YOUR Mics - YOUR uses for them

[ottokbre]

Super basic thread. Call it a reference, you might be asked about it later.

| Your mic collection listed here -- | -- your common uses for them here |

[Scodiddly]

I suspect the formatting is going to get a bit tricky, but I'll give it a shot:

CAD E-100: Acoustic guitars, ensembles, kick drum, piano
Oktava 012: Piano, ensembles, acoustic guitar (fingerboard), overheads
Sennheiser 441: Banjo, saxophone, other stuff. My best mic.
Sennheiser 421: Acoustic guitar (soundhole mic), kick drum, saxophone.
Shure 57: Utility, guitar amp.
Beta-57: Live vocals (when I'm singing).

[mjau]

Don't have a lot to choose from, so I guess it simplifies it for me:

Shure 57: distorted and overdriven guitar amp, sometimes on the acoustic guitar soundhole, occasional vocal, snare
AT 3035: acoustic guitar, clean guitar amp, room mic on a distorted guitar amp, vocals
Rode NT1000: acoustic guitar a lot, occasional vocal, mono drum overhead
AKG c1000: I've got a pair, so they're my stereo overhead mic, acoustic guitar when I'm single note picking, occasionally as a second mic on a clean guitar amp
Oktava MK319: bass drum, not much else but the occaisonal vocal, and I may try it on a bass amp too since it has a -10dB pad

I'm saving up for a Blue baby bottle and a pair of Oktava 012's, because I rely on the Rode and the c1000's too much and they are on the shrill side of things.

[JamesHE]

Alesis GT AM-11 - vocals, electric guitar amps, kick drum (front of kit mic)
4 SM 57s- snare, guitar cabs, toms
CAD M179 - acoustic guitar and horns
MXL 603 pair - drum overheads, acoustic guitar, percusion
ATM 25 - floor tom, sometimes kick, bass amps
Shure B 52- Kick, sometimes floor tom, bass amps
Blue Ball - looks cool. mostly useless
Behringer ECM8000 - room mic, gang vocals, percussion
ATM 41 HE - toms, vocals

[industrystandard]

electrovoice pl20 - kick/snare/bass cab/vox
electrovoice 868 - kick (not the best)
shure sm81 - mono overhead or hi hat
oktava mk319 - stereo overheads/acoustic guitar/vox
sennheiser e604s - toms
shure 57 - guitar
carvin ? - talkback

the ev pl20 is by far my fav. i wish i had 10 of them.
good thread, btw.

[Jay]

I don't have a lot of microphones, but:

Shure SM57 - wurlitzer, guitar amp, vocals
Shure Beta 87 - snare drum, wurlitzer
EV PL20 - bass drum, bass amp, vocals, horns, banjo
Rode NT2 - vocals, bass drum, bass amp
Royer R121 - drum overhead, bass drum, guitar & bass amp, acoustic guitar, strings & horns, vocals, singing saw, piano, banjo, percussion, etc
Stapes Omni - acoustic guitar, guitar amp, drum room, drum overhead, wurlitzer, air organ, xylophone, vocals, piano, percussion, etc

[cactus]

Shure 57 - snare top/side, guitar cab, vox
Senn 421 - guitar/bass cab, tom, snare
A/T atm23/25 - distorted guitar/bass cab, kick(atm25)
Josephson c42 - OH, snare shell/bottom, tom, guitar cab
Baby Bottle - vox, acoustic guitar
AKG 414 - OH

[thenumber]

Audix D6 = Kick, bass amp, VOCALS
Audix F10 = Toms, guitar amp, bass amp, should really try vocals
Audix F12 = Toms, bass amp, bass amp, F10 beats it on guitar, ditto vox
SM57 = Snare, guitar amp, bass amp, ride, hat
SM58 = Snare, guitar amp, bass amp, vocals
Senn e835 = Snare, guitar, vocals
MXL2001 = Quiet vocals, acoustic guitar, have used it on guitar amps but it kinda sucked
MXL803 = Loud distorted guitar, ride/hat, bass
Oktava ML52 = Drum Kit, Loud guitar amps, Acoustic guitar, vocals
Oktava MK012 = Drum overheads, toms, guitar amp, bass amp, acoustic guitar, vocals

thats all the mics we have. not spectacularly impressive, but impressing internet people aint the goal

[jca83]

i go to an audio school and they have a big mic cabinet. this counts as "mine", yes?

schoeps CMC5 w/6 capsule - overheads, hi-hat, acoustic guitar bridge, etc
SM57 - guitar amps, snares, etc. lots of high SPL post-production work.
414 - overheads, vocals (sometimes), room mics for drums
neumann 103/170 - overheads, acoustic guitar body
sennheiser MKH40 - all kinds of stuff - drum overheads, guitars, piano... lots of stuff in post production, these guys are SILENT and really respond well.
MD421's - toms, bassy stuff... shooting people like on star trek
AKG D12/112's - kick, upright bass sometimes, bass guitar sometimes
SM81's get used a lot for the "bottom" of the drum kit.. polarity reversed and all.
AT4033's - vocals
we have an AKG solidtube but i don't like it. it's too bright and sharp sounding...
the neumann M149 we have, however, is a much nicer tube. sit it about 3 feet out and 1 1/2 feet high in front of a drum kit and that's a nice overall drum sound. the one mic technique and all. it's not a beyer, but hey.

if you take the head off a kick drum and put a rock inside it, and put a PZM on the rock, it sounds wicked. i've never done it myself, but i've heard it done.

we have a pair of coles 4038's. these were sent up into the rafters on our tallest mic stands and put up near a wall during a drum session. it was super reverby from the figure 8 picking up the wall reflections.. 50ms or more. although the coles can be used for practically anything.

of course, none of it's really mine and i don't get to use it all day long, so that's probably pretty generic for those kinds of mics.

[XXGABEXX]

Studio Projects C1 - vocals, acoustic guitar, 4x12 cabinet, 2x15 cabinet, room mic for drums
2 SM-57s - snare, hi-hats, 4x12 cabinet, vocals, archtop acoustic
2 TapeOp omnis (thanks Aurelialuz) - six feet out in front of drums on hardwood floor, room mics
AT cheap dynamic - run through space echo for old school live room sound
Radio Shack/Shure dynamic - whatever needs to be mic'd when the others are being used

[cgarges]

Funny, a friend of mine is working on a swebsite for me right now, so I've got a list like this appearing on my site. Here 'tis:

MICROPHONES:


Akai DM-11 Hi-Z cardioid dynamic x3

Small microphones manufactured as part of add-on kits for Akai reel-to-reel machines. Excellent for ?effecty? recordings. Typically used on acoustic guitar and vocals and occasionally on drums. Also work well plugged into a tuner. 1/4? high impedance jack requires direct box usage for recording.


AKG C-414BULS multi-pattern condenser x2

A studio standard for over 30 years, descended from the C12 and C12A. Works well on most sources. Excellent on drum overheads, harmonica, breathy vocals, trumpet, upright piano, and ambience.


AKG D-99 ?Harry? dynamic binaural "head"

An odd model ?head? with dynamic microphones in the ears. Supposedly designed for binaural microphone techniques to simulate human hearing, especially in headphones. Unfortunately not well implemented. Terrible fidelity. Useful for effects and intentionally making people who have to sing or play to it ?slightly uncomfortable.?


AKG D-112E hypercardioid dynamic

Standard egg-shaped microphone designed for bass drums. Works well in this application and on bass and electric guitar amps, snare drums, vocals, and large reed or low brass instruments.


Altec 633A vintage omnidirectional dynamic

?Lo-fi? army green mic with limited frequency response and fairly low output. Looks like a saltshaker. Excellent for certain vocal effects, harmonica, and electric guitar, and gives a surprisingly nice, detailed sound inside a bass drum.


Altec 195A vintage condenser w/29B cardioid capsule

Small ?pencil-type? mic with external PSU. Works especially well on acoustic string instruments and snare drum.


Audio Technica AT4031 cardioid condenser x2

Clear and bright small diaphragm ?pencil-type? microphone with low roll-off switch. Works well on acoustic guitar, drum overheads, percussion, and hi hat. Sounds great on toms, but is prone to internal overload.


Audio Technica AT4047 cardioid condenser

Modern large diaphragm mic designed to emulate the sound of vintage FET microphones. Does an exceptional job. Excellent on bass and electric guitar amps, toms, kick drum, and vocals.


Audio Technica AT4050 multi-pattern condenser x2

Probably the most versatile microphone currently made. Small diaphragm in a large-capsule housing. Sounds great on almost anything (except drum overheads). Notable features include low noise, high output, high SPL, high-pass filter, and cardioid, omni, or bidirectional pickup patterns.


Audio Technica AT4051 condenser w/cardioid capsule x2

Quiet, clear, and accurate-sounding modern ?pencil-type? microphone with switchable capsules and low roll-off switch. Very fast transient response. Fantastic on grand piano, drum overheads, acoustic guitar, percussion, and upright bass.


Avenson Audio (Stapes) STO-2 omnidirectional condenser x2

Very clear and detailed small measurement-type microphone. Flat frequency response (+ or -1 dB) 20hZ to 20kHz. Sounds great on everything, but especially notable as an ambient microphone and for maintaining clarity on dark-sounding guitar amps. These are matched pair number 22.


Beyerdynamic M88TG hypercardioid dynamic

Bright microphone with exaggerated proximity effect. Works well for bass drum, bass and electric guitar amps, and Phil Collins.


Beyerdynamic M160 hypercardioid ribbon

Bright, fairly robust dual ribbon microphone. Great on electric guitar amps, acoustic string instruments (especially dobro and violin), drum overhead, and percussion.


Beyerdynamic M201TG cardioid dynamic

Excellent and versatile microphone. Great for drums, electric guitar amps, and high SPL situations.


Beyerdynamic M380N(C) bidirectional dynamic (gold version)

Figure-eight mic with TONS of proximity effect and a high-frequency roll off. Excellent on bass guitar amps, baritone saxophone, trombone, and tuba.


Beyerdynamic TGX50 hypercardioid dynamic

Microphone with good low-frequency response and a slightly bright top as well. Provides clear representation of bass guitar amps and bass drums.


Crown GLM100 omnidirectional lavalier condenser

Tiny, unobtrusive microphone with fairly flat frequency response. Works well on the batter side of a bass drum, upright bass, and just about anywhere that size is a consideration.


Egg-Static Hi-Z ceramic x2

Excellent and very inexpensive lo-fi effect microphone, housed in a tea steeper. Designed for live use as an amplified harmonica microphone. 1/4? high impedance jack requires direct box usage for recording.


Electro Voice EV635A omnidirectional dynamic

Rugged, yet detailed microphone with no proximity effect. Useful where low-frequency extension is not necessary, especially electric guitar amps. Chances are, there was at least one of these somewhere in your junior high school.


Electro Voice EV666 vintage cardioid dynamic (sixties)

Beefy sixties ?garage band? microphone, often called the ?Satan? mic. Has interesting port in the side designed to reduce proximity effect. Sounds good inside a muffled kick drum (a Tom Dowd favorite) and up-close on guitar amps for a ?vintage? sound.


Fisher Price 3805 vintage karaoke machine (1984)

Interesting amplifier box with microphone attached. Very ?lo-fi? with limited frequency response and nice distortion. Works well as a mobile source in a multiple microphone array. You can also sing along with any FM or AM radio station it can pick up.


Lomo KMD/19A-9 vintage cardioid tube condenser (1965)

Excellent Russian vacuum tube microphone with terrific low-end representation, smooth midrange tone, and bright top. This one was built in a weapons factory and used at a radio station. Superb for vocals and aggressive electric guitar sounds. Also works well on saxophone, acoustic guitar, and as a mono drum overhead, and looks like a lollipop from outer space.


Lomo 19A-18 vintage cardioid tube condenser (1975) x2

Russian vacuum tube condenser with smooth high-frequency representation. Very clear on bright acoustic instruments without exhibiting harsh qualities. Works well for spaced-pair drumkit miking, as well. Odd-looking, with end-firing capsules slightly separated from the body, somewhat resembling a lightsaber. These have hefty RTT 110v-compatible power supplies and were used at a Ukrainian radio station.


Marshall MXL V67 wide cardioid condenser (green version)

Very bright Chinese microphone with good distance sensitivity and strangely, no sibilance accentuation. Nice for background vocals at a distance, tambourine, and soprano sax. Has been described as looking like a stick of deodorant.


Oktava MC/MK012 condenser w/cardioid capsule x6,
omni capsule x2, hypercardioid capsule x2, 4 capsules
matched

Outstanding versatile Russian ?pencil-type? microphones designed in 1963. In-line 10dB pads are standard accessories and capsules are interchangeable for different polar patterns. Excellent on toms, percussion, drum overheads, and acoustic string instruments (especially dobro and mandolin), but beware of exaggerated proximity effect, most noticeable in the low mids. Outstanding for capturing ambience in a large hall.


Oktava ML52 bidirectional ribbon x2

Excellent electric guitar amp microphone. Works well on a variety of sources where high-frequency detail is not necessary.


RCA BK-1A omnidirectional dynamic

Another limited frequency-response army green/grey microphone with low output. This one looks like an ice cream cone. Works well for ?effecty? vocals and electric guitar amps, and as an ambient microphone.


RCA BK-5A cardioid ribbon

A fantastic and relatively bright microphone with low output. Originally designed primarily for broadcast voice and sound effects recording, this mic sounds great on horns, electric guitar amps, and percussion.


Sennheiser MD504 hypercardioid dynamic x3

Extremely durable small microphone designed for close miking drums. Works well in this regard.


Sennheiser MD441 U3 hypercardioid dynamic (black)

Very bright, very directional microphone that has been a studio standard for years. Has switchable low-frequency roll-off for ?music? or ?speech.? Excellent on snare drum, toms, acoustic guitar, and apparently, Stevie Nicks.


Shure KSM141 multi-pattern condenser

Outstanding modern microphone excellent for snare drum recording. UNBELIEVABLY accurate and flattering in this regard. Also great on acoustic guitar, percussion, and ambience and has the highest maximum SPL rating I?ve ever seen.


Shure SM48 cardioid dynamic

Fairly generic-looking and sounding ?stage vocal? microphone.


Shure SM56 cardioid switchable-impedance dynamic

Close cousin to the SM57, this is the shorter ?pistol grip? version where the cable comes out the bottom. Also switchable between high-Z and low-Z, which makes it good for plugging into an amp for distorted vocal sounds.


Shure SM77 cardioid dynamic

One of the better SM57-type microphones. Has better low-frequency response and slightly smaller housing. It?s also black and looks much cooler than a 57.


Shure SM98 hypercardioid condenser

Excellent standard tiny drum microphone with pad and roll-off switches. Exceptional for snare drum and batter-side bass drum.


Sony C-38B vintage multi-pattern FET condenser (seventies)

Bright early FET large diaphragm microphone, descended from the C-37 tube microphone. Powered by standard 48-volt phantom power. Has a multitude of high- and lo-pass filter options and extremely low output. Works well on drums, electric guitar amps, keyboard amps, saxophone, and some vocalists.


SRM Entertainment Power Gear Voice Changer megaphone
(translucent blue version)

One of those Kaybee Toys ?must buys.? Toy megaphone with ?voice-changing? sound effects including ?Space Man,? ?Alien? and ?Robot.? ?Space Man? is totally unintelligible and useless.


Stromberg-Carlson vintage cardioid dynamic

Lo-fi switchable-impedence microphone.


U.S. Army Signal Corp M44A/U cardioid dynamic

Looks like a tiny speaker or megaphone. Neat limited-frequency response microphone with surprisingly nice low-end representation. Guess what color.


Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Bear]

(This will look awesome below Chris's post)

SM57 - snare
Rode NT1a - everything
Oktava mk319 - everything
Studio projects B1 - just got it, so I'm not sure yet

Take that Chris!

[wing]

i got all of you beat!

radio shack computer mic - burping, eating sounds

that's it. looks like i win.

[cgarges]

(This will look awesome below Chris's post)

SM57 - snare
Rode NT1a - everything
Oktava mk319 - everything
Studio projects B1 - just got it, so I'm not sure yet

Take that Chris!

Dude, not only do I not own ANY of those, but you've got a freakin' SM57!

CG

[Bear]

Damn straight! 57s are like the Stradivarius of mics. The guy on ebay told me so.