I always thought the 57 had a bit better off axis rejection vs the 58 ... no ? small matter, but it would tend to make it (57) work a bit better on loud stages.
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Microphone Questions
- Thread starter Quap
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My experience is that omni works better than most believe.
Here is DPAs own site, but it has some good points on directional versus omnidirection microphones
Directional vs. Omnidirectional Microphones
There's no one perfect mic for everything, but getting a good switchable polar pattern mic lets you at least experiment with what works and doesn't work in different situations.
Using Microphone Polar Patterns Effectively
Check this out - to record the Stradivari sample library took 32mics.
Here is DPAs own site, but it has some good points on directional versus omnidirection microphones
Directional vs. Omnidirectional Microphones
There's no one perfect mic for everything, but getting a good switchable polar pattern mic lets you at least experiment with what works and doesn't work in different situations.
Using Microphone Polar Patterns Effectively
Check this out - to record the Stradivari sample library took 32mics.
Omni mics are great, but because they are omni, they really need a room that sounds good. Close-ish micing with a cardioid is much more forgiving if your room isn't treated properly. Omnis pick up every reflection and you end up with harsh, out of phase reflections and comb filtering. In my experience, for someone just starting out at home, omnis bring all sorts of extra problems that newbies just don't have the skills or experience to deal with.
I am assuming only one instrument is recorded at a time, a Bass all by itself.
Yeah, do some room treatment first, but if the room sounds good enough to play in, then it's good enough to get a good track. Many recording rooms aren't perfect. Some high end studios now sell IRs of their rooms and it's obvious they aren't as treated as one wound think. Some are "live" rooms. Still, omni mic is going to be closer to the speaker than the average listener, it will get more of the cab and less of the room. It will get some room, but room also is a natural sound otherwise DI would be used.
A beginner would do good to understand and practice with different polar patterns for their tool box.
Another thing to know about omni's is there's very little proximity effect, which is why they are a popular design for media news mics, ex., the ubiquitous EV 635A.
The room and its accoustics are 100 times more important than the mic. The best and most expensive mic in the world will only record the bad room accoustics and unwanted early reflections better than your ears. If the room isn't treated a dynamic will be better, esp. a hypercardioid. If you are serious about recording your voice it might be a good option to rent time in a treated room or studio.
Not every good studio is dry.
Major studios have booths and rooms, watch some youtube tours
Listen to some samples here for Sunset Sound studios
IK Multimedia - Sunset Sound Studio Reverb
(They unfortunately call it "Reverb" which technically it is a convolution reverb but there's much more to it than just reverb.)
If you've got a good room you might want to leverage it, and not just choke it off.
Major studios have booths and rooms, watch some youtube tours
Listen to some samples here for Sunset Sound studios
IK Multimedia - Sunset Sound Studio Reverb
(They unfortunately call it "Reverb" which technically it is a convolution reverb but there's much more to it than just reverb.)
If you've got a good room you might want to leverage it, and not just choke it off.
You are missing the fact that omnis can be used very close to the sound source due to their lack of proximity effect. When the mic is an inch away from the source, how much of the room is it going to pick up relative to its intended source?
Omnidirectional microphones are microphones that pick up sound with equal gain from all sides or directions of the microphone. The lack of proximity effect further helps to make the room louder than the direct source. If there is a wall or other surfaces not too far away opposed to the vocalist or the room isn't large and the walls behind and in front are too close, these early reflections from all sides will enter the mic. These early reflections don't work like a natural reverb. They are too fast for our brains, we can't separate them from the direct signal (the voice of the vocalist in this situation). Our ears mix them with the direct signal which makes the voice sounds undefined and muddy. If you use a hypercardioid dynamic you only have to fear the reflections directly behind the mic and can do something to reduce them. This is the reason that at live gigs, if using a cardioid mic you position the monitor directly behind the mic, but if you're using a hypercardioid, you position two monitors to the left and the right of the vocalist.
Omni dynamics can make great guitar amp mics, depending on amp volume, which volume can actually negate the room sound, or accent it.
As well, they are good for drum-set "crotch-mics" where the mic is placed seat level between the drummer and the kick/snare, which can change up the sound of the kit, kinda make it trashy for accents, part variations, etc.
Omni on a tube mic can be especially effective to change up the perceived tone vs. other settings; on regular condensors also, but it seems more musical on tube mics when used for tone as opposed to location.
As well, they are good for drum-set "crotch-mics" where the mic is placed seat level between the drummer and the kick/snare, which can change up the sound of the kit, kinda make it trashy for accents, part variations, etc.
Omni on a tube mic can be especially effective to change up the perceived tone vs. other settings; on regular condensors also, but it seems more musical on tube mics when used for tone as opposed to location.
With all due respect... your second sentence is nonsense. The inverse square law: "for every doubling of the distance from the sound source in a free field situation, the sound intensity will diminish by 6 decibels."
Regardless of polar pattern, a mic 1" from the source will pick up that source MUCH more than anything else. What makes it practical to place an omni that close is its polar pattern.
Cardioid mics are actually Figure-8 mixed with Omni capsule in the same can.
With two capsules, you get three patterns.
With some clever engineering, and special ports, cardioid mics can be made with a single capsule, but you can't switch them to a different patterns, unless you do clamp the ports like shown by @Frank Tuesday in post #42. This isn't going to be a good of omni as an actual omni capsule.
IMHO If you're into home recording and can only afford 1 mic, an omni is probably what you'd want. There's very little placement problems with Omni's. There's no proximity surprise. You can put a panel or baffle behind them to absorb the room if needed. Chances are is that you'd buy a multi-pattern mic if you're looking for omni anyhow.
With two capsules, you get three patterns.
- omni (just the omni capsule)
- figure-8 (just the figure-8 capsule)
- cardioid (omni + figure-8)
With some clever engineering, and special ports, cardioid mics can be made with a single capsule, but you can't switch them to a different patterns, unless you do clamp the ports like shown by @Frank Tuesday in post #42. This isn't going to be a good of omni as an actual omni capsule.
IMHO If you're into home recording and can only afford 1 mic, an omni is probably what you'd want. There's very little placement problems with Omni's. There's no proximity surprise. You can put a panel or baffle behind them to absorb the room if needed. Chances are is that you'd buy a multi-pattern mic if you're looking for omni anyhow.
Lack of proximity effect means the low frequency response does not change as the mic approaches the sound source. Most directional mics have proximity effect, but there are some exceptions such as the Electro Voice RE20 and Shure KSM8.
Another thing to keep in mind is omni mics are not necessarily perfectly omnidirectional across the entire bandwidth.
Oh, I loved my SM57 - stolen. But I replaced it with an ATM41HE. Great for stage use.
A while back I got a C414XLII. Holy Roli Man it's just fantastic. My vocalist friend is using it.
then I sprang for a ribbon mic - the VooDoo2 from SE. Say what? Oh yeah - now I have MY PERFECT MIC!!
So Phat, so Smuve, so Well-rounded and Warm.
Get a Ribbon, you won't regret it
A while back I got a C414XLII. Holy Roli Man it's just fantastic. My vocalist friend is using it.
then I sprang for a ribbon mic - the VooDoo2 from SE. Say what? Oh yeah - now I have MY PERFECT MIC!!
So Phat, so Smuve, so Well-rounded and Warm.
Get a Ribbon, you won't regret it
Functionally that might be true, but I'd offer this clarification: The RE20 and KSM8 do indeed incur proximity effect when placed close to a sound source, but they do a better job of minimizing the effect than many similar mics. The RE20 in particular is really impressive in this regard.
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Another take on omni by @Ukiah Bass
Mic'ing techniques for tracking double bass in studio
In this case a small diaphragm omni. Omni mics are very forgiving on placement to give excellent sound. Multi-pattern gives you more choices to compare against.
Mic'ing techniques for tracking double bass in studio
In this case a small diaphragm omni. Omni mics are very forgiving on placement to give excellent sound. Multi-pattern gives you more choices to compare against.
