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I'm looking to get a matched pair of small diaphragm condensers for doing recording with my Powerbook. I'm considering the Rode NT5 and the SE Electronics SE1a.

I've never had any experience with SE Electronics mics, but reviews in Sound on Sound and also Mix have been extremely positive about the mics.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

What are you going to be recording?

I have a pair of Se3 mics. They sound great and can really pick up far more body than I expected they would - I bought them mainly to use as drumkit overheads and general utility mics and they work great for that but they can also stand on their own too ie on quick scetchpad recordings I've found they can capture a great drumkit sound by themselves.

I know they are almost double the price than the Se1 but they're still cheap mics (relatively) and worth the extra IMHO....

BradLyons wrote:What are you going to be recording?

Various acoustic ensembles. Woodwind Quintets, String Quartets, Brass Quintet, etc.

I just finished an orchestration class for my graduate degree. We had four projects, String Quartet, Woodwind Quinet, Brass Quintet, and Full Orchestra.

As a favor to the teacher who wanted to use a radioshack tape recorder to tape each session, I brought in my Powerbook, 828mkii, and a matched pair of Avenson Audio STO-2 omins and came away with very clear, detailed recordings of each ensemble. If you have never seen them they looked like Earthworks omnis.

www.avensonaudio.com

I love them. The frequency is ruler flat, though they have a slightly higher self noise than optimal but very nice sound. Hand made in Texas and the owner is reall stand up guy. Pleasure to work with him.

Those mics look cool, but for me, the omni only pattern dosen't really work.

westla wrote:

BradLyons wrote:What are you going to be recording?

Various acoustic ensembles. Woodwind Quintets, String Quartets, Brass Quintet, etc.

I would choose something a bit better than either of those original choices if you are looking for professional results (I do a lot of classical recordings - and the mics & placement mean everything)

AKG C480B (or the C391 (BlueLine) for a cheaper option)
or
Audio-Technica 4051a (or the 4041 again for a cheaper option)
or
If you want to just do it right from the start & can spend the cash: a pair of Schoeps CMC 6 with the appropriate capsules (either card, wide card or omni).

The Schoeps are, by far, my favorites for the job. I like the modular approach because you can buy new capsules for different results (omnis for AB or ABC/Decca arrays, cardiod or wide cardiods for XY or ORTF, et al). The only non-modular mic mentioned was the AT4041, which is a cost saver, but a very respectable mic for stereo recordings.

I am assuming you have a budget, given the 2 choices you began with, so the AT4041s or the AKGC391s may be your best bets. A pair of Schoeps will run you around $2900.

HTH

Sdemott,

thanks for the great info. Unfortunately right now I can't afford to spring for the expensive pair.


Do you think the Audio Technica AT4041's would be noticably better than the Rode NT4 or SE Electronics SE1a's? Thanks very much for your input.

A good starting place for small diapham condensers can be: Schopes; DPA 4006; and of course the Neumann KM series 184/185/186 [ for different patterns. I'm sure there are other less pricey mics out their to try but those are the standard choices.

Good Luck with your recording!

MERRY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND ALL THAT TO ALL!!