Small Diaphragm Condenser Mics

[tomjackson]

My M-Audio Luna seems to have died so I'm after a replacement Mic for acoustic / vocal and drum overhead duties.
To be honest I'm getting fed up of of large diagphram mics anyway, they are heavy, the shockmounts on cheaper mics break and they are just a pain in the arse recording out-and-about.

I've never had a small diaphragm condenser and just wandered how they fare on vocals?

I'm after something budget (Less than £100) that can be a good all rounder mic and although I know it wont sound nearly as detailed as a large diaphragm 1 inch gold spluttered kinda mic, I'm hoping I can get something far more detailed than an SM58 for vocals that does nice acoustic guitar recordings etc....

Sow how about these:-

http://www.dv247.com/microphones/joemeek-jm27-small-diaphragm-condenser-microphone--20529

http://www.dv247.com/microphones/akg-perception-170-true-condenser-cardioid-microphone--51677

http://www.dv247.com/microphones/samson-c05-condenser-microphone--42404

http://www.dv247.com/microphones/rode-m3-condenser-microphone--44414

[tomjackson]

Come on MDV, you are the only one who can answer this....

[Denim n Leather]

A small diaphragm condenser is probably exactly what you would want for doing all of those various duties. Is your budget under 100?

[choucas09]

In december you posted a thread about field recorders. It emerged that you could get a Yamaha Pocket track for £99. Have you considered these as an alternative to a condenser?

Here's a clip I recorded on my old Zoom H4. I did it at 1.30 in the morning with the amp below conversation level with the recorder about 30" from the speaker. I didn't actually record it on the Zoom just had the mikes straight out into Garageband.
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8689061

[tomjackson]

A small diaphragm condenser is probably exactly what you would want for doing all of those various duties. Is your budget under 100?

Hi, yes under £100

[tomjackson]

In december you posted a thread about field recorders. It emerged that you could get a Yamaha Pocket track for £99. Have you considered these as an alternative to a condenser?

Here's a clip I recorded on my old Zoom H4. I did it at 1.30 in the morning with the amp below conversation level with the recorder about 30" from the speaker. I didn't actually record it on the Zoom just had the mikes straight out into Garageband.
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8689061

That sounds a good option but the only thing is I have a nice Valve preamp which I wouldn't see the benefit off going that route.  That said I never got round to getting a field recorder so it's something I'll re look at.  I'm sure the condensers on most of those are pretty good anyway.  I'll have a listen to the clip when I get home later.  Thanks for the good idea!

[choucas09]

It may be possible to use your preamp with a field recorder. If it's mono you could just use one of the mics, if it's two channel so much the better.

[_tom_]

I've had great results with the Rode NT3 for spoken word, not sure how it'll work for what you want to use it for though. http://uk.rodemic.com/microphone.php?product=NT3 that has a recording with vocals.

AKG C1000S has been pretty good as well.

If I were spending money on a mic I'd probably go for an AKG C414, expensive but they're great do-it-all mics :)

[MDV]

Come on MDV, you are the only one who can answer this....

I really cant!

Save to say that you shouldnt have trepidation about using a small diaphragm condenser for vocals. In general theres nothing *wrong* with it - a mic doesnt know what its recording, and ears and the sound in a mix are the final judge, not any 'this should be for this' preconceptions.

All things being equal the SDC will be less sensitive, with a lesser dynamic range but better transients, less noise too, and more high end bias (actually more even sounding, and flat - test mics are normally SDCs - but by comparison more toppy), but how it all plays out in a mix is anyones guess and up to how you placed and mixed it as much as anything else.

I know several people that go straight for a SDC for acoustic guitars over and above anything else. I tend not to. Lesson = its all taste. Try it, see what you like.

[tomjackson]

Problem solved, my M Audio Luna is working again.  Seems that becuase the mic got cold in my garden studio, it got condensation on the capsule and started popping.  Now it's dried out it is working again!

From Sound on Sound if anybody is interested:-

If you suspect that you have condensation problems, the only solution is to let the mic dry out on a shelf above a radiator or in an airing cupboard. While professional studios are unlikely to have condensation problems caused by the studio environment itself, garage studios and studios set up in basements are more likely to fall foul of this problem, so ensure that they are properly heated and store your mics somewhere reasonably clean, warm, and dry.