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Post by johneppstein on Feb 16, 2017 14:38:35 GMT -6
I've loved 201s ever since I was introduced to them working for FM Productions in the late '70s. They're just like SM57s except that they actually sound REALLY GOOD.... Only have 2 right now, wouldn't mind a couple more... There is no 57 that actually sounds 'good'. Some people reference old UNIDYNE 3s and 4s, but they don't sound good... they only sound 'less awful'. LOL Yes, that was my (somewhat ironically expressed) point. The 57 is "the mic you can use on anything with equal 'success'"....... The 201 is the (inexpensive dynamic) mic you can use on anything and it sounds good. Actually, I do have a "lavalier version" 545L that makes a pretty damn good harp mic in a Paul Butterfield sort of way, but that's about it.
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Post by johneppstein on Feb 16, 2017 14:50:08 GMT -6
There is no 57 that actually sounds 'good'. Some people reference old UNIDYNE 3s and 4s, but they don't sound good... they only sound 'less awful'. LOL I have an older mexican 57 that sounds decent on heavy guitars only. I have always found others that work better on snare and just about everything else. I have some older unidynes, and those are even more lo-fi than the mexi57. They work Ok on chimey Fender amps and guitars with light strings since they tend to muffle the higher fizz more. But I'm with you that they aren't my first choice on much of anything anymore, but I will still use them if I needed another mic something else and they were the only things left. Thje unit to unit variation on 57s and 58s is a serious issue. One of my "lightbulb moments" was when I saw the pen plots that FM had had done on a bunch of Shures - no two had anywhere near the saqme response in the presence range although a conformed more ore less to the printed average curve in the sales lit. The peak is where they say it is and it averages about like the chart, but MAN, the ragged peaks and dips within that range on the real plots that get all averaged out in the sales lit!
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Post by johneppstein on Feb 16, 2017 15:11:35 GMT -6
I've loved 201s ever since I was introduced to them working for FM Productions in the late '70s. They're just like SM57s except that they actually sound REALLY GOOD.... Only have 2 right now, wouldn't mind a couple more... I bought a M201 years and years ago. I thought I liked it, but ended up scooping out the mid-honk on all kinds of stuff I used it on. Along came the I5 and I sold the M201 for a profit.. To me, the I5, Beta57 and the M80 are all very similar in tone to the M201 on a lot of sources. Even then, I would think about selling the M80. it's a nice mic but it's another that doesn't quite live up to the hype. BETA 57? ?? I HATE Beta 57s - they sound even wortse than regular 57s. Hate Beta 58s, too - one of the reasons I bought the M88 was that a lot of clubs (those that actually buy new mics, which many joints in SF do not) were going over to Betas and I can't stand the harshness and sibilance.
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Post by schmalzy on Feb 17, 2017 3:29:39 GMT -6
So then, guys who I very sincerely and not sarcastically (truthfully, there's no way for me to say this in a non-sarcastic sounding way, I'm being 100% genuine) believe are light years ahead of me in the world of recording/mixing: What are you guys using on snare drums and guitar amps?
I've always used 57s and beta57s on snares because I've never had an i5 in front of me and the rest of my mics are - while not expensive (budget is restrictive for a fresh guy in a small, low-budget market like myself) pretty precious to me. When I was playing drums and could trust myself not to destroy my own microphones, I stuck a Heil PR40 and an SM7B on snare drums (on separate occasions) and I dug what they gave me in some ways. I reach for one or both of those on guitar amps about as often as I reach for a 57 on a guitar amp. I'm never convinced I know what the hell I'm doing so having an "old standard that SHOULD sound good" like a 57 is a nice little safety net of "I can't screw it up too bad by using this classic mic and position."
Are you all sticking the M201 in those applications?
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Post by wiz on Feb 17, 2017 3:40:48 GMT -6
201 on snare
Rode NTR on amps
Cheers
Wiz
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 8:31:06 GMT -6
trying a decent mic - damn, there's a road to poverty .....
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Post by Guitar on Feb 17, 2017 8:52:22 GMT -6
I'm not too precious about snare mics. I get most of my sound from the overheads and room mics. Any of these have worked for me: i5, SM57, TAB T58 mod SM57, EV N/D468, KSM141, PRO37, e604 etc. Right now I am using the e604 because it is a clip on mic, and sounds almost identical to an SM57. Saves me from having to set up another big mic stand. Space is at a premium here. The TAB SM57 might be my favorite that I have used.
Guitar amp is a long story. SM57 is foolproof for distortion sounds if you don't have any other techniques worked out. It's just a classic sound. You could also blend it with an MD421, M201, Royer R121 or something similar like a cheaper ribbon mic.
Clean amps are different, it seems like almost any number of things will more or less work. Like a KM184 for example, nice sparkle. Maybe the SM57 is even a little honky in comparison on a clean tone.
Lately my favorite trip has been using ribbon mics at a distance, blended with other mics, to get the whole sound, and get more ambience. Think "Brown Sugar."
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Post by jcoutu1 on Feb 17, 2017 9:20:50 GMT -6
So then, guys who I very sincerely and not sarcastically (truthfully, there's no way for me to say this in a non-sarcastic sounding way, I'm being 100% genuine) believe are light years ahead of me in the world of recording/mixing: What are you guys using on snare drums and guitar amps? I've always used 57s and beta57s on snares because I've never had an i5 in front of me and the rest of my mics are - while not expensive (budget is restrictive for a fresh guy in a small, low-budget market like myself) pretty precious to me. When I was playing drums and could trust myself not to destroy my own microphones, I stuck a Heil PR40 and an SM7B on snare drums (on separate occasions) and I dug what they gave me in some ways. I reach for one or both of those on guitar amps about as often as I reach for a 57 on a guitar amp. I'm never convinced I know what the hell I'm doing so having an "old standard that SHOULD sound good" like a 57 is a nice little safety net of "I can't screw it up too bad by using this classic mic and position." Are you all sticking the M201 in those applications? I prefer 57's to all other dynamics that I've tried on guitars. i5's, 421's, 609's, Blue Balls, some shitty CAD mics, etc. Currently all the guitar tracking I'm doing is with a blend of a 57 and a Samar ribbon to add a little extra meat. When mixing live, I almost always stick 57's on guitar amps and 609's on harp amps.
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