Microphone Matrix

Microphones

You can’t have enough mics! Whether you’re making music entirely by yourself, or running a project studio, there are literally thousands of mics to choose from these days; some specializing in recording particular instruments, some for particular applications, styles of music…. The study of microphones can be a lifetime’s work. Indeed, for some, it is.

Meanwhile back in the real world there’s music to be made – often on a budget with some restrictions – and plenty of study that absolutely has to be done in terms of getting your rig up and running.

Here at Keyfax NewMedia we have been collectively studying, using, and talking about microphones for decades. And we have decided that what the world really needs is some high quality mics and a way of testing out which is suitable for life in a predominantly digital recording environment.

Enter a wonderful range of mics from SE Electronics (on the receiving end of some lavish praise in the press of late), and Superlux. And enter The Mic Matrix as a method of testing them all out on-line so you can see which is best for your purpose. Come on in. Check them out!

All audio clips are in MP3 format @ 256kBps. The recording situations are described in detail below.


	SE2 Small Diaphragm Condenser Product Details


	SE2200a FET Condenser Product Details


	H3500 Large Diaphragm Condenser Product Details


	CM-H8A Large Diaphragm Cardiod Condenser Product Details


	CM-H8D Omni/Cardioid Tube Mic Product Details


	CM-H8K Multi-capsule Condenser Mic Product Details


	FH-12 Supercardioid Dynamic Product Details


	PRO-258 Supercardioid Dynamic Product Details

Basic recording information:

Each recording session took place in the KEYFAX studio. All the sessions were tracked in Cubase SX 2.02 at 44.1kHz sample rate. The computer is a AMD Athalon based machine. The final tracks were mastered in Adobe Audition and encoded into 256 kBps MP3s using Exact Audio Copy and the LAME codec.

Recording the Acoustic guitar tracks:

Each microphone was plugged into the 01x directly and powered by the 01x where applicable. No external pre-amps were used. The guitar was recorded with the 01x's EQ turned off, and the built-in compressor set to the "A. Guitar" preset. No other effects were used.

Each microphone was placed about 6"-8" from the neck of the guitar, pointed toward the 12th fret. The guitar is a Simon & Patrick S&P6CW, with a spruce top and cherry back and sides. The strings are DR Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings, medium gage. The pick is a Yamaha medium gauge.

Recording the Electric guitar tracks:

Each microphone was placed about 1-3" from the left speaker, between the cone and the speaker's edge (the right speaker was unhooked). The amp is a Line6 Ax212 Digital Modeling guitar amp. The guitar is a customized strat-style guitar with two single coils (from a late 80's B.C. Rich) in the neck and middle positions, and a humbucker (an early 80's Duncan Custom) in the bridge. The "Clean" tone uses the Marshall Plexi model and the neck and middle single coil pickups. The "Dirty" tone uses the Boogie Mark IIc model and the bridge pickup. The strings are DR LTR9 Hi-Beam and the pick is a Dunlop Gator Grip 1.14 MM.

Electric Guitar Setup

Recording the Vocal tracks:

Each microphone was plugged into the 01x directly and powered by the 01x where applicable. No external pre-amps were used. The vocals were recorded with the 01x's EQ turned off, and the built-in compressor set to the "Solo Vocal 1 " preset. No other effects were used.

Each singer was standing with the mic about 6" away from their mouths, except for the two dynamic mics which were about 2" away. A pop-screen was used with all of the mics. Some computer fan noise was picked up by the more sensitive mics, but we chose not to filter it out as it would change the overall tone of the mics