A naive question about microphones:

[Phil O'Keefe]

My job, as an engineer, is to deliver what the client requests... no matter how {censored}ed up and horrid it may be. Why is it my job? Because they hired me to present their music [and I took the gig]... and it's not my music... and if this is the presentation they want, then that's the presentation they'll get [no matter how abhorent I think what they're asking me to do to the music may be].

 

That's why it's my personal policy to never judge an engineer based solely on listening to just one song or album. Hey, if I wasn't there, and I didn't see what they had to deal with, and what they were given to work with, and don't know what the budget was, or what the client demands were, it's not really fair to judge them. I can judge the results, and say I didn't personally care for the record, but a lot of what we do isn't left entirely up to us.

 

Now the PRODUCER OTOH... the buck stops there.

[UstadKhanAli]

I catch flak occasionally because I use a mouse. I never did get along well with trackballs, and it seems like that's what nearly everyone else in LA uses.

 

Phil, check this mouse out....totally saves my wrist:

 

http://www.zerotensionmouse.com/

[nice keetee]

No human in history has ever exceeded their own capabilities. No, we all have limits on what we are capable of... but not everyone realizes where those limits are, or more specifically, that those limits are probably beyond what they "think" they're capable of. Sometimes it just takes the right motivation, and other times, it just takes the right inspiration. If you've only heard yourself through crappy PA systems and beat up SM58's all your life, and someone sticks you in front of a good 251 or 47, it's probably going to be a bit of an eye opener for you... and it may indeed be inspiring. Headphone mix made the singer perform better than ever before? I think this is wishful thinking -- I don't think there's a single competent studio vocalist who will credit their best performance to an inspiring headphone mix. Maybe not (although I'm not willing to fully concede the point), but a BAD headphone mix can absolutely DESTROY a performance. Headphone mixes are absolutely CRUCIAL IMHO. I spend as much time as it takes dialing them up to the singer's satisfaction. If you can't hear what you're doing, you can kiss pitch accuracy goodbye. You can also say bye bye to any kind of inspired performance - if the singer is the least bit distracted and spending any time and effort thinking about the cans mix, then they're distracted from what they SHOULD be doing - which is feeling the music, laying down a great performance and SELLING THE SONG. Give them a great mic that is suitable for and that brings out the best attributes of their voice, give them a killer headphone mix that lets them hear what they're doing, and suddenly they are not only inspired, but they also have the tools available to start reaching further towards the limits of their potential. They can hear themselves better, which means they can tell what they're doing and start controlling it more accurately and expressively. The sound kills, so instead of being distracted and spending time thinking about the bad headphone mix, or how they're bummed out, they are happy and inspired and focused on the song and their performance ... It most definitely has a positive effect IMO.

 

Save all your comments here, edit and you have a book.

[nice keetee]

I've never really spent any time or money when it comes to microphones because I just play guitar, and that's kinda the extent of it. I know a good deal on the six-string end of the equation, but not much beyond it. I was surprised when I was a kid to hear that people were paying over $1000 for Marshalls and the like. And I was blown away to find out that boutique amps were (arguably) even better and more expensive. But mostly, I was floored when I recently saw how much some microphones go for. I'd always understood that recording gear was expensive, but when I stumbled onto some Neumann microphones on eBay, I nearly choked on my black licorice. (I think the model I saw was the U47 fet). So, after a lengthy preface, why are they so pricey? I know it's silly to ask, and it can't be hard to figure out, but I can hardly imagine that such a (physically) small element of sound reproduction can have such variance in qualities to cost so much. I mean, is there really that much money's worth of manufacturing going into those little guys? I understand that there are different microphones for different needs, but isn't there, like, a condenser mic that is just sufficient, and any fidelity higher is just infinitesimal? I mean, with speakers, one generally looks for a set that colors the tone well, but isn't there just a simple, "color-free," neutral sounding microphone that works for all needs when micing a specific instrument? Ha ha ha. Sorry to ask such an introductory question, but I've become really fascinated by the recording aspect of music, and this is especially interesting to me.

 

I believe you will be happy after auditioning some mics to spend what you can afford. Source instruments, guitars, etc. mics to record, will probably still be used during our next update of software or hardware as the front end...so buy nice

[Music Calgary]

BTW... Phil, ever the voice of reason, did a great job of re-explaining my original explanation in words that could hopefully be understood by the "Music Calgary".

 

I understand plenty, don't eat at "Hard Rock" whatever that is -- and I think you know exactly what you can do with the rest.

 

Fletcher, you talk a lot of {censored} but I really don't think you can back up at least 50% of it -- no matter what you own. So... Yawn. If you were here I'd be glad to hit the studio with you any place, any time to make music -- and I don't think you'd be quite so negative afterward, but then who knows... I can't compete with you at chatter.

 

It's already all been said very well here.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Fletcher, you talk a lot of {censored} but I really don't think you can back up at least 50% of it -- no matter what you own. So... Yawn.

 

[Music Calgary]

Fletcher, you talk a lot of {censored} but I really don't think you can back up at least 50% of it -- no matter what you own. So... Yawn.

 

[CN Fletcher]

You're right... I'm a hack.

 

Can we drop it already?

 

This thread wasn't about "me"... but it has more and more become about you [which as far as I can see is counterproductive with the exception of entertainment value... and frankly, I'm no longer entertained].

 

Feel good about yourself!!

 

You win!!!

[MrJoshua]

 

I hope you brought enough to share with the whole class!

 

Incidentally, to point out a difference in two mics, last night I re-tracked the vocal part on a song where the singer wasn't happy with the original sound. We originally used a Rode NTK through an API 512c (Apogee Rosetta 200 converter), and as you can probably imagine, it had a very forward, strident sound in the mix. But it also accentuated the nasal qualities of the singer's voice. So, we re-did the track using the Microtech Gefell MT71-S into a Great River MP-500NV (same Rosetta 200 converter), and it captured a much smoother sound with a silky top end. The singer sounded less nasal, and while I'm sure a large part of that was the performance, the mic/pre combination did help.

 

That doesn't mean the Rode is a bad mic. I've had some singers who loved the way it sounded, and sometimes it's a great choice. But for this particular singer it just turned out to be a bad call on my part (made mostly due to the fact that I had just bought it and wanted to try it out, since this wasn't a paying session).

 

There are a lot of decent, reasonably-priced mics out there. Get a few of them that have different strengths and enjoy the ability to mix-and-match with different sources. It's one of the things I enjoy about studio work - finding that right combination that can take a sound from reasonable to magical.

[Ethan Winer]

Folks, Fletcher is hardly a hack! He and I may disagree on the science some times, but Fletcher is a very talented recording engineer. I've been to his studio and heard his work, and it's outstanding. Fletcher is also one of the funniest people I've ever met.

 

--Ethan

[UstadKhanAli]

He's also super knowledgeable and helpful about a variety of equipment and techniques in addition to making good sounding recordings.

[albiedamned]

But, as we see over and over again, he's also super inflammatory and provocative, and frequently invokes responses like the one in this thread.

[MrJoshua]

So, if she weighs the same as a duck, she's made of wood!

 

And therefore?

 

 

...

 

 

 

...a witch!

[Phil O'Keefe]

 

I can't believe I'm typing this, but his nose is too big compared to mine... and I don't wear an earring. I'm sure if you do some more looking around on Google, or play around with Photoshop a bit, you can come up with a closer match, or something more humorous.

[fuzzball]

He's also super knowledgeable and helpful about a variety of equipment and techniques in addition to making good sounding recordings.

 

+1 about fletcher

 

But then again you may think I am a hack too.

[UstadKhanAli]

+1 about fletcher But then again you may think I am a hack too.

 

 

I just don't think I know enough about you one way or the other, so for now, I'll just assume that you have the recording engineering chops of a Roy Halee or a Bruce Swedien and leave it at that!

[MrJoshua]

I just don't think I know enough about you one way or the other, so for now, I'll just assume that you have the recording engineering chops of a Roy Halee or a Bruce Swedien and leave it at that!

 

I'm pretty sure I have the recording chops of a John Doe, or maybe even a Bob From Accounting.