Topic: Microphone choices

[jppearson]

Hello,

I'm just getting into high-quality audio recordings. 

I used to use a cassette tape recorder, then a Olympus WS330 digital recorder. 

I bought a Zoom H2 and love it.  I'm having difficulty choosing mics to go with it externally.  I have purchased a few already, but am looking to upgrade: 

I have a Giant Squid mono cardioid mic and a Giant Squid stereo set of cardioids.  I can't seem to get the volume just right on them -- I'm not too big on their pick-up range with my Zoom. I'm using them in my line-in port like the company suggests, and they are still too quiet. 

I have a Sound Professionals mono lav mic, and a set of binaural (SP-TFB-2) mics.  I love binaural audio but am not really sure the SP mics are the best for me. 

I have heard other audio, like the "Vertual Haircut" (
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA
), and want to replicate that quality.  How was such great quality achieved? 
I'm considering picking up a set of Church Audio binaurals.  Is this a wise choice?  What will give me the best Binaural sound? 

I've come across a tutorial on how to build your own binaural dummy head (


digdagga.com/dummy/index.html
).  It reccomends the use of Core-Sound binaurals.  This man who wrote the tutorial has a blog (Bird Vs. Alligator), and I think this head with the Core Sound mics is the one he uses.  Is this a good set of mics to use for this design?  Should I even bother with a dummy head? 

I want to make binaural recordings without using my own head, so I can interact with my audience (I want to produce audio drama.)  I think a Dummy Head would work great for what I want. 
But I also want a great set of binaurals to take field recording with me.  Should I go with Church or pick up an extra set of Cores? 
I'm a high-school student who wants to major in audio production and recording engineering, but don't have excessive ammounts of money to spend.  What will give me the most realistic binaural recordings? 

What mics should I consider getting if I want to do audio drama?  A set of large stereo mics that I could mount would be great, as well as a few studio-size mono mics.  Clip-on ones wouldn't be bad either.  Would you reccommend me getting omnis or cardioids, mono or stereo? 

I want to record live gigs, sound effects, ambiances and soundscapes, and good strong vocals. 

As far as gigs go, how should I record?  Should I use my Zoom and hook it up to a soundboard, or use the current set of binaurals I have, or just hold the Zoom and do an audience tape? 


Thanks for reading.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

go with Church or pick up an extra set of Cores? 

[Len Moskowitz (Core Sound)]

I bought a Zoom H2 and love it.  I'm having difficulty choosing mics to go with it externally. 

One problem might be that the H2 has relatively quiet mic pre-amps for its internal mics, but is *quite* noisy when used with external mics.  It has Line inputs, so a good quality external analog mic pre-amp can improve things, but a good quality mic pre will cost more than a new recorder with better performance.

So, if you need to use external mics, I'd recommend considering replacing the H2.  The M-Audio MicroTrack II @ $235 is, in our opinion, a good choice.  It has one important feature that, again in our opinion, makes it the low-cost recorder of choice: it has an S/PDIF input so that you can use an portable external mic pre/ADC with it (like our Mic2496 V2), and use the recorder solely as a bit bucket.

I have heard other audio, like the "Vertual Haircut" ... and want to replicate that quality.  How was such great quality achieved? 

Use the best miniature omni mics you can find, along with a quiet & good sounding mic pre/ADC.

In my opinion, the finest miniature omni mics in the world are the DPA 4060-series.  We use them in our High End Binaural mic sets.

Should I even bother with a dummy head? 

If you can use your own, no.

I want to make binaural recordings without using my own head, so I can interact with my audience (I want to produce audio drama.)  I think a Dummy Head would work great for what I want. 

Yes, you're correct.

[soundpro]

Hello:

I'll second what Len from CS told you and add a few items.

1-I think the SP-TFB-2 mics you mentioned are a good choice (along with the mics Len mentioned). The Binaural imaging is great and they are very popular among tapers.

2-I strongly agree with Len regarding his comments on the H2. However, I thing the Edirol R-09HR, Olympus LS-10 and Tascam DR-1 are also good choices if you re not planning on using an external A/D-preamp.

Hope this helps!

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Best Regards,

Chris Carfagno
sales@soundprofessionals.com
www.soundprofessionals.com
The Sound Professionals, Inc.
3444 Sylon Blvd
Hainesport NJ, 08036
800-213-3021
609-267-4400
609-267-0054 fax

[Gutbucket]

The SP-TFB-2 mics that Chris sells and that you have are very good for binaural and inexpensive, great bang for the buck.  You may consider a small 9v external preamp from SP or from Chris Church if you need more clean, noise-free gain.  You can always use the preamp to power other plug-in-power mics later if you change mics.  The DPA 4060s are excellent but much more costly.  They do have advantages across the board in frequency response, but their advantage difference will be most evident with very loud or highly dynamic music.

[edit- I've head some samples of Chris Churches small omnis and they sound great. I'm guessing they are around twice the price of the SPs and 1/4 the price of 4060s and may be a good option, also check the small Countryman omnis]

I own both 4060s and SP-TFB-2.  I think either can work well for binaural radio drama.  A moist human head with real ears is by far best for binaural recording. Mic in ear is true binarual and more ear shape dependant for playback.  Mics near the ears or on a dummy head is more universal, translates better over speakers, but is possibly a bit less uncannily real over headphones with ears that match.  You can use a cooperative friend's head, but don't call you girlfriend 'dummy'.

[digifish_music]

I own both 4060s and SP-TFB-2.  I think either can work well for binaural radio drama.  A moist human head with real ears is by far best for binaural recording. Mic in ear is true binarual and more ear shape dependant for playback.  Mics near the ears or on a dummy head is more universal, translates better over speakers, but is possibly a bit less uncannily real over headphones with ears that match.  You can use a cooperative friend's head, but don't call you girlfriend 'dummy'.

I have the SP-TFB-2's and made my own and a hydrophone also. Radio drama won't be loud enough to overwhelm the SP-TFB-2 running on plug-in power.

Their main problem is signal-to-noise when working on very quiet sources, however your Zoom H2 will be more the limiting factor than the SP-TFB-2's. BTW: you can hear some binaural recordings using my home made mics (that sound to me identical to the SP-TFB-2's) here (tour of a brewery, sort of like radio drama ...

http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=53384



and here is an outdoor event, with speech (bird show)...I was the baffle, I had the mics laying either side of me on a bench...

http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=53799



BTW: I was recording into an Edirol R09 for these. I have since upgraded to an R09HR that has a quieter mic-preamp, sounds even better, here's an outdoor ambiance...with motorbike passing...

http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=57607

...and here are some flying foxes in the rainforest...

http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=57582



digifish

[run_run_run]

If you go with church audio 11s, get the omni caps as well, they are great.

[cybergaloot]

Since you are on a limited budget you might want to PM Chris Church since he is running a deal where people can trade in the preamps they got from him and step up to a better model. He said he would check the used preamps and resellt hem to people with limited resources just like you! You might be able to pickup a good portable preamp to use with eh mics you have for a very good price. But ask Chris for the details.

See: http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,112418.0.html

[cybergaloot]

BTW, the H2 was my first recorder. I "improved" it by adding Chris Church's CA-11 cardioids and his CA-9000 preamp, running that into the H2's line in. Forget the external mic in, it sucks. The H2/Church Audio rig is now my "fall back" rig but it works fairly well, much better than some would have you believe. But sooner or later you'll want something better.

[Church-Audio]

Hello,

I'm just getting into high-quality audio recordings. 

I used to use a cassette tape recorder, then a Olympus WS330 digital recorder. 

I bought a Zoom H2 and love it.  I'm having difficulty choosing mics to go with it externally.  I have purchased a few already, but am looking to upgrade: 

I have a Giant Squid mono cardioid mic and a Giant Squid stereo set of cardioids.  I can't seem to get the volume just right on them -- I'm not too big on their pick-up range with my Zoom. I'm using them in my line-in port like the company suggests, and they are still too quiet. 

I have a Sound Professionals mono lav mic, and a set of binaural (SP-TFB-2) mics.  I love binaural audio but am not really sure the SP mics are the best for me. 

I have heard other audio, like the "Vertual Haircut" (
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA
), and want to replicate that quality.  How was such great quality achieved? 
I'm considering picking up a set of Church Audio binaurals.  Is this a wise choice?  What will give me the best Binaural sound? 

I've come across a tutorial on how to build your own binaural dummy head (


digdagga.com/dummy/index.html
).  It reccomends the use of Core-Sound binaurals.  This man who wrote the tutorial has a blog (Bird Vs. Alligator), and I think this head with the Core Sound mics is the one he uses.  Is this a good set of mics to use for this design?  Should I even bother with a dummy head? 

I want to make binaural recordings without using my own head, so I can interact with my audience (I want to produce audio drama.)  I think a Dummy Head would work great for what I want. 
But I also want a great set of binaurals to take field recording with me.  Should I go with Church or pick up an extra set of Cores? 
I'm a high-school student who wants to major in audio production and recording engineering, but don't have excessive ammounts of money to spend.  What will give me the most realistic binaural recordings? 

What mics should I consider getting if I want to do audio drama?  A set of large stereo mics that I could mount would be great, as well as a few studio-size mono mics.  Clip-on ones wouldn't be bad either.  Would you reccommend me getting omnis or cardioids, mono or stereo? 

I want to record live gigs, sound effects, ambiances and soundscapes, and good strong vocals. 

As far as gigs go, how should I record?  Should I use my Zoom and hook it up to a soundboard, or use the current set of binaurals I have, or just hold the Zoom and do an audience tape? 


Thanks for reading.

My cafs mics will be your best choice for the price.. But like others have said you really need to think about another recorder unfortunately the one you have has way to much self noise to be of any use for most recordings.. My cafs mics can be used with the R09HR there should be one for sale in the yard sale right now for $289  http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,112592.0.html with out a battery box or external preamp they are $179.99 a pair right now. Also take a look around the T.S yard sale you might find a pair of mics that are cheaper if price is an issue. I cant stress enough how important your recorder is to the process of getting a good sound.
If you have any questions this really is the best place to ask them some of the other mics that have been mentioned are also good mics it really does depend on how much your willing to spend and what your goals are the DPA 4060 Mics are great but your looking at $800 for a pair of great mics but still very expensive. Remember to ask lots of questions before you buy ANYTHING from ANYONE.

Chris