Recording - May 2018 - 4
FadeIn
Many instruments, many mics,
many solutions
The picture at right shows four of the mics Paul
Vnuk has been working with in preparation for
this issue on instrument miking. Clockwise from the
top, you're looking at the Z-MOD Z-12, the T-FET
Vienna 12-T, the TC-12, and the C-LOL-12/
HA-TLII, all from ADK (and its sister company
3 Zigma Audio). This review, on page 14, is an
interesting read, because this is the first time all of
ADK's various takes on a single classic mic flavor
(in this case, the AKG C 12) have been compared head-to-head in multiple applications
to determine which mic is best suited for which use.
Editing Paul's review got me thinking about the expectations we put on the mics that
we use. If you've spent any amount of time around mics, certain names and terms will
elicit certain reactions, based on everything from hard evidence to gossip...
Shure SM57? Best snare mic ever... oh, and you can dunk it in beer and it
won't stop working.
Royer R-121? Ribbon mic with little ears, sounds killer on guitar amp and won't
blow up if you hit it too hard.
Electro-Voice RE20? That's that weird dynamic mic that has, like, no proximity
effect, so it works on almost anything.
beyerdynamic M 500? Way cool directional ribbon-man, I wish they still
made them (they don't, but check out the new TG V90 on page 24).
Neumann U 87? Where do we start... a classic that's spawned a thousand
imitators, still going strong at age 50 (see page 44).
One of the great things about relatively new mic companies-like LEWITT
(page 12), Soyuz (page 34), and Vanguard Audio Labs (page 38)-is that they
don't (yet) carry the weight of expectation on their shoulders; it's easier to judge
their mics on their merits rather than on "what they're supposed to sound like."
Problems arise when a maker like ADK takes inspiration from the old classics
and builds something genuinely new... but people ignore the "inspired by" and
assume that if it's not exactly like the old stuff, it can't possibly be as good.
Being so devoted to old tech that you can't recognize great new innovations is
a problem for everyone, maker and user alike. Neumann's U 87 is a brilliant mic
even now, and people have enjoyed the reissue of the authentic U 47 fet... but
how many people are taking the time and effort to discover what an utterly amazing
mic the much newer TLM 107 is? And we could say the same of the Lauten Eden,
and the Roswell Mini K47, and the Audio-Technica AT4081, and the AEA Nuvo
N22, and the RØDE NT1, and the Audix D6, and the Earthworks SV33, and the
Mojave MA-1000, and the DPA 4099, and the Aston Starlight, and....
There's room in our mic lockers for old classics, and for new and different approaches.
If there are X kinds of mics in the world, and Y kinds of instruments, then there are
way more than X-times-Y ways to mic instruments. Learn the techniques, and find the tools
that work for you and serve the song-old or new, vintage or revolutionary. Ultimately, if
the song turns out great, you used the right mic to record it... and thank goodness there
are a whole lot of right mics out there.
Enjoy the issue.
4
RECORDING May 2018
publisher:
Thomas Hawley
Brent Heintz
associate publisher:
EDITORIAL
Mike Metlay
special projects editor: Lorenz Rychner
technical editor: Paul Vnuk Jr.
editor at large: Beto Hale
copy editor: Diana Smethurst
músico pro editor: Fernando Curiel
editor:
CONTRIBUTORS
Paul Vnuk Jr., Scott Dorsey,
Bill Stunt, Paul J. Stamler, Darwin Grosse,
Mike Rivers, Marty Peters
SOCIAL MEDIA
Brent Heintz, Paul Vnuk Jr.
ART & PRODUCTION
Joseph Hawley
production manager: Colin Courtney
web goalie: Colin Courtney
creative director:
PLAYBACK PLATINUM SERIES
Lorenz Rychner
editor/producer:
CIRCULATION
Tiffany Sepe
circulation manager:
ADVERTISING SALES AND MARKETING
director: Brent Heintz
classifieds manager: Colin Courtney
ADMINISTRATION
Thomas Hawley
accounts receivable:
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Thomas Hawley
vice president: Brent Heintz
president:
SUBSCRIPTIONS/ADDRESS CHANGES:
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ADVERTISING/CLASSIFIEDS/MAIN OFFICE:
(303) 516-9118
RECORDING MAGAZINE
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - May 2018
Contents
Recording - May 2018 - Intro
Recording - May 2018 - Cover1
Recording - May 2018 - Cover2
Recording - May 2018 - 1
Recording - May 2018 - 2
Recording - May 2018 - 3
Recording - May 2018 - 4
Recording - May 2018 - 5
Recording - May 2018 - Contents
Recording - May 2018 - 7
Recording - May 2018 - 8
Recording - May 2018 - 9
Recording - May 2018 - 10
Recording - May 2018 - 11
Recording - May 2018 - 12
Recording - May 2018 - 13
Recording - May 2018 - 14
Recording - May 2018 - 15
Recording - May 2018 - 16
Recording - May 2018 - 17
Recording - May 2018 - 18
Recording - May 2018 - 19
Recording - May 2018 - 20
Recording - May 2018 - 21
Recording - May 2018 - 22
Recording - May 2018 - 23
Recording - May 2018 - 24
Recording - May 2018 - 25
Recording - May 2018 - 26
Recording - May 2018 - 27
Recording - May 2018 - 28
Recording - May 2018 - 29
Recording - May 2018 - 30
Recording - May 2018 - 31
Recording - May 2018 - 32
Recording - May 2018 - 33
Recording - May 2018 - 34
Recording - May 2018 - 35
Recording - May 2018 - 36
Recording - May 2018 - 37
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Recording - May 2018 - Cover3
Recording - May 2018 - Cover4
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