What Microphone Do I need?
I have to be honest, I’m not an engineer and am no expert on microphones. So I did what I always do when I don’t know something, I asked some experts for their advice.
I also recommend checking out Neumann’s website where they have a great series of articles about microphones.
Les Brockmann records and mixes music for songs, film scores, games, albums, jazz, tourism, and production music. He has recorded and mixed for top clients in the music industry. He won a Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album 2012, ¡Ritmo!, The Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band.
Adam Michalack has been involved in the Los Angeles film scoring scene for over 15 years. Over his years at the MGM Sony Scoring Stage he’s worked with many of Hollywood’s A-list composers as well as top scoring mixers and famed artists.
Noah Scot Snyder is a film music scoring mixer, engineer and producer based in Los Angeles. He has produced, mixed and engineered feature film scores, albums, television shows and video games for some of the industries most prolific artists and composers. He has experience recording everything from orchestras to rocks bands to choirs and everything in between. In 2003, Noah won a Grammy for producing, mixing and engineering “The Wind” for Warren Zevon, which won 2 Grammys and was nominated for a total of 5
Noah shares, “I think it’s always wise to start with an internet search of recording your specific instrument as what’s favored can be quite a bit different from instrument to instrument. That said there are some generalizations that can be made even if there are exceptions to the rule.”
“For singers, strings and orchestral instruments, a side-address mic with a large capsule is a very good versatile choice” according to Les. While “for all-around home recording, violin, viola and woodwind players are generally best off with a small diaphragm cardioid or multi pattern microphone” says Noah. “These instruments need a fair amount of gain to record, and modern small diaphragm microphones have a strong output and are less dependent on the preamp to achieve their sound. Small diaphragms have excellent transient response and capture extended high end, which generally flatters these types of instruments.” Noah adds that “A large diaphragm cardioid or multi pattern condenser microphone is generally most useful for singers.”
What’s a preamp? That’s not on your list, you ask. Read on, I’ll get to that later. For now keep in mind that your audio interface will most likely have a built-in preamp, so it’s not something you need to worry about just yet (if ever).
Generally speaking, for cello, bass, French horns or tuba, Noah recommends a large diaphragm cardiod or multipattern condenser microphone, these are also good choices for singers. “Either a Tube based or FET (solid state) mic is good. These instruments need a medium amount of gain and the larger diaphram has a lower noise floor and a slightly less articulated high end.” Finally, “for recording trumpet, trombone and other brass instruments, ribbon microphones are often favored. These instruments do not need much gain so the low output of a ribbon is acceptable. Modern ribbon mics perform better in home studios than older ones do, but still need to be paired with a good preamp. Active ribbon designs are less preamp dependent and have a higher output.”
“Let’s establish a price range first,” suggest Adam. “One nice thing about shopping for microphones is that you can often find some very nice choices selling on ebay or reverb.com for a few hundred dollars off their new pricing.” Les also recommends visiting The RecordingHacks Microphone Database, where “almost every studio microphone ever made is listed in this, with technical details and price. Very helpful in comparison shopping.”
Great, so there are different types of mics for different applications, but which is right for you? Thankfully Adam, Les & Noah were kind enough to offer some very specific recommendations in a variety of price ranges.
Adam’s “Standard goto if I had to use a single condenser on almost anything acoustic in nature (aside from drums or electric guitar) would either be a Sennheiser MKH 40 ($1,200 new) or a Schoeps Body with and MK4 capsule ($855 new). If you wanted to level up up, a stereo ribbon mic would be a great option.
Low price range (approximately $500 or less)
“AudioTechnica have many versatile side-address mics. Always well made, long-lasting and musical” says Les. Keep in mind their product lines begins on the low price range, but they have microphones in mid and hi price ranges, too.
For a small diaphragm microphone (suitable for violin, viola and woodwinds), Noah recommends the AKG 451 ($449.00 at Sweetwater.com. For a ribbon mic (suitable for brass instruments) Noah recommends the Royer R-10 ($499.00 at Sweetwater.com)
If you’re looking for a large diaphragm condenser mic (often a good choice for cello, bass, French horn, tuba or voice), Adam recommends the Warm Audio WA-47 Jr ($299.00 at Sweetwater.com)
Mid price range (approximately $500-$1,500)
Les is also a fan of Royer microphones and recommends their Mojave range, specifically the MA50 large diaphragm condenser mic, which costs $599.00 at Sweetwater.com. Noah also likes the sE Electronics RN 17 ($999.00 at Sweetwater.com) and Neumann KM 184 ($799.00 at Sweetwater.com) as good options in this price range for small-diaphragm cardioid mics (well suited for violin, viola and woodwinds).
For large diaphragm cardioid mics within this price range, which are a good choice for recording cello, bass, French horns or Tuba, Noah recommends the AKG 414 ($899.00 at Sweetwater.com) or Royer‘s Mojave MA50 ($599.00 at Sweetwater.com), which Les also recommends. Adam is a fan of the Neumann KM 105 Hanheld Condenser Mic for vocals in this price range ($699.00 at Sweetwater.com)
For recording brass, Noah likes the AEA N22 ($999 at Sweetwater.com) or the Royer R-121 ($1,295.00 at Sweetwater.com)
Les also recommends the Neumann TLM-102 ($699 at Sweetwater.com) or the TLM-103 ($1,100.00 at Sweetwater.com) and says “It’s hard to find a singer that doesn’t sound fantastic on a Neumann.”
High price range (Over $1,500)
If price is no object, Adam recommends singers consider the Neumann M149 ($5,000.00 at Sweetwater.com) while Les suggests the Neumann U87 ($3,200.00 at Sweetwater.com) or “its older sister the U67 with tube,” adds Les. You can look for used U67s at reverb.com or ebay or other used gear resellers.
Noah adds that high strings and woodwind players might consider the Schoeps CMC6 MK4 ($3250.00 for a pair at Sweetwater.com) or Sennheiser MKH 800 ($3,000.00 at Sweetwater.com). A good choice for cello, bass, French Horns or Tuba is the Manley Reference Tube Mic ($2,999.00 at Sweetwater.com), which Adam adds it’s a good choice for singers, too. Noah also suggests brass players might consider the AEA R44CE ($2,799.00 at Sweetwater.com)
The Bottom Line
As in all things, consider your needs and your budget, and then do your homework. There are plenty of articles all over the web discussing and comparing microphones. Noah had a great suggestion regarding buying a mic – talk to your local dealer and ask them to send you your 3 top picks to try out. See which one you like best, buy that one, and simply return the ones you didn’t pick. One more thing to know about microphones is that some require something called Phantom Power, which is DC electric current that is transmitted through the microphone cable to operate microphones with active electronic circuitry, like condenser microphones. It’s important to know if you mic requires Phantom Power or not and make sure you keep this in mind when choosing an audio interface. The good news as that almost all audio interfaces include Phantom Power so it shouldn’t be much of a concern, just double check before buying.