Violin mics-R84, C42, R122, U195, etc.

[DanielRaible]

Hello,

I have been recording alot of solo violin using a pair of Shure sm-81s (one close & one far) > Sytek preamps > Lucid A-D > Digi002R. I have tried all kinds of mic placement scenarios and I still dislike the overall sterility and the 'hardness' in the 3-4K region. The violin sounds really great in the room! I am looking for a microphone upgrade and have been considering the following:

josephson C42 MP (to replace the sm-81s)

AEA-R84

Royer R-122

Soundelux U195

I have a feeling that any of these mics could work well, and with superior results than what I have been getting. Any other suggestions, or comments on these mics and violin recording? My budget is around 1K. Thanks for your time!

Sincerely,
Daniel

[NathanEldred]

You're right that they all will work well to various degrees, so it really depends on which frequencies you want to or don't want to emphasize. I'm not too partial to the Royer on violins specifically, it has an emphasis @ 1k which is exactly what I want to avoid. The Josephson is good but there is the possibility that the high end is too extended, and it really depends on the player and the room...brighter room with a player that is very near the bridge and it could be a recipe for trouble.

The R84 and Soundelux are going to be the most mellow in the trouble high midrange area....the main and obvious difference being that the R84 has no extension worth speaking of in the 'air' frequencies, and generally it has a more relaxed sound being a ribbon. You also should take into consideration that the R84 is a figure of 8, so you are basically cutting your direct sound in half...bringing more room into the signal (for good or bad) as compared to the cardiod U195. Hope this helps.

[joeq]

a top violinist friend of mine swears by the Sennheiser 441

[tINY]

If you like the sound in the room, why not set up a near-coincident pair in the room where it sounds good? Record to stereo and leave it alone (except for level).

The near mic is gonna pick up a little extra of the upper-mid-range stuff that you get from the bow.


-tINY

[hollywood_steve]

the main and obvious difference being that the R84 has no extension worth speaking of in the 'air' frequencies, and generally it has a more relaxed sound being a ribbon. You also should take into consideration that the R84 is a figure of 8, so you are basically cutting your direct sound in half...bringing more room into the signal (for good or bad) as compared to the cardiod U195. Hope this helps.

different strokes, and all that.......
personally, I've had my best luck with ribbon mics in this application, but I prefer the Coles 4038. Its priced similarly to the models you are considering and I think it has a more natural sound than any of them.

[bloodstone]

My best successes have always been with an AKG BULS. Each time I've used it I got a track that was amazingly full, round and rich. Odd, considering how "bright" that mic can be.

[adamcal]

I recorded 2 violins with the R84 just last week. the first player didnt sound so good, scratchy and harsh, I tried a few other mics but all the same, I was in a hurry and in a bad mood, so I just recorded it.

30 minutes later

The second player, I put the R84 up again, and BAM, Fcuking awesome!!! same pre, same position, everything I wanted from the R84 in the first place.

The player is everything

[beechstudio]

I did a recording in Nashville in 1998 with the 'LONESTAR' band members. We had Rod Hadjacous on fiddle (Garth Brooks 'Sevens' and Shania Twains 'Come on Over') at Sony/Tree studio. Believe it or not........we got great results using a CAD E100 thru an Aphex 107 mic pre. 95% of the sound though came from Robs fingers! An AWESOME fiddle player!

[fifthcircle]

I just used a bunch of Royer R122's on violins on a show and I was very impressed with what I heard... The amazing thing was I had 1 condenser mic up for a violin solo in the show and it was a very good mic- a Sennheiser MKH-40 which is about as mellow as you get with a condenser... Anyways, as soon as somebody started playing on it, I just wanted to scream as it was so harsh sounding. I suppose there is a first experiece for anything...

When it comes to condensers- I dig the Sennheisers MKH40 and Schoeps. For years I've used my Beyer 160s with pretty good results. This way my first time using the Royer 122 and I fell in love with the sound. I also really dig how with that mic you get enough gain and the whole ribbon-impedance thing is no longer an issue. I would imagine a Coles would also sound good.

--Ben

[DanielRaible]

Wow, thanks for the many replies. Initially we tried an xy-pairing in the room, but we ended up preferring the near-far configuration. Since the sound isn't quite 'there' yet I figured a new mic is in order.

Good idea on the Coles and the 441!

-Daniel

[Pete G]

Hi

My first post to this forum prompted by reading this thread on violin miking.
I've just had to resurrect some fiddle tunes recorded xy with a pair of Rode NT5's I believe. Probably placed to close to the fiddle and there is a lot of unpleasant screach esp in the 3.5 to 4K range, with little low end at all. Any comments on the best way to save the sound? I'm trying a side chain input of the worst frequencies into a compressor at present

Cheers

Pete G

[threm]

fifthcircle wrote
a Sennheiser MKH-40 which is about as mellow as you get with a condenser.

I play a little violin and the MKH-50 is a quite forgiving mike on that instrument.
The old KM84 seems a little thin with a hyped top compared to the MKH-50.

[NathanEldred]

Originally posted by threm
I play a little violin and the MKH-50 is a quite forgiving mike on that instrument.
The old KM84 seems a little thin with a hyped top compared to the MKH-50.

Weird...do you think the KM84's need a recapping (maybe the lows are excessively rolled or they are putting off unusual distortion)? If anything I find the old KM84's on the dark/natural side and have had great success with them on violin in the past.

[Fletcher]

While I haven't had many violins in my sphere lately... from some of my most recent experiences with the Coles 4040, I have a distinct feeling that it would be the first mic I tried if I were to record a violin later today... but I have no actual experience with that instrument and that mic at the same time... call it a kinda educated gut instinct...

[Dave Martin]

I've tried a bunch of mics over the years on violin (Well, really on fiddle...) and the one that works best here is a Neumann/Gefell M582 with an M-62 capsule.