Need a condenser mic - which one?

viz · June 2014

I need to record a piano concert in a hall tomorrow - I was thinking of an SE220 or something similar - any advice please? Thanks!

spacecadet · June 2014

For piano I would use a ribbon. You could look at the SE X1R or the MXL R144. Both incredible value for money and very natural sound.

viz · June 2014

Thank you - aren't they a bit delicate though? It's piano and tenor and soprano by the way, should have mentioned. I will look at them.

viz · June 2014

Hmmmm. Quite difficult googling a product that begins with SE X without missing out the space, through force of habit.

digitalscream · June 2014

The SE Magneto is supposed to be quite good. I've got an SE2000 here which is pretty damn good.

We've been using the Rode NT1A for vocals lately, and it's excellent; whether you can live without the pad and LF roll off is another matter (same with the Magneto, actually).

If you fancy a drive over to Stamford at any point today/tomorrow, you can borrow my SE2000 for as long as you need - I'm not going to be using it any time soon.

ChrisMusic · June 2014

If it was me, it would be a pair of AKG C414s, but then I am a bit "high maintenance"

spacecadet · June 2014

viz said:

Thank you - aren't they a bit delicate though? It's piano and tenor and soprano by the way, should have mentioned. I will look at them.

They used to be and older ones still are but the newer stuff is solid as a rock. I would say more robust than a tube condenser. You will get a lovely smooth top end but all of the low end you could want. The downside is they tend to be a little on the quiet side so you will have to ramp up the gain on the desk or go through a preamp if you have one. I promise you will never look back though.

viz · June 2014

Thanks Chris, maybe when I'm richer!

DS - that is very kind of you - I might just do that! Gonna check what PMT has first - I'll get back to you - thank you!

digitalscream · June 2014

viz said:

Thanks Chris, maybe when I'm richer!

DS - that is very kind of you - I might just do that! Gonna check what PMT has first - I'll get back to you - thank you!

As I said in the other thread (this is getting confusing), I've got an iRig Pre as well, which means you could do it all with your phone (iPhone or Android) and the free iRig Recorder app.

viz · June 2014

spacecadet said:

viz said:

Thank you - aren't they a bit delicate though? It's piano and tenor and soprano by the way, should have mentioned. I will look at them.

They used to be and older ones still are but the newer stuff is solid as a rock. I would say more robust than a tube condenser. You will get a lovely smooth top end but all of the low end you could want. The downside is they tend to be a little on the quiet side so you will have to ramp up the gain on the desk or go through a preamp if you have one. I promise you will never look back though.

Really? I used an SE condenser last time and it almost had too much bass end, even with the low cut filter engaged. But I do like the look of that SE ribbon - they say it's tweaked to give sparkly top end too.

spacecadet · June 2014

Yeah, ribbons used to be quite dark but this one apparently is fairly airy. It's on my shopping list along with some new monitors.

Cirrus · June 2014

Something to watch out for with Ribbons - They're usually fig.8 pattern, so will pick up a healthy dose of whatever is behind them. That can either be an advantage or a problem depending on the room acoustics and how many people in the audience are suffering from hayfever. They also have strong proximity effect so the bass can get a bit overblown and cloud up the low-midrange if you put them too close.

That said, I'm sure the suggested mic will be great positioned right! If you're planning on only using one mic you will need to pull it back a bit to cover all the strings, an alternative would be a stereo pair of SDCs (or, to be fair, 414s but it sounds like that's out [-( - I know stereo SDC are pretty ubiquitous in gear shops if you need something post-haste) then you could get them in under the lid, either XY or spaced pair, to get good coverage of the strings, or if just one mic an omni pattern that you can get in relatively close without having to worry so much about polar pattern.

This post has probably been no help at all, luckily there are others.

)

viz · June 2014

Haha it's all good thanks! Actually I went and got an SE X1 (standard condenser) and it sounds pretty fine to my ear.

citizen68 · June 2014

viz said:

Hmmmm. Quite difficult googling a product that begins with SE X without missing out the space, through force of habit.

Ha ha - did similar only I was on the €#%in' work network >:D<

MattG · June 2014

neumann USM 69 or an AKG 422/424

But then they are very pricey and can be a little difficult to find

sweepy · June 2014

Rode M5's get great reviews used as a stereo pair on acoustic instruments

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Need a condenser mic - which one?

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