No matter what stage you’re at in your musical career, you probably don’t want to drop any cash until you’ve shopped around. Often, a final decision comes after reading online reviews, asking fellow musicians for recommendations and even beating the pavement to do some in-store testing. Whatever your preferred method, your mission is the same: get the best gear for your budget. Possibly the single-most important piece of equipment in your studio is your condenser microphone.
While we all wish we could buy Neumann U87s or Telefunken U47s, the fact of the matter is that even *with* a sexy and expensive condenser microphone, most home studios lack the acoustics necessary to take full advantage of all that audible awesomeness. Not to worry, though; you can still pick up a great microphone, if you know how to read the specs. Here’s a crash-course in buying a condenser microphone that you’ll be happy with, as always, brought to you by Gobbler.
So check it—here are the specs of a Neumann U87. The cheapest price you can expect to pay for one of these babies is about $3300.
You’ll see a chart like this wherever microphones are sold.
- 3 selectable directional patterns: omnidirectional, cardioid, and figure-8
- 10dB attenuation switch
- 127dB SPL handling
- 20Hz to 20kHz response
- Impedance rated at 200 ohms
- Sensitivity: 20/28/22 mV/Pa
Now let’s look at the specs for a MXL 990—a microphone that retails for about $89.
- -10dB Pad switch
- 150Hz low-cut switch @ 6dB per octave
- Cardioid pattern
- 30Hz – 20kHz frequency range
- 130dB maximum SPL
- Sensitivity: 15mV/Pa
Immediately, you can spot some differences between the classic Neumann U87 and the 990. Most notably:
- The 990 only offers cardioid pattern recording. That means that you can only record in one direction, in this form. The U87 however can capture audio from the front, the back and everywhere between.
- The 990’s frequency range starts at 30Hz, meaning that you’ll automatically be missing some of the lower frequencies on your recording. This is usually determined by the size and material of the microphone’s diaphragm.
- Lastly, take a look at those sensitivity levels. The Neumann is listing 3—one for each direction the microphone can record. When set to “cardioid” pattern, the Neumann boasts a whopping 28—the MXL is stuck at a measly 15. For a more in-depth explanation of exactly what these numbers mean and how they’re calculated, you can check this out. I short, the higher this number is, the more responsive your microphone will be. The subtle nuances of your voice or instrument will likely be lost with a cheaper condenser. When condenser shopping, use these two specs to decide if you’re really getting the best for your money. Finding a microphone that offers 17 and higher will actually give you a noticeable difference.
Before you put down any money for a new condenser, you’ll definitely want to ask yourself “why do I want this mic?” If you’re new to recording and just starting to build your home studio, buying a microphone that retails for less than $200 is just fine—hit songs have been recorded with much less, and saving some green on this one item will allow you to spend your money on other important gear like computer interfaces, instruments and recording software.
If you’re a seasoned home-studio owner, you know you’re going to be doing more music in the future and you want to improve your sound, going above the $200 threshold is not unreasonable; AKG, Shure and Sennheiser all make great condensers for under $500. When reading condenser specs, be sure to remember your ABC’s: always be comparing what you can afford to what is considered ideal.
At the end of the day though, the quality of your condenser won’t matter too much if the person doing your final mastering isn’t experienced. If you’re producing tracks for an album or distribution, you’ll want to spend time making sure you have best of both that you can possibly afford. And hey, if the engineer you want is far away or you want to look over his shoulder, share your raw sessions with him using Gobbler!
Find Austin on Twitter: @austincross
