Guitar + Vocals with just 1 mic technique I like

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 11:55 am

So I was in a bit of a hurry and needed to get a quick demo of a song I had been working on. So I quickly set up my K2 and hit the record button. The song it self is supposed to be a kind of "ghost story" feel. Think Nick Drake and Iron And Wine kind of stuff. So I spent about 5 minutes looking for a decent mic placement. I came across one I truely found remarkable. I put the mic about 6-12 inches away from my guitar head stock and about 4-8 inches above it. This is where the K2 really comes in handy, because I was able to dial in the perfect polar pattern to accommodate 2 sound sources coming in indirectly. Long story short, try this one out when you get the chance. Its one of my favorites. A friend of mine used to tell me (who was a recording engineer) that when you've got such a nice mic like the K2, its got a really big ego, so give it some space. I take that to heart now.

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:06 am

Interesting!

I am a singing guitarist and I'd like to try this.

Q: What's a K2?

Q: What pattern did you 'dial in"?

Q: I can picture the location of the mic. Where is it pointing?

thanks!

Exsultavit

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:49 am

Well the K2 is a very nice condenser for a great price made by rode. Theres a lot of people on here who would swear by them, including myself. Its tubes, and has a unique feature, which is that instead of just clicking a button to select your pattern, you have a dial, like a tone knob on a guitar, that blends the patterns. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/R0DE-K2-VariablePattern-Tube-Microphone?sku=271594

I can't remember exactly what pattern I was using, somewhere with a little bit of background rejection and omni. That depends more on your room than anything. The mic was facing towards the guitar, but at the end of it. Neither the vocals nor the guitar were directed right at the mic, so you have to use the omni for that.

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 9:23 am

Mckey would you be willing to post a sample of what you recorded? i know you said it's just a quick demo, but i (and i'm sure others on here) would love to hear it.

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 1:21 am

Thanks, McKey, for that extra info about the mic placement. I'll try it sometime!

The K2, a tube mic with a continually variable pattern control and large capsule, sounds enough like my Neumann M269 that I may try it at this job...

Exsultavit

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