Better mic = Bigger headache

[Wurly_b]

Better mic = Bigger headache

I just bought a new Studio Project C1. It seems to have good reviews all over the internet, and people on this forum seem to like the mic, so I bought one ! I have been using a Shure 57 and Nady SCM-900, and I thought the Studio Projects C1 would be a step up.

After trying to record some acoustic guitar, I thinking maybe that “step up” has also giving me a bigger headache. The C1 seems to pick up everything but my guitar. Cars, people talking next door, fans, computer hum, etc......... I live in an apartment, so I can’t just go about renovating to make a sound-proof room. I’m thinking the C1 would record awesome in a sound-proof room, or a fake rock in Russia.

I’m thinking I just bought something to drive me crazy and give me more headaches. I’m trying to figure out how I could build a cardboard box booth that I could temporarily set up and take down. I don’t have room to leave a recording booth up permanent. I mostly just need the mic to record acoustic guitar. I’m not going to be singing any “Guns N Roses” cover songs in the apartment, so I don’t have to worry about the eviction notice. I just need to keep the sound of the neighbors breaking beer bottles, against the wall, out of my recordings.

or ??? - should I just stick with the good old, tried and tested, Shure 57.


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[ambrot777]

my name is chris ambriati i am an intern at a studio in abilene texas www.theglassjarstudio.com. the c1 is for the most part a vocal mic in my opinion so if you record vocals at all i would keep it. as far as you acoustic guitar look into the sp c4's they are a mathced pair and sound great! we use both mics in our studio and both are great!

[tINY]

You can go and make some gobos using furring strips, pegboard, fiberglass or cotton insulation, and fabric covering.

Basically, make a wall of pegboard behind you in a circle. Cover at least 90 degrees horizontally and from close to the floor to about 5 feet high. Cover this wall with 3-5" of insulation towards the mic and wrap it all up in fabric.

You can make sections so that it stores and transports easy.




-tINY

[(DC)]

The C1 is a condenser microphone. It is much more sensitive to sound and picks up sound in a larger range. The mics you had been using before were dynamic, which picks up only what is in front of it, and in a limited range.

[Timothy Lawler]

I bet everyone's first condenser is an eye-opener, especially if it has a fairly wide pattern and a high frequency rise in its response. Takes more room treatment to get a good sound because as you noted it's more sensitive and picks up everything - good and bad in the room and playing. But with some high freq reflection control in the room the added detail might be what you want. I'd avoid using a 57 for acoustic guitar myself because I like a high-detail sound.

Dynamic mic's come in all pickup patterns from omni to hypercardioid. The difference with condensers is mainly a sensitivity thing, I think, rather than directionality.

Tim

[ambrot777]

i agree get yourself a pair of small diaphrams

[3rd world order]

its like everything else... more money, more problems.

if you like dynamic mics try a shure SM7

[apdv1]

[QUOTE=Wurly_b]Better mic = Bigger headache


After trying to record some acoustic guitar, I thinking maybe that “step up” has also giving me a bigger headache. The C1 seems to pick up everything but my guitar. Cars, people talking next door, fans, computer hum, etc.........

It seems obvious but you don't think maybe you have the mic facing the wrong way?

[Wurly_b]

It seems obvious but you don't think maybe you have the mic facing the wrong way?

That is so funny !
- Because yes that is what I was doing. Duh, I’m I brain dead or what.
Last night I tried some recording with the mic facing the right direction and it sounded way better !
I am going to put a sticky note on the mic “face mic this direction” and another note on my back “kick me I’m a bonehead”.

Still ? I think I’m going to build some kind of temporary recording booth. I’m still picking up outside noise. There is that plastic cardboard, that sign painters use. It is super durable and I can buy the clear/transparent type. I’ll use a few eco 2X2’s for the frame, and tape or velcro on the plastic cardboard. The booth will be super light and I’ll be able to put it together and take it apart in minutes. I think the booth idea will cut out at least half the outside noise. I know it won’t completely eliminate the sounds of fire trucks, police cars, boom boxes, and the occasional gun shot, but hey ? - I might want to keep those sounds in for effect.

I’m really liking this mic. I think I will work with it for at least a year or more before I buy any other mics.


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[Crash]

It seems obvious but you don't think maybe you have the mic facing the wrong way?

That is exactly what I was thinking when I read this post. At least you got it figured out, I bet you will enjoy the mic a lot more now. Don't feel bad about it, I have seen people sing into the tops of front firing mics, sides of top firing mics, you name it. Heck, I have seen people try to sing into the end of an XLR connector.

[petsematary]

It's happened to me too

[joelpatterson]

You could pioneer a new music that was all about cars passing and people talking.

[ozraves]

Congrats on the new mic. Enjoy the adventure.

[Wurly_b]

I think my topic title was a bit unfair. I should of post it as “Different mic = Different headache”. I believe all mics are “better” used in better ways.

Like for example my Nady SCM-900. I know it isn’t as sensitive sounding as my Studio Project C1, but used in conjunction with my Shure 57 I have been able to get some good recordings of guitar amps.

I also like my $30 Shure C606. I use it on my $30 (toured around the world, Greyhound bus style) lap guitar. The C606 gives it that kind of “smokey club sound”. I tried using the Studio Projects C1 on that guitar last night...and...it didn’t sound right. It made the guitar sound like “weekday lawyer, wants to be Friday night blues guy”.

I did some other recordings using the Studio Projects C1 with my classical guitar, and “WOW” that is the sound I was looking for. I could finally hear the nylon strings sounding mellow and beautiful. - and not like some elastic bands taped on a cupboard.

OK - My new music (Robert Johnson meets Leona Boyd) Hmmmmm? I think Led Zeppelin has been there before.......

Back on topic.
I can really see how microphone collecting can be as additive as guitar collecting.


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[petsematary]

Originally Posted by joelpatterson

You could pioneer a new music that was all about cars passing and people talking.

Sounds like a Woody Allen flick.

[username]

hah!... I still havent worked out who did it.. but once I went to use one of my mxl v67's.. and it sounded realy weird.. lots of room noise..

anyway.. I'm sitting there going like "what is the deal here" and evnentualy I worked out someone had opened it up.. and somehow managed to get the top part on backwards (which I couldn't replicate when I tried to demostrate it to someone).. so the little cardiod pattern picture I use to tell which side is the front was on the oposite side.

[joelpatterson]

Oddly enough... and I've always thought that would be a great name for a character in a Woody Allen movie, "Oddly Enough..." and Woody would turn to someone and say, "My friend, Oddly Enough..." and the guy would walk in the room....

But oddly enough, a few times when I've done the mic mod where you remove the inner stainless steel screening, it's ended up spun around in exactly that way. So when I mod its pair, I spin it around too. I call this the "oddly enough" mod.

[Dave Martin]

Originally Posted by ambrot777

my name is chris ambriati i am an intern at a studio in abilene texas www.theglassjarstudio.com. the c1 is for the most part a vocal mic in my opinion so if you record vocals at all i would keep it. as far as you acoustic guitar look into the sp c4's they are a mathced pair and sound great! we use both mics in our studio and both are great!

Hey, Chris! I'm not meaning to hijackthe thread (besides, y'all have sorted it out...), but since you're interning in Abilene, you should try and spend some time with the founder of the recording scene there in Abilene - Micheal Henry Martin (No relation to me, but the reason I'm sitting in a studio full of audio equipment as I type..). Listen to his Stephen Paul modified U67 and you may decide that the C1 is NOT a vocal mic - at least, not a real one... And then see if you can compare your C4's to his small diaphragm Neumanns...

And good luck to you - I escaped from Abilene 30 years ago.

[burntrax]

Originally Posted by Crash

That is exactly what I was thinking when I read this post. At least you got it figured out, I bet you will enjoy the mic a lot more now. Don't feel bad about it, I have seen people sing into the tops of front firing mics, sides of top firing mics, you name it. Heck, I have seen people try to sing into the end of an XLR connector.

I was mixing a live show in a small club and this drunk guy kept bending down and singing close to one of the pull out lights on a furman rack mount power strip. After he did this a few times I asked him what he was doing and he told me he was singing in the "mic". That's when I knew there was something beneficial about even a 6th grade education. How many of us will admit how many times we carefully"adjusted" an eq or compressor only to later find out the bypass buton was in. Woops

[FSPirate]

Originally Posted by burntrax

How many of us will admit how many times we carefully"adjusted" an eq or compressor only to later find out the bypass buton was in. Woops

being "that guy" sucks. quite embaressing, but a good laugh. i did it once back in high school when i was mixing for a talent show. oh, the good ole days....