recording mic

**tomgun** · Apr-18-2012, 12:35pm

Blue Yeti Pro USB & XLR Microphone, about $240, is USB and XLR. FYI - somebody was wondering about that in a previous post.

The other day I played with a group in front of a Blue Yeti (not Pro), about $140, just USB. I was impressed. He was just recording our practice, using his PC and free Audacity. It made me want one of those mics.

**red7flag** · Apr-19-2012, 6:44am

First of all, thank you all for your input. Second, as far as recording goes, I am a newb. This has been a very revealing process. Thank God I have a good friend that is engineering this process. MY OP was probably poorly stated. Just from this thread, I have learned a great deal. There is no fault in ignorance only in staying that way. I have been in the forum for a long time, but rarely in this section, unless concerning picks, straps, cases and strings. I really trust the forum as a process for getting strong opinions and information. Concerning the CD, this is my first. The tunes are all original and the process of bringing them alive has been both instructive and illuminating. I feel like a father of a newborn. I am so thankful for having good friends that are helping me through with this experience. There is nothing quite like having a dream become a reality, even and because of the growing pains. Thanks again.

**Don Grieser** · Apr-19-2012, 7:25am

Most of my album (below) was recorded with an old Shure 400 ribbon mic that was re-ribboned by Steve Sank. It was a constant fight to lower the noise floor with that ribbon since I didn't have a preamp with enough gain and correct impedance. But I do like the sound of it.

These days I get much of that same sound with an Oktava 219 with Michael Joly's premium electronics mod. It's got a very smooth high end, very ribbony. I'm also a fan of the Octavamod 012 small condenser, with an omni capsule as a room mic. My current favorite is a modded AKG C1000. You can read about it here and hear some samples of it compared to a very pricey Shoeps microphone. http://www.samaraudiodesign.com/CondensorMicMods.html

It is very satisfying and a great learning process to get your music recorded. Well worth the effort. Good luck with your project!

**Spruce** · Apr-19-2012, 12:05pm

Originally Posted by Don Grieser

Most of my album was recorded with an old Shure 400 ribbon mic that was re-ribboned by Steve Sank.

Whoa, I'm a huge Shure ribbon fan, and never heard of that one....
Maybe an SM333 or SM33?
Do you have a pic by chance??

Originally Posted by red7flag

....as far as recording goes, I am a newb.

The cool thing about recording is that we all are...
You never get to the bottom of it all...

**Don Grieser** · Apr-19-2012, 12:57pm

Sorry, Spruce, it was a Shure 315 like this one (only off by 85

). Sold it on TOMB after the album was done.

**Spruce** · Apr-19-2012, 1:50pm

Cool...

The Model 300 from that series is also a winner...
A little more top end than the 315...
Hard to find, though....

**Ben Milne** · Apr-19-2012, 8:59pm

Don, although you've moved it on, it might still be handy for posterity to mention that there a few products available for those struggling to get enough gain from their ribbon mics. I use a Triton Fethead which takes phantom power and provides 20db boost of clean gain. Very handy little gadget. There is a similar product available called a Cloudlifter that does the same thing.

I have a Shure model 330 from that series (supercardioid). While I do kind like it I find it a bit lacking in top end, so inevitably reach for something else... Looking at the frequency response chart here, maybe it's just the big dip at 4k that I'm hearing.
I wouldn't mind running it up against another to compare how the ribbons have aged, (though probably unlikely to find another around these parts).

**Don Grieser** · Apr-19-2012, 9:52pm

Ben, are you using the FetHead or Cloudlifter? I'd love to hear your experience with either. I still have a Shinybox ribbon mic that I'm either going to sell or get the Fethead or Cloudlifter so I can use it.

I've found the OktavaMod 219 and modded AKG C1000 are about as smooth as a ribbon and easier for me to use. The thing for me is to spend my recording time playing the music rather than fiddling around with mics, preamps, and the DAW.

**Ben Milne** · Apr-19-2012, 10:11pm

I have the fethead. Very handy, just plug and play (+add 48v) I've even used it with an SM7B which like ribbon mics is renowned for requiring large amounts of gain. General concensus is that they both do the same job very well, - a nice clean boost to the signal with imparting anything undesirable.
There's a 2channel version of the cloudlifter, handy for blumlien and other stereo mic ups.
There's also a version of the fethead with a high pass filter built in, though in this age capturing full range and processing later seems to make sense to me in most instances.

I've heard great things about the Joly mods, though I'm a bit isolated to make use of the service easily. Great to hear a C1000 can be modded to be a nice mic.
I have to agree, a great recording is about capturing a great performance. It's a lot easier when you are not trying to take care of other responsibilities, leaving all your attention to just puttin' it out there like you mean it.

**almeriastrings** · Apr-20-2012, 12:27am

The Triton Fethead is really pretty good and certainly very, very handy. I've used them with low-output ribbons a few times and have absolutely no complaints. Worth mentioning they come in various 'flavors' with one that has phantom pass-through and another with a built-in filter:

http://tritonaudio.com/index.php?opt...d=17&Itemid=33

I have a (nice) pair of SE Electronics R1 ribbons, and they really need a lot of gain on the preamp. They work great with the Fet-Heads.

**red7flag** · Apr-23-2012, 7:49am

We did a trial with the Shure SM57 yesterday. The response was much clearer and fuller than the AKG. Also, it was less forgiving. It made the Stanley, especially the unwound strings sound very harsh. Overall, the Shure was a very strong mic. I think we will be toning down the treble when recording mandolins, but that is a minor issue. Thanks again for all the advice.

**red7flag** · May-10-2012, 4:25am

Just an update. We finished recording the stage 1 mandolin tracks (what we are sending out to the other musicians, for melody, timing and the back track). Now that we have heard the mandolin through the 57 against the back track, we have been pleased with the results. The sound is clear and sharp. I do have to be more careful of pick noise and other extraneous noise. Less forgiving, but a more true sound.