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QUESTION ABOUT VOCAL MIC PLACEMENT


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Hello. I just bought an AKG C-2000 studio condenser mic. It's a budget mic, but a recent review on Electronic Musician said great things about it, expecially because of the price compared to performance: it is a small diaphragm behaving like a large diaphragm due to a new capsule design, and it has an highpass filter too, around 6 db at 500 hz.

 

My problem is this: the mic has a cylindrical shape, and besides the obvious two sides it also has a flat top that is a pickup surface, too. So we have three pickup surfaces.

If I place the mic with one of the sides facing the singer, and the top facing either upwards or downwards, it sounds horribly bassy and muffled, even with the highpass filter engaged; but if I cover with my hand the other side, though, the sound comes out as good as I want it.

 

But obviously I can't stay with my hand covering the other side, while singing on this side of the cylinder body.

If I sing facing the top side, like you'do with an SM-57, it sounds okay, but not the same as from the sides. What do I have to do at this point? I hope I explained myself graphically enough.

Max.

Max Ventura, Italy.
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I'm nearly positive that mic is a side address mic - you sing into the AKG logo side.

 

On any mic like this, you can usually see the round capsules inside the grill - you typically will put your sound source in front of the capsule, not off to the side - like facing a quarter, not the edge of the quarter.

 

The top of the mic is a grill and probably was designed to affect the pickup pattern and not as an "input" - just like the "back" non-logo side grill.

 

The response should be fairly flat on axis - as long as you don't eat it and get a proximity effect bass boost from the nature of the cardiod pattern.

 

Maybe you are singing too close to the mic? Try backing off to about 6in or 1ft.

Steve Powell - Bull Moon Digital

www.bullmoondigital.com

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Thanx Steve and Jeremy:

in fact, I noticed I had the mic reversed to the back, and I'll try singing to the AKG logo instead.

As far as muffling the back of it..I'm not crazy about that, I mean, once I build a proper vocal booth I'll do it, but now it's in the middle of the room so...

Max Ventura, Italy.
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Originally posted by argomax:

Steve,

you were totally right. I got to face the AKG logo, and it sounds fantastic. The other side is the back. The manual won't mention this, though....

 

I hear ya Argomax, I just got a couple Rode NT3's and couldn't figure out what the gold dot on side of mic was for. Duh, sweet spot on condensor, Duh. Guess that's what happens when you put a condensor mic in the hands of a guitar player http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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