I just got my first condenser mic. I've borrowed some really nice ones, and seen others in use on occasion. I haven't gotten a chance to use it yet.

I went on a search of reviews to read about it and people were saying that you could use it for a drum overhead, and on guitar cabs and even bass cabs.

I've totally hear condensers fry before because of too much db going into them, and people have told me they are sensitive.

Can you really us condensers on loud amps, and as drum overhead mics?

Is it best to use this mic just for vocals, and acoustics, or are there other applications that it will work well with?

I think you're getting condensers mixed up with ribbons - it is they which are physically sensitive. Condensers work well on all sorts of applications - specifically the ones you mentioned. No worries - give it a shot.

bill tucker wrote:I just got my first condenser mic. I've borrowed some really nice ones, and seen others in use on occasion. I haven't gotten a chance to use it yet.

I went on a search of reviews to read about it and people were saying that you could use it for a drum overhead, and on guitar cabs and even bass cabs.

I've totally hear condensers fry before because of too much db going into them, and people have told me they are sensitive.

Can you really us condensers on loud amps, and as drum overhead mics?

Is it best to use this mic just for vocals, and acoustics, or are there other applications that it will work well with?

The AT 3035 in underated. If you have a nice pre it'll sound great on all of these things.

do you know how the switches works.
the low cut is totally out of my league
and the db switch kind of makes sense.

basically i just have to try a recording with either position on the db and it will probably make sense then, eh?

The low cut is for rolling off low frequencies. For example, if you're recording a vocal and you can hear some room rumble being picked up by the mic, the low cut filter will cut the frequency response off at a certain point. Your mic likely has three positions - one for a flat response (no filtering), and two different types of filtering, usually at different frequencies (i.e. 40Hz and 80Hz). The dB switch is known as a pad, which will automatically bring the level down that amount of decibels. This is used when you have a very loud source that is distorting at the mic. Don't use the pad if you don't need to - it may slightly alter the sound. Anything else you'd like to know?

thanks daniel,

I think i'm good for now. Some things never really makes sense even through trial and error. I hope to get some good and fun recordings with these mics.

best to you,
bill

I think the issues with drums relate to the drummer thrashing about and giving a condenser mike a direct stick hit potentially causing more than cosmetic damage.

Some studios worry about the general destruction of their nicer mikes by drunken and or "wild man" musicians who do not realize their value or such and I think sometimes tailor some miking relating to how it will minimise the potential damage to their mikes. If someone is recording their bass using a SVT and a Rat Pedal at high volume or a Marshall amp cranked the diaphragm of the condenser supposedly can get "fatigued" if you close mike or just break. I think a lot of people would recommend extreme caution in close miking a bass drum beater or a snare with a condenser.

This is why in some studios Dynamic mikes are used in situations were the DB levels are very high they are able to deal with the higher levels without damage. Some studio use nice dynamics like Sennheiser on the cabs and dynamics to close mike the drums and condenser further back where they get less of the direct blast of the amp or drums sticks. You can imagine listening to a tracking session and hearing a loud smack of a drum stick hit going in the face plate of your condenser would be a nerve racking experience if it were broken you would louse money on the session.

i just got a sennheiser e609 so i that should work well for drums and gutiar cabs.

i usually end up breaking something sooner or later, but i want to take good care of these mics. i play pretty loud, and have recorded loud bands, so this is good stuff to know so I ruin this mic.

thanks for all of the good info. i can't wait to really get some good use out of this.

i dunno. recently i've been using an AT 3525 on a top tom, and an oktava 319 on the floor tom. these are two of my nicest mics but the way that they sound on toms just blows me away.

of course it's sensible to want to be protective over your equipment and do all you can to ensure it is not damaged, but sometimes you have to consider your purpose: are you being paid to babysit your microphones or to record a band? if you're sensible and wise with your mic placement there's no reason it should get hit. one of the questions i always ask drummers when micing their kit (this is both live and in the studio) is "will this be in your way here?": they know their playing technique, and the funny way their arms move to achieve things. a mic that is not in one drummer's way may well become in the firing line for another. learn to adapt; try new things. pull the mics back a bit. try micing the bottom skins with these mics, where, short of the kit collapsing, there's virtually no chance of them being hit.

the idea is to be capturing the drum sound, not thwarting the drummer's playing. if a mic is in the drummer's way / line of hitting, then you're still not doing your job properly. if the drummer's happy, and feels comfortable behind her kit, then you shouldn't have anything to worry about.