At 10:20 AM 2008-11-18, jcrichardson30360 wrote:
>I tried looking in the archives with minimal success, so please no flames.
>
>I am an audio editor/sound designer, and recently have gotten into
>recording my own
>atmos and sfx for specific shows rather than use the same old stock
>library SFX. I initially
>started with the studios Tascam HD-P2 teamed up with a single Audio
>Technica AT815b,
>but was tired of having to keep borrowing it.
>
>I got an M-Audio MicroTrack 2 because of it's ultra portability,
>digital in etc, and was
>wanting users opinions on a "general" mic setup (I know, mics are
>like camera lenses
>where each one does a specific job) for under $400.
Dear J.C.,
I have a Nikkor 500mm f/4P lens and an 80-400 f/4.5-5.6VR Nikkor
lens...and I can see the difference, but don't always want to bring
my 500/4P and often want VR.
With that said, about a year and a half ago, I replaced my AKG C414
B/ULS mics and functionally replaced my Audio Technica AT822s with a
pair of DPA 4006 TLs.
The challenge I have is that I haven't heard an under $200 omni that
I really like. The ATM10a isn't it. The AT822 is somewhat annoying on
the highs, but does a reasonably better job than most other things in
the price range.
My mic kit is currently made up of original AKG C451s (the new ones
don't sound nearly the same apparently), an older AKG 460, Sennheiser
MKH416s, a Neumann TLM103 and a Neumann KMS105 and the DPA pair.
These serve different purposes, but all sound really good together.
It's hard to say what is best in that price range. One thing that
comes to mind, but isn't really good in the field, is the AT2020, a
side-address studio mic. It's one of the best sounding mics in the
$100 class. I bought one for a musician friend so she could stop
borrowing my TLM-103. But there are differences.
Sorry, I'm rambling, but I don't think there is one real answer to
all of this. Do you have the opportunity to rent/borrow mics to try?
I bought my second AT822 on eBay for $200 about 2-3 years ago, new.
It's not bad for getting your feet wet in this thing. It's competent,
but the problem with most of these mics is that the highs are edgy,
not silky. The Neumanns and the DPAs are the silkiest in my
collection, and then the Sennheiser short shotguns and then the AKGs.
Cheers,
Richard
Richard L. Hess
Aurora, Ontario, Canada http://www.richardhess.com/
Detailed contact information: http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm =
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