 10 dB pad - boom, that would be on my short list. HIGHLY likely the capsule is made at the same factory as more expensive mics from more respected brands. The Samson SM58 knock-off I have is a great microphone.

You WILL want to high pass filter nearly everything that you record with whatever condenser mic you choose, and having it on the microphone takes away a bunch of low frequency rumble that will find it's way into your recordings without it. Having an on-board pad switch will also increase the mic's versatility immensely for whisper quiet vocals, to overhead microphone use. The NT2-A has all of those features, actually a 2 position HP filter (40 or 80 Hz cutoff), multi-pattern, and a multi-level pad (5 or 10 dB). However, it's probably overkill for the home office recording situation. Save yourself a couple hundred quid and get a nice pre-amp paired with a less expensive multi-pattern condenser.

I suggest high-pass filtering on the mic because you did not mention a mixer - good for you. No need for a mixer with low channel counts, as it is a noise source in and of itself. Most decent mixers will provide a high pass switch on the channel strip, but if you have it right at the mic, you can plug in directly to the interface and record to your heart's desire. However anytime you are routing signal through analog gear, you will increase the overall noise floor of the signal chain. It's unavoidable. Using less gear in the signal chain normally means a cleaner recorded signal.

Back to recording your acoustics with the TG x 80 mic - you will have to remain pretty still as you record, otherwise, you'll get quite a bit of volume inconsistency throughout the recording, the closer you get to the microphone as a nominal distance.

But it probably is a great mic for recording that in an untreated room.

-Scott