Best ROOM mic recommendations please

Billbill

Billbill

Power User
Ok here’s the deal, I have two cabs L+R and sent stereo from AxeFx. I only have 1 SM57 mic but I want to capture the rig sound as I hear it in the room. I recorded some samples about 10ft away at loud volume with my iPhone and was blown away by how good the rig tone translated…so I’m now thinking ah ha!!… ROOM MIC!
So what is a top notch room mic??? I don’t record direct from axe via usb because just not a fan.
 
Rick said:
Agree, it’s a standard. It doesn’t hurt to try other LDCs if you can, but for a flat recommendation, the Neumann U87Ai is the one.
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Rick,
For guys on a budget, is there a more cost-effective Neumann available? Perhaps a more recent model with similar frequency response and warmth, but not the hefty price tag?
 
bleujazz3 said:
Rick,
For guys on a budget, is there a more cost-effective Neumann available? Perhaps a more recent model with similar frequency response and warmth, but not the hefty price tag?
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Warm Audio makes a clone. How good it is.....that, I can't tell you. If you can get it with a return policy, it's probably worth trying. There are some comparisons on YT, but...who knows?

The studio where I interned used C414s in F8 or Omni most of the time (and they had like 10 or 15 U87s...so it wasn't because of budget considerations). 414s aren't exactly cheap, but they're not U87 expensive.

I've also used small diaphragm pencil mics for room sound before. I honestly don't remember how well it worked. But if you're on a budget, a U87 seems like it would be basically wasted as a room mic unless you didn't need to record anything else at the same time.
 
bleujazz3 said:
Rick,
For guys on a budget, is there a more cost-effective Neumann available? Perhaps a more recent model with similar frequency response and warmth, but not the hefty price tag?
Click to expand...
There are lots of options, as long as you accept they aren’t the top-shelf mic, regardless of advertisements and YouTube videos to the contrary! 😀 The 87, 67, 47 etc have built their reputation in the hands of those who have the best ears in the business, so discounting them due to some online influencer’s blurb is just foolish. So keeping expectations reasonable is key.

However, as the OP is asking for suggestions, I dare say he isn’t familiar with the crazy wide range of mics out there or which sound best. If you aren’t trying to match the Neumann sound in your head, I dare say you could try any decent large condenser and be impressed with the result! Rode makes a lot of great mics at reasonable cost. Their NT1A kit runs about $300 and includes a suspension mount, pop screen, and cable. And it sounds good! Rode’s K series are excellent, especially the tube one, on vocals. I’ve seen them for $500 used.

As @marsonic notes, the AKG 414 is a super all-around mic. Up close, overhead, vocals, instruments, the mic does a decent job everywhere. They are in the $750 range used, about $1200 new. Neumann also has the TLM series in this range, and it shows up in project studios everywhere .

Sweetwater has a mic comparison that has two vocalists (male and female) through 50 different large condenser mics. You can even download the files if you want to hear them on quality speakers (I did). It’s a great way to compare each mic on the same source material. The price ranges are wide and there’s no limit on how much you listen and compare. A super resource!

https://www.sweetwater.com/feature/vocal-mic-shootout/
 
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Rick said:
However, as the OP is asking for suggestions, I dare say he isn’t familiar with the crazy wide range of mics out there or which sound best. If you aren’t trying to match the Neumann sound in your head, I dare say you could try any decent large condenser and be impressed with the result!
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Yeah, that.

I'm absolutely not saying U87s are bad or overrated or anything like that, but....

There is a part of me that honestly wonders if some of the standard mic choices are only standard because everyone says they're the standard.

There are so many microphones out there...it's way beyond ridiculous to try to test even a small percentage of them on some random source. When time is money, you pick one that you think will work and maybe change it if you don't get a sound quick enough. The reason we had like 10-15 U87s is because they were the default choice for any vocal and a handful of other things. It wasn't uncommon for the engineer to have absolutely no idea what session they were working on and still telling the interns to set up a U87 in each vocal booth and a couple on boom stands in the big room before even finding out what genre or how many people were coming to the session.

Now...they have earned that reputation. So has the 414, SM7, the telefunken pencils, 421s, and a handful of other mics. But, I almost think it's because people get overwhelmed by the choices and decide that when budget allows, they'll just get what everyone else uses because they can't all be wrong.

There are a lot of things like that. If you have the time and there's a store close that will let you....maybe go try some out. Or just buy a stereo pair of basically any not-crap condensers if it's your first set of nice mics. You'll use them for something.
 
marsonic said:
Yeah, that.

I'm absolutely not saying U87s are bad or overrated or anything like that, but....

There is a part of me that honestly wonders if some of the standard mic choices are only standard because everyone says they're the standard.

There are so many microphones out there...it's way beyond ridiculous to try to test even a small percentage of them on some random source. When time is money, you pick one that you think will work and maybe change it if you don't get a sound quick enough. The reason we had like 10-15 U87s is because they were the default choice for any vocal and a handful of other things. It wasn't uncommon for the engineer to have absolutely no idea what session they were working on and still telling the interns to set up a U87 in each vocal booth and a couple on boom stands in the big room before even finding out what genre or how many people were coming to the session.

Now...they have earned that reputation. So has the 414, SM7, the telefunken pencils, 421s, and a handful of other mics. But, I almost think it's because people get overwhelmed by the choices and decide that when budget allows, they'll just get what everyone else uses because they can't all be wrong.

There are a lot of things like that. If you have the time and there's a store close that will let you....maybe go try some out. Or just buy a stereo pair of basically any not-crap condensers if it's your first set of nice mics. You'll use them for something.
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Great points. Yes, getting the mics you can afford and making music with them beats sitting and dreaming about that “ultimate” mic.

One mic I’ve really come to love, and I just have to mention it here is the Bock Audio iFet. I won’t go into the long description, as it isn’t available new any longer, but if I only kept one mic, that would be the one. Check one out if you ever get the chance.
 
You could get the budget model - TLM102 - Not a bad little mic.... I have 6 or so of them around a kit and they perform quite well.

Thansk
Pauly
 
I love the Neumann u89. It has the curve like I used to do with eq to make a u87 sit properly in a mix.

The Inari Audio Pro 4060 looks very intriguing as a room mic. It looks like a real contender for the Neumann binaural head at a much lower cost.
 
I have been testing a Inari Audio PRO 4060 that they customized for aggressive SPL applications after I explained how I wanted to use it.

The folks at Inari Audio were great., though I think they folded up shop for some reason. Their Website seems to have a Wix landing page now.

The results of the mic are amazing. I would put it up against the Neuman head any day of the week.

Coming soon to a DynaCab pack near you.
 
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