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The Musicophile · 09-30-2009, 01:42 PM

Ok, but I'd still stand by what I said originally.

My main problem with dynamic mics is that the frequency response isn't good enough at realistic domestic volumes, and whatever problems you can say condensors have (most of which I disagree with) I still think they're the right choice for pretty much all home recording applications.

In the studio, people don't use dynamic mics over compressors because of the problems you've stated. People use dynamic mics because they have a particular frequency response (at high SPLs) that 'colours' the sound in a way that they like. Engineers use condensors on everything except loud guitar cabs, snare drums, and close on the skin, or inside kick drums where they'd put dynamics. Everything else, the first choice will be a condensor. Probably a Neumann. Even on these things there would usually be a condensor at a distance in addition to the dynamic mic.

So if that doesn't convince you that your mixing problems with condensors are ficticious...

I would like to point out that condensor mics generally have lower self noise, compared with dynamic mics, so your noise floor is lower to start with. If you set your input gain correctly, i.e. so you're getting a nice hot signal, with the minimum amount of headroom you dare, you won't have noise problems.

I've only ever experienced noise problems using dynamic mics, and never really using condensors (except on a few occasions when I've had to record some really really quiet sounds; light switches, dripping water etc. for a film foley). You're always going to have noise in recording. It's unavoidable. But condensors suffer from noise problems less than dynamic mics.

Background noise isn't really that much of a problem in my experience. You just need to make sure that the sound source you want to record is significantly louder than the background noise (this is why quieter sounds are hard to record well). This is real easy with guitar cabs, and much easier when you're using a compressor as opposed to a dynamic.

If you're compressing to the point that noise is becoming a real problem, consider using a noise gate prior to compressing, or just not compressing so heavily. If you're having problems at all you're probably overusing your compressor anyway. Also, if you're compressing an electric guitar, you could use a compressor pedal before the amp. This way you won't need to compress everything as heavily in the mixing stage.

If you're just recording yourself, I'd advise that you try to consider compression as a kind of cheating. If you want to use it to make something sound 'punchier', fine but do it tastefully. If you want to correct uneven playing dynamics, go back and record it again. (Compression is so overused these days. Listen to some recent Rick Rubin productions, say Metallica's Death Magnetic and tell me honestly that all that compression sounds good.)

Sorry, I did misread what you said about high-passing.

Putting things in their own frequency bands isn't such a big deal if your song's well arranged. Try to write parts that occupy different frequency bands i.e. don't have two different instruments playing in the same range, unless you want them to sound as one. If parts are still interferring with one another, use the stereo spread, and pan them in different positions.

I couldn't turn my amp up loud enough at home to get a good signal through a dynamic mic. It's not really a case of worrying about someone calling the cops, it's more a case of I have to sit in the room with it, and in a domestic sized room an amp that loud will cause physical pain if you expose yourself to it for any length of time.

I just think condensors are much better tools for home recording. The recorded signal you get from them is always much closer to what you actually hear stood in the room with whatever instrument (than with a dynamic mic). At the end of the day, If you've got a great sounding guitar or whatever, this is what you want.

09-30-2009, 01:42 PM	#14 (permalink)
The Musicophile Groupie Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 19	Ok, but I'd still stand by what I said originally. My main problem with dynamic mics is that the frequency response isn't good enough at realistic domestic volumes, and whatever problems you can say condensors have (most of which I disagree with) I still think they're the right choice for pretty much all home recording applications. In the studio, people don't use dynamic mics over compressors because of the problems you've stated. People use dynamic mics because they have a particular frequency response (at high SPLs) that 'colours' the sound in a way that they like. Engineers use condensors on everything except loud guitar cabs, snare drums, and close on the skin, or inside kick drums where they'd put dynamics. Everything else, the first choice will be a condensor. Probably a Neumann. Even on these things there would usually be a condensor at a distance in addition to the dynamic mic. So if that doesn't convince you that your mixing problems with condensors are ficticious... I would like to point out that condensor mics generally have lower self noise, compared with dynamic mics, so your noise floor is lower to start with. If you set your input gain correctly, i.e. so you're getting a nice hot signal, with the minimum amount of headroom you dare, you won't have noise problems. I've only ever experienced noise problems using dynamic mics, and never really using condensors (except on a few occasions when I've had to record some really really quiet sounds; light switches, dripping water etc. for a film foley). You're always going to have noise in recording. It's unavoidable. But condensors suffer from noise problems less than dynamic mics. Background noise isn't really that much of a problem in my experience. You just need to make sure that the sound source you want to record is significantly louder than the background noise (this is why quieter sounds are hard to record well). This is real easy with guitar cabs, and much easier when you're using a compressor as opposed to a dynamic. If you're compressing to the point that noise is becoming a real problem, consider using a noise gate prior to compressing, or just not compressing so heavily. If you're having problems at all you're probably overusing your compressor anyway. Also, if you're compressing an electric guitar, you could use a compressor pedal before the amp. This way you won't need to compress everything as heavily in the mixing stage. If you're just recording yourself, I'd advise that you try to consider compression as a kind of cheating. If you want to use it to make something sound 'punchier', fine but do it tastefully. If you want to correct uneven playing dynamics, go back and record it again. (Compression is so overused these days. Listen to some recent Rick Rubin productions, say Metallica's Death Magnetic and tell me honestly that all that compression sounds good.) Sorry, I did misread what you said about high-passing. Putting things in their own frequency bands isn't such a big deal if your song's well arranged. Try to write parts that occupy different frequency bands i.e. don't have two different instruments playing in the same range, unless you want them to sound as one. If parts are still interferring with one another, use the stereo spread, and pan them in different positions. I couldn't turn my amp up loud enough at home to get a good signal through a dynamic mic. It's not really a case of worrying about someone calling the cops, it's more a case of I have to sit in the room with it, and in a domestic sized room an amp that loud will cause physical pain if you expose yourself to it for any length of time. I just think condensors are much better tools for home recording. The recorded signal you get from them is always much closer to what you actually hear stood in the room with whatever instrument (than with a dynamic mic). At the end of the day, If you've got a great sounding guitar or whatever, this is what you want.