Topic: Newb: Stereo Microphone setup for Marantz PMD661

[ulcer_remover]

Hi everyone -  I'm looking for a versatile stereo setup for my Marantz.

I'm looking to do some ambient type of recording, as well as recording in venues where the audio will be louder.

Any tips suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
I have a budget of $500

-charles

[Hypnocracy]

You could buy mTerry's Audix in the yard for $500

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=146910.0

[newplanet7]

Do you want a stereo microphone or two mics for stereo recording?
Will you be doing nature stuff/industrial sounds/etc!

[ulcer_remover]

Hey thanks for the replies.

I would rather have two microphones, but i'd also be open to the idea of one stereo mic.

Yes, I would most likely be recording things such as industrial sounds opposed to nature sounds.

thanks for your patience, i'm just learning the ins/outs of this new medium to work in!

[ulcer_remover]

still looking for advice!  anybody?

[newplanet7]

I have no clue what you know about recording thus far. So with that we will cover some basics.
A few more questions my friend.
1) Budget(Most important)
2) How low profile do you want to be.
       -You can go miniature electret mics which usually rely on plug in power.
       -You can do this with the 661 you have with either putting a preamp or battery box in front
        or getting a product from Niant called a pfa. This will take the phantom supplied by the 661
        and lower it for the apropriate  voltage for your mics.
       -If you need to wear the mics you could go with the minis also.
       -Again, without a budget this is hard to answer.
       Here's a few minis used around here for you to research(we all had to) :
         Countryman b3, b6 OMNI| DPA 4060, 4061 OMNIS|Church Audio CA11, CA14 CARDS AND OMNI|
          Audio Technica 853 CARDS/SUBCARD/HYPER/OMNI| Nevaton MCE 400 OMNI
 3) Stick with phantom mics. A lot more options here with phantom mics.
        -These can still be pretty small too, where the capsules are detached from the amp(mic body)
          and run back to said amp with a remote cable.
        -The possibilities here are truly endless not knowing your budget again. So I will not list them but
          PERSONALLY I would skip a stereo mic and get two modular mics.
        -Modular meaning the ability to use the same bodies with a variety of caps.
           OMNI, SUBCARD,  SUPERCARD/HYPERCARD, CARD, FIGURE 8
           Again, this is up to you to research what all of those are. They are called polar patterns and are the capsules.
        -Try going here to read up on those polar paterns. http://www.dpamicrophones.com/en/Mic-University.aspx
           Then go here  http://lossenderosstudio.com/stereo-microphone-techniques.php to read about the
            stereo configurations for the two mics.
       
**Personally, since you are new to this, I would stick with the 661 which you have, get two mics and the Niant PFA
    and keep the shit simple. Some disagree but I would also not drop a huge amount of coin on mic UNLESS
    you absolutely know you are going to love taping. I have seen a few people drop $ and decide that it isn't what
     they thought it would be. Get a solid pair of mics though. No point in starting out with mics that sound like ass.
     As pointed out above these would be a great start!
     

You could buy mTerry's Audix in the yard for $500

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=146910.0

     

[aaronji]

^^^ He did specify a budget...

I have a budget of $500

Personally, I would try to find something used.  More bang for your buck.

[sk-1]

+ Naint PFA

Then get a pair of Primo EM172 capsules. Frogloggers.com sells them, ~$10 each. Quite low noise. Space them by about 1/2' and baffle them with something absorbent and you've got a lovely sounding semi-binaural setup.

[tapjunkie]

Audio Technica 822 is a nice cheap stereo mic.

[acidjack]

$500 =

new set of Busman BSC1 with all caps
used AKG 39x, probably not with all of the caps
Studio Projects C4s, new, with all caps
AT822
Rode NT5 matched pair cardiods
+ many other more random things.

I would listen to these various mics on the Live Music Archive and see what you like.  The Busman set is attractive in that it is designed more or less for what we do - Chinese mics modified by/made to the specs of a taper - but I haven't owned them.  The AKG 39x series has a specific sound some like, some don't- they are not as detailed as some others, but nice and warm.  The Rode mics are nothing to shake a stick at either -I think the NT5 only comes in card and omni, but that's fine. I don't so much trust hypers that aren't very expensive, and even then I think there is a lot of overreliance on them.

or in the small omni mic category
used DPA 4061s
Nevaton MCE400
Countryman B3

- Each of these has their partisans.  The Nevatons being P48 and having fullsize XLRs makes them the easiest to run right into the 661

[Fried Chicken Boy]

new set of Busman BSC1 with all caps

I think there is still a used set in the YS for $350 > http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=152987.0  Good sounding mic set with multiple caps for a very good price.