Hello Steemians!!!
This is my second post on this series, as I said on the last one, this is meant for musicians who don't know much about recording, or people who aren't satisfied with the quality of sound they are getting from their equipment.
On the last one I spoke a briefly about the equipment you would need to make a decent recording, you can always record with just your cellphone, which is OK too, but this is meant for those of us that want more out of the quality of our recordings :)
This is the first post I made about these topics, in case you're interested:
@luisferchav/recording-and-audiostuff-1-happy-new-year-to-all-of-you
This time around I want to talk to you guys about microphones. But first let's talk a little about cables first, most microphones will need a XLR cable:
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Which is a balanced type of cable and connector, that means that there is very little to no signal loss at all. When using long unbalanced cables such as a regular guitar cable, there is signal loss after 3 meters (almost 10 feet for our Imperial system friends) and significant signal loss after 7 meters (23 ft). Signal loss is almost insignificant with a balanced cable such as XLR no matter how long the cable is.
On to microphones.....
There are two main types of microphones, dynamic and condenser. There are many variants inside these two types, but they are the main two categories, more on the other variants a little later.
Most people assume that condensers are all around better for studio recording, however, the truth is that when you're starting, the best mic is the one you have at hand (just as with cameras). And some things sound better through a dynamic microphone. I think it's just a matter of using the right tool for the right task.
Dynamic microphones
The dynamic microphone is the most used for stage purposes, there are several brands that make them such as Shure, AKG, SE electronics, Audio-technica and several others.
The most famous ones are the shure SM58 and SM57, the first one is known as the industry standard for live vocals, they can really take a beating and are mostly used for recording really loud stuff like snare drums and electric guitar cabinets, but they can work really well on vocal recordings as well, I record most of my #openmic entries with a Shure Beta 58A, I love that mic to pieces. You can hear they way I use it for open mic on my latest entry here:
@luisferchav/steemit-open-mic-week-66-give-me-love-cover
Dynamics have a better gain before feedback structure, which means that they won't feedback as much on a loud enviroment, but that also means they don't capture as much detail.
For recordng purposes dynamics work really well when you're in a noisy enviroment, it's way easier leave out noises you don't want to appear in your recordings.
Also, these tend to be on the cheaper side, the most expensive ones you can find get up to 500 USD, which seems like a lot, I know, but wait until you read how much the most expensive condenser mics go for!!!
Do not worry, there are many cheap and decent options for both types. Now let's talk about....
Condenser microphones
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These are the so called "cream of the crop" as it were, almost all the brands that build dynamics also build condensers, also there are brands like Neumann that make some incredible and almost legendary microphones.
These microphones require an external power source called Phantom Power or 48V on may mixing desks and audio interfaces, you only need the afore mentioned XLR cable, no need for anything else connection-wise.
As I said before, people assume condenser mics are all around better for studio stuff because they capture much more detail on the high end, and in some cases they are the better tool for the job, for instance a really great jazz vocalist should have their performance captured with a high end top of the line condenser mic in an acoustically treated environment (IMHO. On the other hand, if you are a loud rock vocalist a dynamic mic, such as a SM7B could be a better option.
They are used for recording vocals, cymbals, pianos, acoustic guitars and any instrument that gives off a lot of detail while being played.
These can be extremely expensive, some condenser mics can get up to the 10K USD range, some of them can't be bought at all because they aren't made anymore.
I own two condenser mics for some of the work I regularly do, as it is a requirement for a lot of professional applications, whether it is voice over or session vocal recording.
Next time I will be speaking about microphone positioning and how to better use what mic you have to your advantage.
I'd love to know if you guys have any questions about this topic, that way I can address you needs directly, I want you to know that there are no wrong questions, the only wrong thing is not to ask the ones you have :)
But there's one more thing.....
As some of you may know, I love sharing free stuff here on steemit, and so today I found this insane bundle of 35GB worth of free high quality sample packs, ableton project files, loops, educational material..... I could go on and on, but I'll just let you check it out for yourselves :)
This is a gigantic bundle assembled by the great guys at Cymatics, covering all the materials they have ever released for free since their inception. Everything is royalty free and really high quality.
Here is the link to their page:
You can use this to make some insane beats if you know what you're doing, and if you don't, you can just play and see what comes out of it :), you can even enter contest here on steemit, such as the #Getarecord contest by @Seveaux or #beatbattle league by @chiefmappster (which are incredible by the way!).
I would advice caution when starting to play with a bundle this big, many times you will get option paralysis from the sheer amount of stuff you can try, what I usually do is take a loop I like and build something on top of it or around it.
Anyways, this has become a very long post sooooo....
Thank you very much if you made it down here, thank you for your time! I really hope this is useful to you!
If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to write a reply! I want to do a lot more posts on recording, and I want them to be really useful and enjoyable so all help is welcome :D
Til' my next post!!
