How many mics do you have?

[ObiK]

36 of them right now and going to be downsizing to 10 solid mics this month.

[BeatGenerals]

I have a Samon C01U usb condenser mic, works great for what i use it for.

[BeatComMusicGRP]

36 of them right now and going to be downsizing to 10 solid mics this month.

what mics do you have... just a few... and how are you downsizing??? do i smell an ebay sale???

[ObiK]

All kinds of mics. I have an obsession with dynamics. They are by far my fav and most useful in my experience. I'm moving this summer and wanted to clean house to only the mics I use regularly. i5's, EV 635a, 57's, MCA SP1, HM7U, Oktava MK-319, EV/Blue Ravens and that is 13 mics between the ones I just mentioned. I still need to down size that list by 2-3 on top of my other mics I'll be selling.

I'll probably be posting them on eBay along with other studio gear later this month.

[CPhoenix]

^Obi, do you really hear big differences between each mic?


I ask out of ignorance, b/c I've only had one good standard mic since I've been producing. Do you really find applications for them where one fits a situation much better than the other?

I only record vocals though so.... i may only work my way up to a locker of 3-4 when I get some extra cash. What do you record?

[ObiK]

I'm a musician so I record a lot of real instruments. Drums, percussion, guitars, horns, vocals- typical band situations usually. But I'm moving and will be downsizing to 10 in studio and 1-2 with me on my portable set up.

It took me many years to really start to hear differences between the mics. I use different mics for different situations. Drums? Do I want to multi mic it? Mono- 1 mic overhead? 4 mics? 3 mics? How big is the set? How hard does the drummer hit his cymbals? How big is the room I am recording in? What kind of music are they playing?

I have different mics for different situation, more often than not I grab a dynamic because I find it easier to block out ambient noise than with condensers. I only seem to use condensers on Acoustic instruments and vocals, but thats usually after trying a dynamic or two.

I think for vocals you should have 1 money condenser and 1 solid dynamic to properly start a mic locker.
Then you add multi use microphones. SM 57/Audix i5/EV 635a all cover many instruments in different situations. Vocals, drums, Guitar amps, sound decent on anything you throw them on.
Then add only what you NEED. Even then if you just need a mic for 1 gig try just renting one or borrowing one from a friend.

I acquired most of my mics 2nd hand, doing gigs for them and subscribing to checking my local classifieds.

Really, what I need to do is start my own pro audio rental company huh? lol

[BeatComMusicGRP]

Nice collection...

I personally cant here any real difference between mics of the same type, unless there is something very obviously different (say really exaggerated high freq.), or a component is going bad... but if everything on two mics is in tip top condition, and they are both the same type (i.e. dynamic, condenser etc.) they pretty much sound the same to me... Its pretty much if it gets a sound into it that's useable I love it

I think that's one of the reasons I'm so into MXL mics at the moment... for the price they are pretty damned good, and sturdy... Ive had my 990 since I turned 21; Im 26 now... granted I haven't used it since I was 24; but it still works the same as the day I bought it

[ObiK]

You can hear the difference when you have heard it a bunch of times in different situations and on different instruments. It takes a while but there are differences. MXL mics are pretty nice, I have 2 MCA SP1's made by MXL and I love em.

[BeatComMusicGRP]

They are pretty nice, but old heads and people with infinite money sh!t on them so hard... I hate the snobbery of the audio business, its something we can do without

[ObiK]

The only thing that matters is the sound!