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Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: jbell on February 12, 2018, 05:00:16 PM
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For Schoeps users, if could could only have one set of caps what would you chose?? What Schoeps caps do people think are most versatile? I know this will vary depending on opinions, but wanted some feedback.
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For Schoeps users, if could could only have one set of caps what would you chose?? What Schoeps caps do people think are most versatile? I know this will very depending on opinions, but wanted some feedback.
I truly don't think there's a "one-size fits all" solution when it comes to ANY capsules/patterns because it truly depends on the room.
All things being equal, I loved my MK22's when I owned them and preferred the sound from them over the MK41's, however, with wookiness becoming more and more of a thing, the MK41's were very helpful when in noisier situations where I needed to "cut through the crap."
If I was doing it again, I think I'd lean towards the MK22's or MK4's as my "one set" simply because I record in places where people are a lot more respectful (and the rooms can be a lot smaller).
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Adrianf74 appears to have similar taste to me. I have settled on Mk22s and Mk41s as my favorites. If I had to chose one capsule I would probably go with MK22s (or MK4s). I record a lot of smaller shows however. If I were recording at bigger venues, I would probably say MK41s.
From my experience pretty much every Schoeps capsule picks up talking at 100+ yards so there is no easy solution for the talking problem...
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I guess it’s too obvious, but I love the Mk. 5.
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mk4 Cardioid but not too directional
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mk22.
It's a wide enough pattern that it picks up a full bass and sounds perfect in the sweet spot, but it's directional enough to use from far away indoors. I run the mk22 pair every show.
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If I had to pick only one set it would be the MK4V.
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If I had to pick only one set it would be the MK4V.
I'm thinking about selling my pair....
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Another vote for 4v. Sweet sounding with that slight HF boost, great if relatively close, say 50-75 feet, for a big room back by board love my 41v.
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mk4
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IMO, the 4's or 41's ;)
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Obviously the MK5 is the most versatile cap since they are cardioid and omni selectable, but my favorites are the MK22 and MK41. If I could only have one it would be the MK41s.
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41's.
Other caps might be better in certain situations, but 41's can be great from anywhere IMO... and can save a recording when in bad situations.
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Another vote for 4v. Sweet sounding with that slight HF boost, great if relatively close, say 50-75 feet, for a big room back by board love my 41v.
Is there a sonic difference between the MK4 and the MK4V ?
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Another vote for 4v. Sweet sounding with that slight HF boost, great if relatively close, say 50-75 feet, for a big room back by board love my 41v.
Is there a sonic difference between the MK4 and the MK4V ?
Yes - mk4v has a HF bump and then tapers off completely at inaudible frequencies (above 18khz) - mk4 is flat and doesn't taper off
Some prefer the mk4v sound - I do not - slightly too bright IMO but the main issue I had with them was they seemed to be hard to get to be pointed just right to get killer sound consistently - I did pull some great tapes with the mk4v but my best tapes have come from the mk4 and mk41
I have owned mk21, mk4, mk4v, mk41, mk5, and mk8 pairs over the years - I prefer the versitility of the mk4 in general, the mk5 and mk41 are close seconds
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The mk4 and mk8 together as an mid/side rig would be versatile. That way the stereo array can be controlled after the fact.
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It's interesting how subjective this all is. I've found the 4vs to be incredibly forgiving. I've literally been stealth against one wall and bun really happy with results, shocked even. Can't tell a lot of difference when centered.
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I've been super happy with my CCM5s another switchable mic and an all in one solution
Duncan
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I’ve own mk4’s, mk41’s, mk2S’s, mk5’s and mk4v’s. I also owned a pair of ccm41’s for a few years. The most versatile cap imo is the mk41. I’ve run the mk41 FOB, in the section and even stage lip. Always sounded great and can save you in not so great sounding rooms. All I have these days is a pair of mk4’s which I’m content with since I only record a handful of stuff a year and it’s always in a small to medium venue . If I still taped a bunch in big arena type venues or rooms that don’t sound all that great I would probably sell my mk4s and just have mk41’s.
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I frequent alot of places where the 41's shine consistantly.
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The mk4 and mk8 together as an mid/side rig would be versatile. That way the stereo array can be controlled after the fact.
One of the reasons I haven't put my two cents in is that I personally don't see a single capsule as being more versatile than any other. It's more a function of what situations you record in and what single capsule can be applied to your specific recording situations to maximize the chances of getting a good recording. For the recording I do, the cardioid is what I'd probably use more than the others, but that doesn't mean I think my card is more versatile than my hypers or even my omni's.
As an example, I agree with this comment that M/S is very versatile. However, I sold my mk8 capsule because I rarely would ever run mid-side since I almost never record up close to the stage.
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I chose the MK4 and am very happy how well it works in many situations. For a 2nd pair I would go for the MK22's.
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90% of the time the mk4's work best. Rarely in a high noise forum, I use the mk41s.
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I've used the CCM4 the most but love my MK5 pair due to being able to switch patterns. One of them lives in my Mid-Side rig. With all of that said I'd love a healthy pair of MK6's.
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My first Schoeps mikes were the three-pattern type, and for a long time I fantasized switchable-pattern capsules with other choices of patterns, e.g. nowadays I might want their "open cardioid" (MK 22 equivalent), cardioid and supercardioid, all side-facing--like going to an ice cream stand and ordering a three-scoop cone with different flavors. Which it's not actually like, but I fantasized.
Any one directional pattern supports certain choices of strategy in terms of how you represent location and space in the stereo playback, while depriving you of other options. Which options you can fully utilize and consider essential, vs. which ones you're willing to give up because they don't offer you as much value, are a personal matter; as a result, I don't see how anyone can truly answer this question for anyone else. It's not just "which approach to stereo recording do you like"--it's also "which approach are you prepared to use to the fullest?" A lot depends on how you listen to recordings and what qualities you strive for in them--with your conscious and unconscious mental processes being at least as important as the playback system.
Or perhaps, due to the fact that we develop as human beings over time, this question isn't even answerable for one's own self. When I was in my thirties I thought that a stable stereo image and clear localization were, like, absolute requirements, and any recording that didn't have them (e.g. most spaced omni recordings) were more or less of a swindle. I mostly wasn't getting the beauty of tone that I wanted, but I thought that the sacrifice was appropriate and necessary. As I got older I became more of a would-be hedonist, and incorporated that outlook into my recording techniques. Thus my repertoire of approaches to stereo recording widened. My old CMT 56 three-pattern microphones were/are wonderful, and are probably the "most nearly correct" answer to the original question as far as I'm concerned--but I would never want to give up my Colette MK 22 or MK 41 V setups, or the MSTC (ORTF stereo microphone) that I've used for so many documentary sound recordings. And if I owned a sphere stereo microphone I would probably cling to it as well (I've heard some Mahler recordings that Jerry Bruck made with one of those; they're everything I want from my own recordings).
Call me spoiled (and you'd be right), but there's truly no one microphone or microphone pattern or microphone arrangement that I'd be content to limit myself to any more. On a desert island, what would I need microphones for anyway?
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We've got a lot of collective experience represented in this thread.
Any one directional pattern supports certain choices of strategy in terms of how you represent location and space in the stereo playback, while depriving you of other options. Which options you can fully utilize and consider essential, vs. which ones you're willing to give up because they don't offer you as much value, are a personal matter; as a result, I don't see how anyone can truly answer this question for anyone else. It's not just "which approach to stereo recording do you like"--it's also "which approach are you prepared to use to the fullest?" A lot depends on how you listen to recordings and what qualities you strive for in them--with your conscious and unconscious mental processes being at least as important as the playback system.
Or perhaps, due to the fact that we develop as human beings over time, this question isn't even answerable for one's own self.
^
Top TS-signature-worthy quote of 2018, IMO.
I've only been able to get to where I want to be consistently by using multiple patterns together in specifically-arranged arrays. It's a solution which works for me in getting around the compromises inherent in "one pattern to rule them all", even when that one pattern may be the optimal choice for a specific situation. I do find it interesting that taken as a whole, the sensitivity of the entire array in combination is pretty much that of a single forward facing subcardioid, comprised of both highly-directional and minimally-directional component channel parts within that overall subardioid "gestalt" sensitivity.
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For most kinds of taping, both up close and further back, the MK4V would usually be my go-to. Or of course there's the MK5 which literally has two patterns and therefore kind of has to count as "most versatile" among the still-in-production mics (since the MK6 is discontinued AFAIK)
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I really love my mk4 caps. They were the first Schoeps I owned and pretty much the sound my ears reference other audience recordings against.