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Binaurals As Multi-purpose Mics

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?eter_

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I recently bought myself an NHF800,and am looking at getting a microphone to do recordings with. I am interested in a fair range of recordings, namely rock rehearsals,acoustic music (mostly flute) and the occasional stealth rock concert,as well as interviews.

All of the microphone options (T,cardioid binaural etc.) are a bit overwhelming, I would like a mic that's going to work well for me in as many situations as possible. My budget is around 80US (I'm in south africa, so I need to leave space for shipping costs as well). would a pair of cheap binaurals (like Core's $75 set or Sound Professional's $69 pair) be a good choice or is a T mic more versatile?

Thanks.

?eter

Edited by ?eter
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Check with Giant Squid Audio. They have some cheap mics that I have used with pretty good results. I just got the cheap Sound Pro binaurals off Ebay for $29. I wanted something small and cheap to play around with for stealth recordings.

The T mic sometime pick up motor noise from the MD. You could always get a headphone extension on one of those T mics to get away from the MD.

I would take a look at Giant Squid and see if he will ship to you. Minidisco might be your best bet for overseas shipping.

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Mrsoul--I was considering Giant Squid myself, but I listened to their sound samples and it sounded to me like the bass response was rolled off at about 100 Hz, which to me is a real mistake. It's possible their samples were recorded through roll-off filters, but when you get your SoundPros, it would be great if you could test them both on the same source material and see which sounds better.

?eter, I agree with Mrsoul: a pair of binaurals is what you need. You can separate them to get realistic stereo recordings, you can tie them together as the equivalent of a one-point T mic, and if you're stealthing you can clip them to a dark shirt and hardly anyone will notice them. My SoundPro BMC-2s (often on ebay for $29 direct from SoundPro) are small and sound good--listen to my latest upload on livefrommd (at) yahoo.com, password 1minidisc1 . SoundPro does ship overseas, though I don't know if that includes SA.

Get the clips with them, they can be hard to find.

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Hey everyone, just looking to get some help from some sound professionals. smile.gif Im going to be getting myself back into recording concerts for some up coming shows and i wanted to know if there were some good mics out there that are cheaper then the core sound mics. I found the following on mics on ebay for $24.99 and i wanted to know if these would do me any good. The last set of mics i had were the CORE SOUND BINAURAL MICROPHONES SET I just dont want to spend that much. if anyone can give me any links to mics that will have somewhat of the quality that the core-sound mics that would be great!

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The Core Sound mics you were using are probably an order of magnitude better than these, but you can get decent recordings with less pricey mics. Listen to some of the samples at the yahoo mailbox livefrommd (at) yahoo.com, password 1minidisc1

From the specs, those Ebay mics probably use the same basic Panasonic capsule as other basic binaural mics, and their MP3 sample sounds good. I just wonder about the way the alligator clips are attached--it makes them rather long and visible and limits the flexibility of where you place them. You certainly wouldn't want to clip it to a jersey as shown in one picture--it would rub against the fabric.

The budget equivalents are Sound Professionals BMC-2's, sometimes $29 on Ebay, and Church Audio's $25 mics on Ebay. Core-Sound also sells some budget binaurals, and it claims to modify the microphone capsules to improve them, but I've never had a pair to compare side-by-side with my SoundPros.

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The budget equivalents are Sound Professionals BMC-2's, sometimes $29 on Ebay, and Church Audio's $25 mics on Ebay. Core-Sound also sells some budget binaurals, and it claims to modify the microphone capsules to improve them, but I've never had a pair to compare side-by-side with my SoundPros.

Given that core sounds' "budget" mics are $75,they'd have to be a whole lot better than the Sound professional mics. at %29 to be 'budget' in any real sense.

I'm basically convinced I need a set of binaurals,I'm now deciding on which set to get. The BMC2 set look pretty good, I just want to try and figure out why the Core ones cost so much more...an A-B test would be ideal but I'm not in that situation.

?eter

Edited by ?eter
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well, im just looking for a nice set of mics that you guys have tested out in large venues (arenas) and would reccomend to me. I really dont want to have to buy the core sound mics again, im looking to save a little money and get a decent set still. Mind posting some links for me for the mics you guys personally use?

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I use the Sound Professionals BMC-2s. You can hear what they sound like in the "loud English rock" sample at yahoo mail box livefrommd (at) yahoo.com, password 1minidisc1

Sound Pros itself sometimes sells them on Ebay for $29 or $39 on the website. You'll probably want to get clips with them.

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-BMC-2

But if you're serious about only recording in arenas, then cardioids might be better for you because of all the audience noise and your distance from the stage. The cardioids are directional and should provide more music, less ambience.

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