TromboneChat

I’m just looking for a solid mic that would be good for recording auditions and such for like all state. Thanks!

A Shure SM-57 is a great mic if you have all the other components of your recording setup.

If you need everything, consider the Zoom H2.

What sort of music are you wanting to record?

I second the Zoom if you just want an easy way in. I’m a bit sceptical about the SM-57, I find it pretty edgy and ugly sounding on trombone.

If you wanted the next step up from the Zoom you will need
an interface between the mic and your computer, the single channel Audient is great, then you have access to these;

Cheap Chinese ribbon microphones can be fantastic; Apex 210

For jazz or pop, especially if your room is a bit noisy or not great sounding a dynamic mic can be good; Shure SM7b, Sennheiser 421

Generally in studios a condenser is the norm though; Rode NT1, Audio Technica 2020

These are all cheap/mid level options that work well.
I have a sennheiser 441 and the AEA N8, these cost more but cover most trombone bases well I think

Mic placement and your room is probably more important than what mic you end up with. If the room you have is good, go for an omni-pattern condenser of some sort, rather than a vocal mic. The Line Audio OM1 is pretty good value for your money.

If your room is terrible, you'll get a better audition if you invest in a few acoustic panels, a cardiod pattern condenser, and a decent reverb plugin.

Alright, thank you guys for the input. My room's sound isn't great, so I think I'll get some acoustic panels first and then go for a mic. I'm mostly looking to record bass trombone for my auditions.

A good Friend of mine, Dr.David Begnoche at TCU, compiled a nice list of home recording gear which I have attached.

Shure beta 57a sounds better than the regular 57 and has a hotter output, and is more directional. They sound great on trombone. They were new on eBay about 2 weeks ago for $69. Normally they are around $140

The OP says he's an amateur, not a recording technician. He's not looking for un-needed complications.

I'm wondering what is the advantage of a mic that requires a further digital-to-analog converter box to get it into the computer as opposed to a mic that converts at the mic and sends it to USB.

The chips that do the conversion are the same either way. USB data bandwidth isn't a limiting factor (and a digital-to-analog box will connect by USB anyway).

Numerous high-quality USB-connecting mics are available today, in every pick-up pattern and diaphragm and bit-width a home recording artist could ask for.

Usually the problem with usb mics is noise. Mics and usb cables will often skimp on shielding and depending on a variety of factors usb power is rarely clean. Also, depending on the level of interface, DAC quality will vary.

Chris Bassett has a great video about to record decent audio with you phone. Depending on the quality and your needs you can get away with a lot.

Mic placement with matter a lot and so will the space. If you are looking for cheap option or easy diy options Shure has great options that work great with iPhone and the physical connection is not that noisy.

I’m also in the progress of recording auditions and can sympathize, yes you can get a really solid sound out of usb mic and yes a dedicated DAC, mic and setup with also help, but if you have no clue what you’re doing it can really mess stuff up (ask my studio mate who recorded his entire audio in mono, tried to fix it in post and ended up knocking it out of phase).

If all else fails and you have the cash to buy sound panels, a new mic and all that laying around, you could always look into local recording options depending on the timeframe and your location

BigBadandBass wrote: ↑Sat Dec 17, 2022 8:05 pm I’m also in the progress of recording auditions and can sympathize, yes you can get a really solid sound out of usb mic and yes a dedicated DAC, mic and setup with also help, but if you have no clue what you’re doing it can really mess stuff up (ask my studio mate who recorded his entire audio in mono, tried to fix it in post and ended up knocking it out of phase).

If you're recording yourself for an audition, why does it matter if it's in mono or stereo? It's not like you'll need to pan anything.

The stereo option could sound better if the recording space is good.

Someone listening to an audition tape doesn't care about how "good" it sounds. They care about how you play, and that comes across regardless.

The old "lipstick on a pig" comes to mind.

JLivi wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 12:18 pm

If you're recording yourself for an audition, why does it matter if it's in mono or stereo? It's not like you'll need to pan anything.
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Forgive me! I misspoke, it was only in one channel and he didn’t know how to make it mono. He borrowed a friends dual channel dac, plugged it into channel one and everything was in the left ear.

Doubling audio (ripping or copying the mono to the other channel) can also cause something called “phasing” and essentially thins out all low frequencies and makes for a unnaturally thin sound and if it’s not a particularly good sample can just make it sound like you have an airy sound.

Doug is also right, great audio but crappy playing is still crappy playing. If you play well, it’ll come across any recording, hence why records from the 30-40s still sound “good”. There’s a big difference in the way we record things now and technology, lest we forget the days where editing audio was splicing physical media together and apart.

Harrison also has a great point, if you find a nice space, the steep sound especially with the right mic pattern, like an X-Y mic pattern (from a cardioid mic) can add to room sound. That’s why there is a big difference between the studio sound (generally close mic) and a “natural sound”

For OP, you’ll probably be just fine with something that’s usb and or on the lower end. Probably not like $20-30, but the microphone range from $75-150 is a good place and has great usb options. You couldn’t go wrong with something from Shure, Audio-technica or Rode. Shure has their MOTIV series which is compatible with iPhones through the lighting port and makes recording and syncing your audio a breeze and the higher ends of that spectrum are also USB C compatible, but also if done right, a quick and dirty iPhone recording will suffice. If the school your applying to assumes you have the money for a professional recording, that may not be the place to be

BigBadandBass wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 3:55 pm
Doubling audio (ripping or copying the mono to the other channel) can also cause something called “phasing” and essentially thins out all low frequencies and makes for a unnaturally thin sound and if it’s not a particularly good sample can just make it sound like you have an airy sound.

This isn't quite right. Your friend for example, who had only the left channel as mono in one ear -- putting that on a mono track (rather than a stereo track with only the left channel) in your DAW and exporting to stereo would double up the mono signal, but it would be in phase. The audio wave peaks and valleys would line up and there would be no phase cancellation or comb filtering.

If your audio signals are delayed from one another, like if you use spaced microphones and the audio is hitting at different times, then you can have comb filtering, because very similar signals would be offset. An audio engineer will have multi mic setups carefully measured, and still go in and nudge channels to minimize this effect.

If you pan your signals for the two mics hard left and hard right, and don't try to mix down to mono, there will be no phase cancellation. If you have more than two mics, there will be phase cancellation, and you just have to do your best to minimize it.

Harrison also has a great point, if you find a nice space, the steep sound especially with the right mic pattern, like an X-Y mic pattern (from a cardioid mic) can add to room sound. That’s why there is a big difference between the studio sound (generally close mic) and a “natural sound”

The most natural sound you can get is to use two omnis, spaced about 7" apart like a human head. Neumann makes a mic like this. It sounds basically exactly like what you would hear if you were sitting wherever the mic is placed. I don't think many engineers use it because it doesn't sound as good as omnis spaced using a distance calculated for the ensemble.

Here is a recording done with two omnis, placed about a meter apart in the middle of a church. Very different from the spot mic / array / room mic setup that BIS is famous for. I'd recommend this kind of setup for an audition, rather than a crappy mic directly in front of your bell in a crappy room.

meliant wrote: ↑Sun Sep 25, 2022 9:03 pm Alright, thank you guys for the input. My room's sound isn't great, so I think I'll get some acoustic panels first and then go for a mic. I'm mostly looking to record bass trombone for my auditions.

How are you going to assess the success of your acoustic panels if you don't have a mic?