Olympic Mics
February 13, 2002 in Articles
I came across this article describing what NBC is using to cover the olympics. It’s interesting to see that the microphones they use are something you can get retail and not some custom contraption.
You are browsing the archive for Microphones.
by ericdano
by ericdano
Shure Beta 57A
August 23, 2001 in Reviews
I picked a Shure Beta 57A off of Ebay the other day. I’ve been testing it, and I like it.
I’ve become quite interested in the microphone/recording aspects of things recently, mainly due to the CD Project I started with my students. I have been using my Nady SCM1000 to record students, but, now I think I’m going to be using the Shure….
Why? There are two things I’ve noticed between the two microphones. First, the Shure isn’t picking up a lot of the room noise. My studio is right next to the drum studio, and the Nady microphone picked up a lot of the drum noises, especially the bass drum, when I did recordings. The Shure, probably due to the tighter pickup pattern, didn’t pick up hardly any excess noise.
Second, the Shure is quieter. The self noise from the Nady is quite pronounced. The Shure, you can’t hear anything.
When recording, you need to be right on the Shure to get a good sound. The manual recommends six inches to a foot. That seemed to be the case on Saxophone. The Nady, if you got that close, you’d have to turn down the mic level. For Flute, I haven’t had much time to find a “sweet spot” on the mic, but about six inches towards about where C is seems to be best so far.
The Nady mic still sounds great in a quiet room on Omni pickup pattern. I notice that switching the Nady mic from Omni to Cardioid to Figure 8 you get slight differences in tone qualities. The Shure mic just has one pattern (Supercardioid), so, its not an issue.
I think the Shure is going to take the spot as the recording mic in my studio right now. The Nady I’ll still use, but only when I can use it on Omni mode.
I’m still interested in adding a Shure 57 to my collection, and I’d love to try out a Studio Projects C1 some time as well………
by ericdano
Modern Recording Techniques
August 15, 2001 in Reviews
Having become quite interested in recording, microphones, digital recording, etc, I was interested in finding a book that could help me achieve better recordings. I found such a book in Modern Recording Techniques Fifth Edition by David Miles Huber and Robert E. Runstein.
This book is simply excellent…..
Modern Recording Techniques touches on a broad array of topics such as sound acoustics, microphones, microphone placement, recording to tape, digital recording, noise reduction, and more. It is a wealth of information. The information is presented in an easy to read and understand format. IE: It’s not too technical, but it’s not too “dumbed down” either.
I would have liked to see more said about microphones and microphone placements. A good companion book, The Microphone Book deals more on microphones and placements. Specifically, what types of patterns and response characteristics are better for different types of recordings.
I’ll be posting a review of that book shortly. But I think that the topic deserved a little more discussion in Modern Recording Techniques than it did. Oh well….
Make sure you pick up the FIFTH EDITION of the book. There are a number of places that still sell the 4th Edition, and it does not contain the updated information about Digital Recording, DSP, etc, etc…..
In all, this is a book you should have if your interested at all in recording or achieving better recording results. I give it a 9 out of 10.
by ericdano
Saxophone Amplification
June 29, 2001 in Articles
Jbone2w2 writes “I have recently been experimenting with effects and amplification of my Saxes. I am looking to build a rack system to handle effects and serve as a stage ready system but I am unsure of what I need on the system.
I want to be able to run several horns into the system using a wireless mic setup and leave enough expansion room to eventually add an EWI. I want to not only be able to add effects such as reverb, chorus and that type of effect but possibly add midi effects also. Do I need a D/A converter and what sort of components do I need i.e. pre amp , power amp, speaker cabinet etc.
Right now I am using a Marshall AR50 Amp and am running chorus, reverb and a Dunlop Crybaby through the effects loop. However, I want to go a little more high tech and have more options available as well as not have to use the same mic for all my horns. Any information you could provide would be much appreciated.”
Very good question. You need to start with a mixer. You’ll need to figure out roughly how many horns and stuff are going to be plugged into it. And then get a mixer that has about 6 extra inputs (in addition to the inputs that you’ll need). You can check out mixers by Mackie and Behringer. For horns, you just need mono inputs. But for midi devices, stereo inputs are better. Most mixers have effects sends/returns, so, adding an effects unit is easy.
I don’t know why you’d need a D/A converter. Amp and speakers will depend on how loud you want to get. There are numerous brands that will probably work. And then there are microphones, etc.
However, one of the key components is the mixer. So, get something good there, and the rest should fall into place.
Good luck!
by ericdano
How to Choose a Microphone
June 3, 2001 in Articles
I found this article on I’m personally happy with my Nady SCM-1000 Mic.
Update: 12/25 21:22 GMT by E :It’s been a while, and I have learned much. I generally use a Sennheiser 421 for saxophone now. The Nady has way too much “self noise”. Though sometimes I’ll use a Shure 57, or an AKG 1000. The only thing I’m still messing around with is the damn pickup patterns. There are Unidirectional, BiDirectional, and HyperCardiod. I think Unidirectional sounds better for saxophone, but for flute, HyperCardiod sounds better….
Why can’t they just put for flute, put switch here etc etc.
Update: 12/25 21:22 GMT by E 
atterns. Unidirectional sounds ok, but the general pickup Pattern is Cardiod. The Sennheiser 421 is a Cardiod pattern, as is the Shure 57. The AKG 1000 Mic I sometimes use on saxophone is switchable. You can put a little cap on it to make it Hypercardiod.
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