Microphones that 'fit in the mix'

[Shellacattack]

I've got a SM7B that I don't much care for on my vocals, or even with guitars, but really appreciate when it comes to kick drum and occasionally snare.

Last year, I bought a used Audix D6 in the hope of getting a beefier kick drum sound. While the D6 sounds pretty cool soloed, it isn't very useful in the mix. Granted, I'm not very good at any of this, but the D6 seems to take considerable tweaking just to sound ok. I've noticed this when other people have used a D6 as well.

Anyway, I was just mixing some super basic tracks from my band's last practice session, and it struck me (more than usual) how much I appreciate the SM7B on kick. When soloed, it's fine, but it's when the full mix is pulled up that it really shines. I find that it doesn't require much work to get it to peak through nicely.

So, my question to you guys is... What microphones are you consistently impressed with, in regards to their ability to sit in the mix with little or no tweaking?

[vvv]

Currently:

Kick: E602

Tom: E503

OH: AT4040

Vocals: MD421n, SM7b

BV's: RE10/PL5, EV635s, Shure 63L

Elec. Guitars: E609, ribbons,

Ac. Gtrs in rock mix: AKGs190E, omni's

Bass amp: MD421 II, SM7b; RE320

Tambo: whatever's on vocals

I have been using different mic's and combinations on snare; lately Beta58 is pretty cool by itself on top ...

EDIT: to say "PL5"

[tonewoods]

What microphones are you consistently impressed with, in regards to their ability to sit in the mix with little or no tweaking?

Ribbons...
In general...
Almost always...

...and I'm constantly amazed at their ability to do so....

[blungo2]

+1 to tonewoods reply. In particular the aea r84 and the cloud jrs-34. i've had less luck with short ribbons like the fatheads.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

What microphones are you consistently impressed with, in regards to their ability to sit in the mix with little or no tweaking?

Ribbons...
In general...
Almost always...

...and I'm constantly amazed at their ability to do so....

Yep. Agreed. Also dynamics, dynamics, dynamics.

Currently my drum set up (with my regular house drummer) is -
OH (above the FT/ride - RCA MI 6203 Varacoustic
Snare (2-3' out from the snare between the snare and kick) Apex 205
Kick - anything. I don't use much of it because I'm getting most of my kick from the snare and OH

AC Gtr - AKG d224. Sounds like a condenser but with better rejection and no gross high end bump.

Bass - M88 or RE15 depending on how much sub-bass I need.

El Gtrs - EV 664, re10, re15, reslo ribbon, EXH ribbon, apex 205

Rooms - Octava MK219 - They sound great and are dark which is a big help with room mics.

[kslight]

I've got a SM7B that I don't much care for on my vocals, or even with guitars, but really appreciate when it comes to kick drum and occasionally snare.

Last year, I bought a used Audix D6 in the hope of getting a beefier kick drum sound. While the D6 sounds pretty cool soloed, it isn't very useful in the mix. Granted, I'm not very good at any of this, but the D6 seems to take considerable tweaking just to sound ok. I've noticed this when other people have used a D6 as well.

Really? How are you trying to place the D6? I have been using it either by itself or in addition to another bass drum mic nearly exclusively for awhile and I think it does well in modern rock type stuff.. I find that a foot or two off-axis from the beater of a well damped bass drum hit hard sounds pretty good without much tweaking. For a session I did a couple weeks ago I also placed a D112 as an "inside kick" mic just to get out of my normal program and I found that both of them combined produced a punchy and thick without overly clicky bass drum that sits really nice in the mix. I could've used the D6 by itself but I also liked what the D112 added.

Also I agree that the SM7 is certainly not an "every voice" kind of mic, but on male singers especially screamers I find it to be very good in the mix without much tweaking. My 2 cents.

[mjau]

As long as I don't need an overly mid-heavy guitar track, I continue to be impressed with the Beyer m69 on guitar cabs. I used it recently for some lap and pedal steel tracks (along with three other mics - a Rode Classic, a beta 57, and a Copperphone), and it came up the winner 9 times out of 10, with no need for eq.

[Dominick Costanzo]

Neumann U67 & U87

[A.David.MacKinnon]

One other thought -
Once you've learned the sound of your mic collection you can and should start choosing mics based on they're tone/eq and how you want the source to sound in the final mix. Instead of reaching for the eq to get the sound you want out of the D6 you should be reaching for another mic.
These days I've been shying away from bright condenser mics for almost everything except vocals. The reason being that if i what a bright, present sounding vocal I don't want the other instruments cluttering up that range in the overall eq. Instead of cutting high end from the overheads and guitars I'll use darker sounding mics or mics that have great mids and upper mids but no big bump in the 6k and up range.
The same idea also applies to the low end. Decide if the sub bass end of the eq is coming from the kick or the bass and then use mics that will give you what you're after (for example, an RE15 with the high pass filter engaged can give you a really big, warm bass guitar sound and still leave you room for a boom-y kick drum with tons of low end).
At the end of the day I don't think you need a ton of expensive mics as much as you need a decent collection of mics that do different things well. Even more importantly you need to know what it is that each mic does well. Any mic, regardless of cost or crappyness, will sound great in the right application. The trick picking the right mic for the right source.

[Nick Sevilla]

What microphones are you consistently impressed with, in regards to their ability to sit in the mix with little or no tweaking?

Neumann U47 on the lead vocals. Does not need as much EQ to bring out the details of the midrange in the voice, and does not give any weird "bumps" that other lesser mics do give to the recording.

Neumann KM84 and KM184 on ac guitars, and upright bass. These give enough detail and presence along with just enough low mids for a typical folk song type of mix.

AKG 414BULS on overheads. THese miss give presence, but no harsh fake top end, so I can push the top end on my kits with no worry about getting it to sound "brittle" or "glassy".

Cheers

[tonewoods]

El Gtrs - EV 664...

Uh huh...

[palinilap]

Yep, ribbons. I love how my beyer m260 sits in a mix.

[Jim Williams]

I've never had this claimed problem before. Unless I use a cheapo chi-com capsule with a screaming high end, or just pick the wrong mic for the source, it's not a problem for me.

I have very good hardware EQ's here. Maybe it's your converters or DAW doing bad things?

[trodden]

Once again i feel as if i'm doing it all wrong cause i EQ just about every track... Sure some sound fine left alone, but after I tweak it some, it sounds better... so i guess, fuck it..

But i'm always making the damn kick TOO BIG .... constant issue... I should be making/mixing dance music probably instead of punk and metal.

[drumsound]

M88 on so many things just sounds right.

The EV re/pl stuff works great on most guitar amps. If something leeds a little bite the M201 can be great.

AT Pro 37 on acoustic guitar is the perfect "in the mix" mic. I'll sometimes use a flatter or more extended mic and it will just take over the mix, swap for a pro 37 and done.

421 on toms, AT ATM23he on snare, MC012 on OH E602 on BD (very EQ able if needed) 4050 on room (for any source).

I'm really digging the Aseyer mics I picked up after reviewing them for recordinghacks.com on vocals. They are present and have a nice sounding extension on top, where I often find myself boosting EQ with a U87 or CMV 563.