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From: rzdz@fluke.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: Re: re: West of Oz CD
Message-ID: <413@tpvax.fluke.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 11-Oct-84 12:00:35 EDT
Article-I.D.: tpvax.413
Posted: Thu Oct 11 12:00:35 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 13-Oct-84 07:34:13 EDT
References: <3872@decwrl.UUCP>
Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Everett, WA
Lines: 38

> 	 I hooked the PCM710 up to my video recorder and made some live
> 	 recordings of my wife's Steinway piano and my son's 12 string
> 	 guitar, using a pair of AGC C451 cardiod condenser microphones.
> 	 The result:  the piano sounded much like CD piano recordings, not
> 	 too bad.  The guitar suffered from moderately severe "digitalis".
> 	 Do I need new microphones?

I think that you ought to try some different microphones. The C451's have
a tipped response curve (check the curve that AKG includes with them). Their
response is very *level*, but there is perhaps a 4 dB rise between 20 and
20khz. You can hear it in them, as they tend to sound *very* bright. They're
*very* good microphones, they just sound bigger (brighter?) than life.

As a recording engineer, I like to use the 451 for acoustic guitar, and on
mushy piano's (not your Steinway, I hope). The brightness helps emphasis the
attack of the guitar, and gives the piano a brightness that is hard to obtain
with an equalizer.

On the negative side, this excess brightness might be part of what you call
"digitalis". I suggest that you try a pair of the new B&K recording
microphones (4004, 4006 i think) or the Neumann KM84 or KM83. The 84 is
quite flat, and doesn't have the tipped response that the 451 does. They
have a very neutral sound, sometimes almost warm. The 83 (omni) has an
on-axis rise in its response. You can play with its positioning to use this
rise to advantage, or run the mic at 90 degrees incidence to make it flat.

Rick Chinn
John Fluke Mfg. Co MS 232E
PO Box C9090 Everett WA 98206

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