For honest, uncolored sound, seriously consider the DPA microphones. Once you have heard them, and experienced their mounting hardware options, you will understand why they are the choice of major networks, theater, film, broadcasting and recording production companies.
When it comes to gain, the DPA's required a bit more than the other small diaphragms. I was sitting right at 51dB for ambient applications, 42dB for direct applications . Even with the increased preamp gain, and inherent increased preamp noise, the sum total of the noise was significantly less than any other small diaphragm at lower gain (42dB and 35dB respectively).
A computer truism is valid here. Garbage in, garbage out. These mics make you work!
For churches with dedicated studios on a limited budget, I would REALLY consider the ADK, Rode and Audio Technica mics. I could package these mics with a proper pair of preamps, and you would sound as good (electronically anyway) as any world-class studio. In fact, there are some world-class studios that have these very mics in use, daily.
For larger churches with a "proficient" engineer staff, I would recommend using some of these mics on stage. For years I have used Shure KSM44's and 32's on stage for guitar cabs, overheads, etc. Audio Technica's were on stage last night at a Def Lepard concert here in Tulsa, as they are on thousands of other stages throughout the world. Shure and AT enjoy a very strong presence in the touring market. While Rode is not as large corporately, they have the sonic fortitude to make it on a stage.
Some churches do recording without a dedicated space and/or require dual-purpose mics, Please consider the Audix and the Shure lines. All of Audix's SCX, D-series and Micro lines would fair well in either application.
Can I hear a difference between these mics and mics costing triple or double the price? Yes. There are some very beautiful sounding mics out there. Given scope of the productions and skill levels of a church staff, the differences would not be substantial. I could not justify the expense of any mic over $1600.00 retail.
I would like to say thank you to all of the manufacturers (Audix, Audio Technica, Rode, DPA, Shure, etc), Jim Ramsey and Eastland Baptist Church, Tulsa, OK, Steve Ripley and The Church Studio, Tulsa, OK, Harvey Young Airport, Tulsa, OK (for disturbing the session).
Please watch this next week for the final article and the MP3's.
Experiencing Worship, The Study
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Experiencing Worship, The Study