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Which Microphone For Recording Festivals Etc. ?

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Freud

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Hi there tongue.gif

I need to get myself a microphone for recording electronic music festivals around Europe. I also need to use it for recording classes at the university as well as for recording interviews and conversations in general.

I am able to buy the microphone in Singapore via a friend - but I don't know if any of the products listed can suit my needs. This is what I can order from Bluetin Singapore:

Recording Microphones

Audio Technica ATH-AT805f sg$103

Audio Technica ATH-AT9641 sg$76

Audio Technica ATH-AT9830 sg$26

Audio Technica ATH-ATR35s sg$33

Sony ECM-719 sg$120

Sony ECM-DS70P sg$74

Sony ECM-DM5P sg$ 94

Sony ECM-MS907 sg$105

If anybody can recommend a shop in Singapore where I can buy microphones other than the above mentioned then I would be more than happy to know.

I have tried to read about which microphones to buy but I find it really difficult to get an overview of all the specifications and all the different models.

I hope some of you can give me a piece of advice. I'm very new to the field of recording music so I might not be able to understand very technically/advanced answers wacko.gif

So far I'm not sure if I can find ONE microphone that can fulfill all of my needs ?

It's really hard to determine if I need to buy a normal microphone or an omnidirectional microphone which I have read a lot of good things about ?

But okey I think it is better to leave these questions up to the experts

right now smartass.gif

By the way I just got myself a brand new MZ-RH10. As soon as I find out how to post pictures of my MD then I will upload !

Best regards, Freud cheers.gif

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Audio Technica ATH-AT805f sg$103

Audio Technica ATH-AT9641 sg$76

Audio Technica ATH-AT9830 sg$26

Audio Technica ATH-ATR35s sg$33

Sony ECM-719 sg$120

Sony ECM-DS70P sg$74

Sony ECM-DM5P sg$ 94

Sony ECM-MS907 sg$105

I hate to say it, but I would recommend none of the above. They might be good for lectures but not for music.

If you are recording electronic music you want a full frequency range--20-20,000 Hz--and you also want good stereo separation to capture all of the stereo effects. The ideal setup is a pair of small omnidirectional or "binaural" microphones rather than all these one-point microphones. Speech is different--a much narrower frequency range, and if you're in a lecture hall you don't want to pick up sound from behind you. But omnis will still be acceptable unless it's a very noisy or very echoey room. What you hear is what omnis pick up.

The Audio-Technicas seem to be clip-on lavalier microphones primarily for speech. They're small, but their response is limited.

AT 9641 is mono

AT 9830 picks up 100-12,000 Hz---no lows, no highs

ATR 35s may also be mono, 50-18,000 Hz, more promising but still without low bass

AT 805, can't find any useful specs on AT 805, but it's also a one-point mic, no stereo separation--might also be mono

The Sonys also have not much bass response--they would be good for lectures, however, because the DS70P and the ECM-719 are directional, recording what's in front of you rather than all around you. The best for music is also the biggest, the sausage-sized MS 907, but like the other Sonys it only goes down to 100 Hz, which will miss a lot of bass. And you would have to hold it in your hand all night or find a way to mount it.

Look at www.soundprofessionals.com (the very basic BMC-2 are excellent, and you can clip them to a shirt or glasses if you get clips with them), www.microphonemadness.com, www.reactivesounds.com or on Ebay for companies like Church Audio (in Canada). A lot of small "companies" also sell homemade microphones based on the same capsules. European and Asian Ebay may have a different selection--search "stereo microphone" and compare the numbers with the BMC-2 or Church Audio to see if they're using the same basic capsule, and look at the pictures to see how practical the cords and housings (the things that hold the capsule) are. Make sure the connector is a stereo miniplug with two circles near the tip, like your headphone plug.

With any mic that picks up bass, to record loud music through Mic-in you will also need an attenuator like the Radio Shack Headphone Volume Control pictured by my name, the Maplin VC-1 in England or whatever you can find. Microphone Madness also sells an attenuator. No attenuator for lectures.

Bluetin can't be the only place in Singapore that sells microphones. Try musical-instrument stores or electronics stores.

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Two little additions:

- I'm using omnis all the time, even in very echoey rooms like churches or large empty halls - usually with excellent, lifelike results, you may need to reduce the distance to the source compared to using uni-directional mics in order not to get too much reverberations though. Ideally, what you hear is what you get. If you have control over your recording position, i'd always go the omni way.

- I'm not familiar with all these mics, but if you can find a decent mono mic, the following rule applies: Mono x2 = Stereo

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