Gidday. our band (the Null Set) is about to make their first foray into the studio recording environment, and i need some help with identifying what some of the microphones this guy has are used for, their specs... anything informative basically, because the websites of the respective manufacturers contain bugger all. i'm not actualy an ae (or a budding ae in any real sense), but i did a couple of years of electrical engineering; so the electrical side of things is fine, but knowing the frequency responses (or even what they kinda sound like) is something i have no experience in.
the mics in question are:

Royer RD-121
Shure Sm91
EV BK1
EV PL6
AKG D310 (i assume it's an entry-level dynamic like most D- AKGs)

this guy has a bunch of other mics i am familiar with (Sm-57s, Beyer M88, Rode NT1) and i have heard a lot about the Royer mic in comparison to vintage ribbon mics (which i have had no experience of whatsoever!). the others remain a mystery...
Cheers
Toby

Can't offer anything re. your question but did you know there's another band called the null set? They're from down Bristol way

thenullset wrote:the mics in question are:

Royer RD-121
Shure Sm91
EV BK1
EV PL6
AKG D310 (i assume it's an entry-level dynamic like most D- AKGs)

this guy has a bunch of other mics i am familiar with (Sm-57s, Beyer M88, Rode NT1) and i have heard a lot about the Royer mic in comparison to vintage ribbon mics (which i have had no experience of whatsoever!). the others remain a mystery...
Cheers
Toby

There's an excellent description of the Royer on this very website.

http://www.electrical.com/item.php?page=289

The SM91 is an excellent PZM mic.

Not too sure about the other mics, but why don't you ask the guy who owns them?

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC USA

Thanks Chris. It's pretty difficult getting in touch with this guy. So much so, you guys on the ea site have responded to my post faster than he has responded to 2 emails requesting info from him. As a band we're trying to put as much time and effort as we can into making absolutely sure we don't waste a second inside the studio through early preparation. We're also trying to limit overdubs, so it's kinda nicer to have some idea of what each mic's use is rather than waste time with futile experimentation.
Much appreciated

No problem. Glad to be of help.

Just out of curiousity, what's the big deal about finding out about the mics he has? If you dig this guy and his work, then it shouldn't really matter what he's got or how he uses it. If it's simply out of curiousity, then go to your session and A) observe what he's doing, and B) ask him questions if you feel it pertinent. From a playing perspective, I personally wouldn't be crazy about doing a session with someone I don't know or trust, and in that regard, I wouldn't care what they were recording me with so long as it sounded pleasing to me. From an engineering perspective, I would be happy to answer any questions that a client had for me. Especially if they trusted me, which sort of leads back to my previous point. Just curious.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC USA

Unfortunately, finding a reliable recording engineer who will work within our budgetary constraints is rather more difficult in Sydney, Australia. We've basically chosen this guy because he's cheap, and will allow me to pretty much engineer the recordings myself (and stay out of our way while we overload his gear, etc.). I've also heard a few things recorded in the studio by this guy, and for what we're paying (peanuts), we're getting every cent's worth. I just wanted an idea of what mics I might be able to use where before I start experimenting. Thanks again. One day when our band actually makes money (instead of just spending it!) we might be able to shop around for a shit-hot engineer. Probably won't be in Australia, though...

Here's the datasheet for the D310, should you be interested http://www.akg.com/mediendatenbank/pspi ... 9ea588.gif

Thanks Mark! Much appreciated. I've finally managed to secure some time in the studio with this guy to thoroughly test the gear myself, so let's put this puppy to sleep......