Some say that microphones are like colours on a palette and that our ears are the canvas. They spill audio on the proverbial pages in our sensory mind and the colours mingle into something unique.
But alas, despite this garish metaphor, they are often the most overlooked tone shaping components in the signal chain and my professional worth his salt knows that the selection and placement of a microphone is an art form in itself and the first line in tonal achievement. Just a slight move of a fraction of a centimeter can transform a sound completely, which is why it is crucial to know your microphones intimately and to have foresight of the end result. This can only come from experience.
Professionals in the audio field, particularly those involved in recording and live sound reinforcement, spend their careers in search of better and better microphones to suit their needs.
Some microphones are magical. They sound great no matter where you put them and the esoterica as to why is almost as nebulous as the meaning of life itself. When a specimen like that is found, you’ll be hard pressed to pry it out of dead hands. For this reason, most experienced audio professionals will have amassed a large collection, or at least a large list of ‘go-to’ microphones, that they can’t work without. These require minimal processing to get the job done, and will deliver the goods.
Here in South Africa we have many professionals of this caliber. We have some of the best audio engineers in the world, if you ask me – just ask who Eddie Kramer or Mutt Lange is – and they are just as discerning. I had the opportunity to interview six of the best about their choice of microphones and the results were interesting to say the least.
Gavan Eckhart
Gavan Eckhart is a freelance sound engineer based in Johannesburg. A chameleon of the industry, he works in virtually all disciplines of the audio field, notable by the wide variety of his client list – Miriam Makeba, Stimela, Philip Miller, William Kentridge, Marcus Wyatt, Freshlyground, 340ml, Afronaut and Ladysmith Black Mambazo among many more.
- Neumann M269 Valve – Vocals
“I really love standards like Neumann mics. I own a vintage M269 valve mic and it really sounds good, when it finally works, because it takes a while to warm up. But this is always an issue with vintage mics that require a lot of maintenance.” - Neumann TLM103 – Vocals / general purpose
“The TLM103 has a clean transistor sound that I like for spoken word and for certain vocalists that belt quite a lot. It has a sound similar to the U87 but not as well-rounded and sometimes requires a little more ‘massaging’ into place.” - Schoeps CMT 55 – Percussion and piano stereo pair
“During the recording of the score of White Lion, we tried using a couple of PZM microphones for the piano, but they didn’t work as expected so we ended up going with a stereo pair of vintage Shoeps CMT5s. I like to use them on percussion as well because they have a really clean transient sound with a fair bass response.” - DPA – 4099 Stereo pair
“The DPA 4099s, to me, are revolutionary microphones. They are really astounding in their open-ness and clarity and I find myself using them extensively in theatre, studio and live recordings. They are just so natural and open and require very little EQ to get the sound you’re after. When you’ve got a situation where you have an open lid piano, you can really get them right up to the strings without getting that focus-central tonality from one string.”
Garrick van der Tuin
Garrick van der Tuin is a drummer, producer and sound engineer. He has been working with Hugh Masekela for the past five years. When they are not touring the world they are recording and developing Masekela’s new studio and record label, House of Masekela. Garrick is also the drummer for art-rock band Albinobeach and co-producer of African lounge groups Afronaut, Mpemba Effect and the latest offering Africa Lounge Collective on the African Cream Music record label.
- Kick – Audix D6
“There are many kick drums out there and as many kick drum mics. At this point my first choice for a kick drum mic for live shows is the Audix D6. It’s actually quite a funny sounding mic on its own. It’s one of those mics that works well in the mix but on it’s own you really start to question where the rest of the kick drum is. It’s obviously pre-EQed by a less deaf guy than the Shure Beta 52, that’s for sure, but it just works because it has a good attack and nice solid bottom end without the massive, booming bottoms of the Beta 52.” - AKG C414B ULS (pair) – Overheads, percussion
“On our rider I spec a stereo pair of AKG c414 ULSs as a first choice for overheads. They are beautiful sounding overhead mics that I often use in a figure of eight in indoor shows. They have no shelf in the top end and they are great for cymbals. They are very versatile in their polar patterns and I often use them for most overhead duties, such as overheads for percussion.” - Bruel & Kjaer 4011 – Guitars
“If I had it my way I would stick with the B&K 4011 for guitar because it’s just so flat and true. With the amount of different guitar amps you can get from gig to gig, I just want to hear what’s really happening; what tells the story of the guitar player, and the B&K gives me that.” - Shure KSM9 Capsule 22:00/24:37 – Lead vocal
“Hugh has a very particular voice; in fact you could say that he has two voices. There are subtle distortions in there – a high distortion and a low distortion – that can excite a lot of mics, so I would say my first choice is the Shure KSM9 cardioid capsule. It’s dry but it’s present and almost sounds like it’s going through tubes somewhere. It’s got a grainy, dirty texture at the top end and if you’ve got a screechy voice, it handles it well. I find myself using a lot less EQ with this mic on Hugh’s vocals.”
Marius Marais
Marius Marais is an experienced Johannesburg-based sound engineer and owner of Audio Logic. He has been working in the professional audio industry since 1991, despite having qualifying as an aircraft instruments technician in the SA Air force. He has his roots in, but not limited to, the arena of professional theatre. Marius has also worked with such high profile musical acts as Dione Warwick, Elaine Page and Johnny Clegg and his corporate client list includes the SAMAs, SA Idols, Discovery Health and Microsoft.
- AKG CK91 w/451 Preamp / AKG P170 – Woodwinds
“All microphone selection is application orientated. The old CK91 capsule on the 451 preamp is brilliant on woodwinds, but they don’t make them any more so if I can’t get that I use the AKG P170, which for me, is just as good. There is always an application for the P170.” - Audio Technica – ATM350 – General purpose
“I am a big fan of the Audio Technica ATM350. It works on percussion, drums, brass; whatever you slap it on, it will work. If you stick it inside a harp you get the most brilliant low end. I own 56 of them now, which I use mainly for strings because it’s got the Velcro fastener and it can handle close proximity micing without getting strident. It’s a good sounding, general use microphone.” - AKG D40 – Snare, floor tom 17:45
“I stumbled upon the AKG D40 by accident. I wouldn’t call it a cheap mic although cost-wise it’s its not very expensive. I like to get the darkness out of a snare instead of it just cutting into the mix; I like it fat and full and the D40 gives me that. It’s got a rubber clip that clips onto the rim, so it eliminates the stand issue. It also works great on a floor tom.” - Shure 181 – Strings
“The Shure 181 is a mic Shure just launched. It has interchangeable capsules that you can change to a cardioid, hyper-cardioid, and omni, by just changing the capsule. They are outstanding.”
Trevor Peters
Trevor began his career as a musician before joining 8th Avenue Sound in 1992 where he learnt the sound trade. In 1998 he opened Matrix Corporate & Theatre Sound, a company which to this day specialises in supplying sound equipment and expertise. Trevor has designed sound for theatre musicals and corporate events across the African continent, in the USA, the West End and Australia. He has won a Naledi Theatre Award for sound design.
- DPA 4065 – Speech
“Generally we use the Countryman E6 for speech but when we need more gain; my mic of choice is the DPA 4065. I don’t like the 4066 because it goes under the ear; I like the 4065 over the ear. I get a lot more gain out of that. DPAs are also quite hardy so when guys bump and knock them they don’t break as quickly as the E6.” - Sennheiser MKE2 / Gold – Traditional theatre
“Traditional theater, where you don’t actually want to see a headset stuck on the performers’ face, we use the Sennheiser MKE2 or MKE2 Gold, which is another, slightly more sibilant option. It’s an old mic, it’s been around for ages, and it doesn’t sweat out too easily. If it does sweat out you can remove the pop filter and blow it out with compressed air and it’s back to normal again. In traditional theatre that’s the kind of mic I can hide it in a wig, it’s not too noticeable and it gives tons of gain.” - AKG D112 – Kick drum
“When it comes to kick drums I have always been partial to the AKG D112. I like to have a flat sound and then process it how I want to. If it’s a jazz gig, I want it to be a jazz gig; I don’t want to have to get rid of click on the kick drum.” - Crown Boundary Layer – Piano
“I generally use two of them; one on the highs, one on the lows at half stick, sometimes on full stick, but generally on half stick, and they give you a very nice ‘full’ sound, not just a string sound. The Crown works very nicely and it’s a mic that you want to have in your stock. There are of course, many boundary mics available, but I’ve always used the Crown.”
Mark Malherbe
Mark began his career in the professional audio industry back in 1978 and currently holds the position of technical director at Prosound.
He is a well respected sound engineer in the industry and has engineered a number of international and local artists. Some of his crowning achievements include mixing for Mandela’s home coming, Chris Hani’s funeral and the 1994 presidential inauguration, among others.
Mark has also established himself as a leading sound designer for theatre productions and has been awarded Naledi awards. He also designed the original sound system for the Playhouse Theatre in Durban and for a host of casinos, airports and conference facilities.
Along with the rest of Prosound’s system design and engineering team Mark also designed the sound systems for nine of the 10 World Cup 2010 stadiums.
- DPA 4061 – Violin, guitar, piano, voice 6:30
“The DPA 4061 levalier, or the miniature capsule, is my Swiss Army Knife. I’ll put it on a violin. I’ll put it on a guitar. I’ll put it in a piano. Then I’ll put it on a voice. It’s my ‘fix it in the mix’ mic.” - EV RE20 / RE320 – Vocals, kick drum
“I’ve been an EV man through and through! The RE20 has been the staple diet but now’s there’s the RE320, which I use a lot. They’re good sounding, rugged mics.” - EV N/D468 – Vocals
“The EV N/D468 is that funny little ball mic. I use that for a lot of instrumentation. I use it on brass; I use it on the drums. Again, it’s just a, robust, good sounding mic.” - Shure SM57- Snare
“I still use the SM57 on the snare. They’re just a natural, go-to choice.”
Tim Gilles
Tim Gilles has mixed, produced and mastered literally hundreds of records, ranging from self-funded to independent and major label projects in his 30 year career. He founded Big Blue Meenie recording studios in 1988 and has worked with such acts as 36 Crazy Fists, The Misfits, Taking Back Sunday and Thursday.
Outline what compels you to choose a microphone and why?
- EV RE20 or AKG D112 – Kick drum
“The RE20 for a more ‘real’ kick sound without the scooped midrange; the D112 for when you got to hustle and you’re sure you’re going to be ripping the mids later in the process.” - Shure SM57 or Beyerdynamic M201 – Snare
“The SM57 is the “classic” snare sound you’ve heard on a zillion records. The Beyer is a more ‘hi-fi’ version of the same basic sound in some respects.” - Sennheiser MD421 or EV ND408 – Toms
“The MD421 is the SM57 of toms. THE sound you’ve been hearing your whole life. The ND408’s sound like a smaller version of the same thing with a much better footprint for close micing a lot of drums, or tightly clustered drums.” - Schoeps MK4 or MT Gefell M295 – Overheads
“Oh boy. I use these ‘CAUSE I CAN’. They are almost always eminently workable and you pay stupid loot for them so you feel OBLIGATED. HOHOHO. But kinda true as well.” - Shure SM81 or AKG c460 – Ride
“The SM81 will give you a more focused and controllable ride cymbal collection point than anything else I know of. They are EXTREMELY directional, which can be the biggest distinction between success and failure in this particular application. The AKG 460 sounds more like the source, if the ride cymbals physical placement and expected downstream utilisation in mix permits or requires this.” - AKG 451 or MT Gefell M300 – Hi hats
“The 451EB is the classic SDC. Usually sounds quite a bit like the source and doesn’t kill you on the snare bleed if you know how to place it.” - Neumann U47 or U67 – Mono room
“More ‘classic’ room stuff you’ve been hearing your whole life. Easy to EQ and compress after the fact, or on input.” - MT Gefell 930 or AKG 414EB – Stereo rooms
“Stereo rooms could be ANYTHING as far as LDCs go. These two are just the first two that came to my mind for some silly reason. SOME THINGS you’ve got to learn for yourself… and if you’re expecting that to ACTUALLY happen by reading a recording article, you’re delusional.”
Beyerdynamic M160 and AEA R84 – M/S
“Trade secret. Not explaining this.”
- EV RE20 or AKG D12E – Bass
“Once again, a couple of decent choices in LDDs. I can think of about a dozen other mics you could easily use. The transducers in these two are pretty big for dynamic mics. They pick up the bottom octave. Sounds stupidly obvious? There you have it. The RE20 is going to be WAY bigger sounding on the bottom than the D12e UNTIL you start to twist the EQ like a madman. Then… you MIGHT find the shoe is on the other foot… depending on the source.” - Shure SM57 and Sennheiser MD409 – Guitar
“Nothing gets a listener closer to an electric guitar than a Shure SM57. Nothing. Ever. Do you LIKE that sound? Oh I dunno. Nobody’s agreed on what a good guitar sound is since the 1950s. The MD409 is a 57 that ate too much as a kid. It’s also the easiest LDD to place EVER. Just stick it EXACTLY where you NEVER put a SM57: right in the middle of the speaker, pointing directly at the nipple. It may not end up there EXACTLY, when you get done tweaking your mic placements. But it probably won’t be FAR from there.” - MT Gefell UM900 or U67 – Vocals
“Discussing WHY one uses a particular mic on a particular voice is an utter waste of time. I won’t do it. It’s impossible. I mentioned these two because they OFTEN work in a VERY GENERAL sense.
Choosing an ideal vocal mic for any particular singer is why:
- You can’t escape having SOMEBODY spending substantial loot on an extensive mic locker if you’re going to make a LOT of records for a LOT of people. Get over it.
- A big part of what separates the boys from the men in tracking engineers.
- A hilarious exercise in ‘yield futility’ as GREAT SINGERS will basically sound alarmingly like THEMSELVES on just about anything more complicated than a Tandy doorbell transducer.
……Sad irony there.” – Tim Gilles
