[Trombone-l] microphones question

[Christopher R Tune]

Well, it sounds like you have a space that could be used to record chamber
groups. . .perhaps like a large living room in medium-large to large
homes.

Of course, you may already be aware that the space itself will likely be
the biggest portion of acoustic influence regarding recording sound.

Sometimes you are very lucky and the room itself is conducive to
recording. Normally that seems to happen in such a way as to need some
added reverberation, due to the room being very dry without added reverb
(my living room is like this. .it has wall-to-wall carpet, and many
drapes, pictures, booksheves, and cabinets, so it is very dry without
added reverb. . but I'm OK because I have good revebs in Cubase and also a
MidiVerb IV)

Sounds like you need general purpose wind mics likely condenser mics which
could be used in pairs to record sections, and which also could be put
into different situations to allow for recording piano, or strings.

The AKG C1000 is one of those mics.  There are similar mics from Shure,
AT, and Rode.  These are small capsue condenser mics which have low
self-noise, wide, flat response, and which are physically not hard to put
into the crowded area where the musical instrument and player are, but
also work well on high booms as stereo capture mics. Luckily, these are
not ridiculously expensive.

I found that my venerable old AR ATM 31, which is now discontinued, seems
to still be available in a modified form.  This mic was not able to take
phantom power, but had to use a battery as it's only power source.  Worked
great once placed right.  I only have one, so I can't opine on stereo
coverage of large groups.

This mic appears to now be called the ATM8031, which is classified by AT
as a "Broadcast & Professional mic".  They say it is a handheld mic, but
I've never used it this way, except that I've placed it on a stand to
cover me in combo or small band work.  It works just like a SM58 in that
context.  For my mic I need to be sure to put a fresh AA battery in

The trombone sounds great on this mic, and it rejects sound as well as
most cardioid pattern mics out there.

I think those who said to rent a few differnt types and use them in
differnt contexts, are closest to the mark.  Then, once you have narrowed
down to a few different mic models, I'd say go on to eBay, or Craigslist
and find someone unloading several of these.  Get them cheap, because mics
really are sort of overpriced based upon "mic myth", and emotion.

When you look at the video on Discovery channel, where a Neumann mic is
manufactured, you can see that the entire process and manufacture is
really not hugely complicated.  There is great quality control, with each
mic being thoroughly examined, but that does not truely add thousands to
the cost of this device.  What is going on, is that famous recordings were
made with Neumanns (old fifties jazz, Basie, etc.; Beatles, Michael
Jackson, on and on) and that has added to the myth, which says you need
this mic to sound good.

Reality is that you need to be a good musician or singer to get a good
performance.  That is the hard part, NOT getting a good recording (there
is some difficulty, but not nearly as much as developing "chops").  It is
also hard to get so you realize that you are the problem, NOT the mic. 
That is extremely stressful, so it is rarely achieved. Paul McCartney,
whether you are a fan, or not, was a very good sounding singer.  That is
why the Neumann picked up good sound on those Beatles recordings.

Tune

On Tue, March 3, 2009 11:59 am, Hugo García Sampedro wrote:
> Hello
>
> Just to give you thanks for all your answers concerning this mics issue.
>
> I do have a SM57 for home use and stage (just in case they give me crap I
> use mine... ) ... but my question was because I have a friend that own a
> "medium" size studio (much more than a home studio, a lot less than a
> really pro one) and as he is thinking in invest in a good wind instruments
> microphone... so I just go to the sources... real playes!
>
> Thanks again, and take care
> -Hugo GS
>
>
> --- El sáb 28-feb-09, Hugo García Sampedro <hgsamp at yahoo.com> escribió:
> De: Hugo García Sampedro <hgsamp at yahoo.com>
> Asunto: [Trombone-l] microphones question
> Para: "trombone List" <trombone-l at server5.samford.edu>, "trombone list"
> <trombone-l at server5.samford.edu>
> Fecha: sábado, 28 de febrero de 2009, 3:41 pm
>
> hello list
>
>
>
> I don't know about your different experiences in recording studios  or
> your expertise in audio ingenierng, but I would like to know what are
> in your experience, the microphones more used to record trombones and low
> brass in general  in professional studios. I'm not asking about brands but
> I'm interested in the
> types of mics (dynamic, condensers, ribbons, polar patterns,  etc.)
>
>
>
> Many Thanks!
>
> -Hugo GS
>
>
>       Yahoo! Cocina
> Recetas prácticas y comida saludable
> http://ar.mujer.yahoo.com/cocina/
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>
>
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> http://ar.mujer.yahoo.com/cocina/
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Chris Tune

Remember:

"It's music, not brain surgery. . ."
anon