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Quoting "L.Angulo" <labaloops@yahoo.com>:My latest purchase was a pair of XML4000 microphones:
if you were right now to choose the affordable mics you must have to record voice,drums and instruments which ones would you pick?
cheers
Luis
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/MXL-4000-MultiPattern-FET-Studio-Condenser-Mic?sku=270624
What attracted me to this mic is the choice of patterns. I am using them to mic an ensemble and I prefer m/s miking for this application. Thus, I needed an affordable mic with a figure-8 pattern.
Some of the reviews describe this mic as a "vanilla-sounding" large diaphram mic. For my purpose, "vanilla" is fine -- I want an accurate sound. This mic is very good for vocal sounds -- men's voices sound quite full and woman's voices have a nice "silvery" quality without sacrificing diction. The base response (clear down to pitches in the 32' range) is fantastic.
I really like m/s miking technique. You don't need fancy equipment to do it, either. You simply co-locate the mikes (that is, you want the microphones as close together as possible -- literally only an inch apart). One mike is set to a cardroid pattern and the other is set to a figure-eight pattern. The cardroid mic is aimed straight ahead (center) and the figure eight is aimed to the left 90 degrees (that is, the front of the figure-8 mic covers the left, the back covers the right).
You then split your figure-8 signal and invert one of the sides. Pan the in-phase side hard-left and the inverted side hard-right. (Thus, you use three channel strips for this). To do this one needs a microphone splitter cable and a inverter barrel:
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Pro-Co-Y-Mic-Cable-Female-XLR2-Male-XLR?sku=330539
and
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/VTG-Phase-Reverse-Barrel?sku=330264
The Center mic is a mono signal and as you bring up the figure-8 mic's level, you get an increasing amount of stereo. I won't get into the math involved however the stereo imagery is amazing. The other advantage of m/s is that you don't get stereo comb-filter effects that can happen with seperated microphones.
I can't claim hands-on experience with lots of mics -- however the choice of mics -- large and small diaphram condensers, dynamic, and even a ribbon mic -- in the $200 to $600 range is amazing.
Among such mics, the XML4000 emerged as a great all-around mic that features selectable patterns. And at only $200 each, not a bad deal.
-- Kevin