Topic: Newbi, Needs help with Mic purchase..

[cavernut]

Hi All,
I’m new here and I already have questions.
Let me start by telling you a little about me.
I have worked and a video engineer in broadcast for 25+ years.
I have also dabbled in live sound and sound reinforcement in the industrial application. (A/V, convention halls etc…)
I also have a small home recording studio that is in need of a good microphone.
I have however just started out as a taper, so in this field i do consider my self wet behind the ears.

Earlier this year I bought an M-Audio Microtrack II and I recently tried it out for the first time.
I Taped Bob Weir and RatDog at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater.
I used the included Stereo mic and clipped it to a fiberglass pole that I clipped to the chair in front of me.
I was very surprised this recording came out at all, in fact with the right EQ it actually sounds pretty good.
Now I want to get a pair of good mics.

I was looking at the AKG C 480 B / C 62 ULS combination. However at $1800 plus accessories it’s a bit much for occasional use.
The next option I was looking at was a pair of RODE M3’s. I was trying not to have to purchase an additional preamp right away so this lookes like a good possibility. The only concern I have with these mics is the low end only going down to 40Hz, but I’m not sure that will really make any difference.

The other option I was looking at was a pair of akg Perception 420’s. This would not only solve my Taping needs but my studio needs as well. However how good a preamp do I really need for these as I don’t want to rely on my Microtrack II to have to supply the 48v phantom power? Or should I use the microtrack to supply phantom power?

Is there another mic I should be looking at?

If any of you can help me or steer me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it. I don’t want to go out, buy something and then find out it doesn’t fit my application. Oh yea, I will mostly be taping Rock Shows so I guess a high SPL is an issue as well. I would rather not buy now then upgrade later. I would like to be VERY happy with what I but right now.

Thanks Again,
Michael

[TNJazz]

beyerdynamic MC930 is the first thing that comes to mind.  $700 a pair and you're all set.

There are lots of other options out there that are much less pricey than the AKG, and sonically superior to the Rode or the Perception stuff too.  You just have to look around.

These days it doesn't have to say Schoeps or Neumann to sound good.  There are a LOT of boutique mic manufacturers out there to choose from.

[cavernut]

OK I have looked at the Beyerdynamic MC930 Mics and they are $1000 for a pair. If i buy these what would you recommend for a Preamp / Phantom Power Supply?

Should i invest in a separate Pre / Phantom or should i just use the built in Phantom Supply built into the Microtrack II?

Thank You,
Michael Foy

[TNJazz]

OK I have looked at the Beyerdynamic MC930 Mics and they are $1000 for a pair. If i buy these what would you recommend for a Preamp / Phantom Power Supply?

Should i invest in a separate Pre / Phantom or should i just use the built in Phantom Supply built into the Microtrack II?

Thank You,
Michael Foy

Call Full Compass on the phone.  They *should* hook you up for somewhere in the neighborhood of $700 a pair.

You can certainly use the MT to power the mics in the short term, but I would definitely get a preamp for them at some point.  A lot of folks recommend the Apogee Mini Me as a good pairing with the beyers.

Check the Team threads for Team beyerdynamic.  There's lots of info on the MC930 there, and there are a number of samples out there with various pres.  I'm sure a number of folks will be jumping in shortly to share - they've become quite a popular mic on this board in the last year (thanks to a couple of people who shall remain nameless... )

[Kindguy]

I really like my 930's with the mini me (4 recordings so far). I also like them right into the r-44, But better with the MME.

Really glad I bought mine.

Several MME's have sold on ebay for 450 to 500 bucks lately. That makes for a Very sweet mic>pre>topnotch AD setup for 1200 bucks

[stevetoney]

Michael.

You said you wanted to be happy the first time you buy.  If that's the case then you should ask the questions here to get steered in the right direction, but you should use that as a basis for conducting your own research on Live Music Archive.  Please PLEASE believe me.  I've said this sooo many times to people and the newbs just don't get it.  And there are so many people on this list that will tell you the same thing.  Advice on this list is well intentioned, but it's also naturally biased to whatever the person that's doing the recommending likes.  Lots of people love the Beyer MC930s and fluff them up...I do not like them much at all.  YOU need to decide what sounds best to you, because different mics really do sound very different.

Trust your own ears too.  You might be a newb, but you only have your own ears to listen to.  For example, when I was a newb, I bought some mics and EVERYONE fluffed a specific preamp as being T-H-E preamp to match with these mics.  I listened to the combo on Live Music Archive and I really didn't care all that much for the sound, but since I was a noob, I ended up reasoning that everyone else couldn't be wrong, so I bought the fluffed preamp and never liked it from Day One.

So, get a list of possibilities together and then go onto Live Music Archive and spend AT LEAST two hours listening to different samples.  This is a major purchase and two hours is no time at all when you consider the amount of money you're considering spending.

Having said this...you really would do yourself a favor in looking at the yard sale before buying new.  With the economy being so poor right now, the yard sale is chock FULL of great gear right now.  In fact, there's some gear in the yard sale that you just never see there and its because of the combination of christmas season and the economy. 

I'd even say that once you decide which mics/preamp combination you want, do an ISO (in search of) in the Yard Sale.  More times than not, when someone posts an ISO, they are able to unearth some good condition used gear that meets the specifications of what they're searching for.

I hope this helps.

Steve

[stevetoney]

PS to the above.  There are a bunch of AKG mics (460s and 480s) in the YS right now.  For my money, I'd pay $300 more in a heartbeat for a pair of AKG mics over a pair of 930s.  To my ears, 480's with ck61 or ck63 hands down sound MUCH better than Beyer 930s.  Not only that, but the AKGs give you interchangeable mic capsule options. 

But that's me and my ears.  Again, my point is not that you should buy AKGs over Beyers.  My point is that you owe it to yourself to listen to everything in a price range and make a decision based on what you like, not what someone else likes.

[taperwheeler]

Also, to just touch on another concern, there was a brief dicussion about the true phantom powering voltage of the MT2.  There was someone on the MT2 discussion thread that said that his recorder was not providing true 48v.  Also, running an unbalanced signal to the 1/4" inputs produces major digi-noise on the MT2.

As an owner of the MT2 for a year now, the recorder presents benefits and shortcomings.  As a bit bucket I'm 100 percent satisfied (running akg480>v3 with the v3 as the preamp and a/d converter).  Having the spdif input was what sold me on the recorder.  However, as an analog capturing device, it's had it's limits and disappointments which I'm still trying to tweak out for use in low profile situations.  But with that said, I've made some recordings going mini mics > batt box > mt2 that imo have sounded pretty good.  At this point you may want to consider a lower priced set of Church Audio or Sound Professionals mics and one of there pres or a battery box. As mentioned above, listen to samples of diff combos.  I don't think you'd want to buy a nice set of mics without a decent preamp if you're looking at keeping the MT2 as your recorder.  Just my $.02